For the First Time - Part Sita

My awesome February firsts:

•   First time visiting Bongoyo Island.
•   First time in Morogoro.
•   First time seeing hippos and crocodiles in the wild.

On the way to Bongoyo Island.
Mikumi National Park

Sunny Days

I have lived in four different places in Dar Es Salaam, and each time my daily schedule has been a little different. My current daily schedule looks something like this:

5:30 AM      Wake up 
6:30 AM      Leave for school 
7:30 AM     Arrive at school 
8:10 AM     School starts 
10:50 AM   Tea time 
12:40 PM    Lunch time 
3:15 PM      Leave for home 
4:00 PM      Arrive home 
7:30 PM      Eat dinner 
10:00 PM    Bedtime 

 The school day runs from 8:10 to 2:40 with two breaks, one from 10:50-11:20 for tea, and one from 12:40-1:20 for lunch. Each lesson block lasts forty minutes. This is my typical Tuesday through Friday schedule. On Monday nights I go to a bible study for women. I go into town early to sit at a coffee shop and read a little. The bible study runs from 5:30 to 7:30, then my roommate, and fellow YAV, Nicole, and I get a ride home with one of the women who live in the same area we do. On Mondays we arrive home around 9 PM, so we quickly eat dinner and go to bed. I know my dad will never believe it, but I actually consider sleeping until 7 sleeping in now!

For the First Time - Part Tano

January included some pretty exciting firsts!

•   First time eating ostrich, crocodile, chicken liver
•   First time riding an ostrich.
•   First time touching an elephant!
•   First time kissing a giraffe!
•   First solo Dala-Dala ride.

Riding an ostrich.	Giraffe kisses.
	Visiting the Elephant Orphanage in Nairobi.
I loved these baby elephants!

For the First Time - Part Nne

My firsts for the month of December:

•   First time seeing a sea turtle in the wild.
•   First time in Zanzibar.
•   First time eating barracuda, jack fruit, and star fruit.
•   First sunrise on the beach.
•   First safari where I saw many animals in the wild, including gazelle, bushbuck, hyena,
impala, waterbuck, warthog, buffalo, baboons, giraffe, rhino, elephants,
cheetahs, chimps, hippos, lions, and jackal, plus many kinds of birds,
including king crown, guinea fowl, and European heron.
•   First time petting a rhino!
•   First Christmas away from home.

My roommate, Nicole, and I after the Spice Tour in Zanzibar..	View from the rooftop of our hotel in Zanzibar
Sunrise on the beach near our house.	Baboons
Giraffe - I can't get over how tall they are!	We were lucky enough to see a cheetah!
The lions we saw.	Petting a rhino.
Some waterbuck.
	SO excited to see elephants, my favorite animal, in the wild!

For the First Time - Part Tatu

November Firsts!

First graduation party.

First birthday abroad.

First time swimming in the ocean.

  First time properly cutting a mango.

For the First Time: Part Mbili

My firsts for October!

First time drinking coconut juice, from the coconut.

First time teaching abroad!

First beach party.

First time living on the beach

First time riding a bijaji.

First send-off party.

First time adequately French-braiding my hair.

The beach near my house.	Another view from the beach.
Some teachers at the grade 7 beach party.	With Teacher Agness at the send-off party.

The B-I-B-L-E

Part of my placement in Dar Es Salaam involves working with the youth group at a PCEA church (Presbyterian Church of East Africa). Each week we have been reading a book of the Bible, and on Sundays we share which verses were our favorites. Last week we read Ephesians; I enjoyed reading the book, especially the fourth chapter. Some verses just stuck out to me, while others have deep connections to things happening in my life right now.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places – Ephesians 1:3

So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the house-hold of God – Ephesians 2:19

I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love. I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. – Ephesians 3:16-19

I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love – Ephesians 4:1-2

as you sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, singing and making melody to the Lord in your hearts, giving thanks to God the Father at all times and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. – Ephesians 5:19-20

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power. – Ephesians 6:10

For the First Time

September has been a time of many firsts for me, so I thought I'd share a few. Enjoy!

First time in Africa!

First time slaughtering a chicken.

First time to eat goat, mukimo, maandazi, ugali, arrowroot, and chapati.

First time washing clothes by hand.

First time taking a bucket shower.

First time seeing zebras in the wild.
First graduate level course.

Arrowroot

Mukimo and beef

Next Thing You Know

My first month away has flown by; I can’t believe it’s already October! September was spent in Kenya, orienting ourselves with the culture. We were each matched with a host family, so we spent our first weekend in Nairobi with them. My mom, dad, and three siblings were very warm and welcoming. I was fortunate enough to spend the next two weekends with them as well. The other YAVs and I also took a ten day Kiswahili course and a three day graduate course on East African culture, religion, politics, and economics. We also visited a children’s home, a center for Christian/Muslim relations, and a village in the foothills of Mount Kenya. While it was great to experience Nairobi, I’m thrilled to be in Dar es Salaam, my placement for the year!

Pictures in an Exhibition

The school where I observed that was built like Hogwarts.	"Hogwarts"
Great Rift Valley	Hogwarts even had a small bridge!
My sister and me at Great Rift Valley.	Some of my host family - Dad, Younger Brother, and Sister.
	Zebras on the side of the road!
Picking fruit at Grandma's.	The GIANT avocado we got to eat. It was delicious!
Plucking feathers from the chicken I slaughtered with my brother.	Mashing the potatoes, peas, and maize to make mukimo with my Grandma.
Mt. Kenya in the morning.
Kenya YAV group photo.	Beautiful waterfall in the village.