attention all phsyio majors!! do you think the preservative pumped power bars and trail mix i brought will only counteract what my body is trying to get used to eating all this new bacteria? does that even make sense?
only two more days of orientation yipeee then we finally get to move into our homestays on tuesday. tonight mama sia/sisi - i dont think we will ever get it right-had fish for us wahoo and rice with vegetable sauce nommmm. oh i have witnessed an actual lord of the flies scene--about 16 orphaned kids live at the town's garbage dump, and sleep on broken glass in the bushes at night. we brought some food soem clothes and some good vibes.
a malaria clinic visit costs about $3 and i buy my dinner for $1.50 most nights. malaria mosquitos only come out at night apparently
oh today i dropped my toothbrush down the toilet, head down . no worries i invested in a new one --i figured 200 shiliinge or about 10 cents for a new one is a good trade
grace almost tripped over the hippo that is STILL chilling by the road last night
oh! getting away with wrapping a piece of colorful fabric aroudn my waist and calling it a skirt?? awesome!!! i heart kongas
Habiba is my little friend i met who goes to school where we have orientation--she drew henna on my hand yesterday its so neat
random cows goats chickens and roosters are EVERYWHERE its great

things im loving whilst in tanzania:
-chapati--african tortillas eaten at breakfast lunch dinner basically any time
--the toothless lady that sells me peanutsugar treats at the market
--mama sia, our boisterous cook

things that make me bummed:
--slow internets
--spider bites
--a malaria bed ridden roomie

hey homies
ok it only took about 15 minutes to upload this page. yesterday there was a hippo on the side of the road aaaaahh very neat. we have six more days of orientation , adn then were moving into our homestays. we get to choose whether or not we want to stay in town or stay in a more rural homestay on the outskirts of town. at first i was kinda bummed that our homestays werent going to be mud thatched roofed huts like those of last year, but i guess the most important thing to remember is efficiency--being in town means were going to be talking to a lot more people, which is awesome. im so stoked. its a funny feeling having every pair of eyes on you when youre walking down the street--people are friendly tho so i guess its not an unwelcome stare. my teaching skirt has a gazelle and a giraffe on it yesss!!! the weather has been awesome, and im very happy.

my epic waterfall hike

two days ago i spent the entire day hiking through the tanzanian jungle forest!!!! it was definitely one of hte most epic things i have ever done and i loved evvvvery minute of it- we started at hte base adn hiked up, passing multiple villages with thatched huts, pocketed away from the rest of the world in really green slopes. we walked right through a school wtih swarms of little kids in purple school uniforms. we got up to a clearing and then went down the muddiest hill i have ever seen and then walked upstream through knee deep water until we reache d the waterfall it was so sick!!
and now were in babati -its a small rural town three hours away from arusha. babati is b-e-auutiful there is so much green. we walk to orientaiton every morning on the only paved road of hte town and pass the infamous hippo lake--too far away to actually see any wandering kiboko but close enough to still be impressed. i heart african food nom nom. i can buy oranges and bananers for 10 cents across the street. were staying at cypris hill--a hostel just across from the lake and me and beatrice, a tanzanian teaching partner and my roomie scored because our room has an actual toilet. !
yesterday when kessy, our swahili teacher, asked us to sing the national anthem, i realized i have little pride for my country. tanzanians have lots of pride for thier country. thats why they are a peaceful people. i wish i had more
ok time to eat !! love emmanuelle

karibu

soooo today is day two in arusha, tanzania. this are great thus far. my hostel is awesome adn the kids i room with are chill! mama i am waking up at seven every morning with a happy face tu est fiere ou quoi?!..ok maybe its still the jet lag but hopefully it will last. i learned today that were we will be teaching in babati is a rural town, not so much a village setting--no hut type dwellings apparently, but we will see. the groups we will be teaching are going to be huge too since its a town aaah its going to be great. everyone hear asks about obama--you can even buy a conga skirt wtih obama's face on it. today i invested in a giraffe print bottle opener dun dun.
things i really like about tanzania thus far:
-the welcoming--people are so friendly--karibu sana (welcome) is the most commonly used phrase i am hearing, and not just from people trying to sell me stuff
-the chakula-fooood! yesterday i ate a whole fish-meg and rachel also each got a talapia that covered their entire plate it was soo funny. also i heart vegetables, of which there are an abundant here. OH! i ate a huge avacado yesterday--deelicious!
-the weather-b-e-auuutiful!
-the fact that i can wear the same pants for four days without feeling judged---alrrright---ha thomas!
-the kids-so friendly
and other things i wrote down but cant remember any more. tomorrow were going on a big ass hike--je penserai a toi maman! there will be waterfalls.
i dont think uploading pics is going to be a possibility, at least not for a while. no worries tho i am taking lots--excluding in town--we already stick out enough
no worries everyone ive got my poker face on and am keeping safe--tutaonana---see you later :]

aw my little shucks. how i will miss you so. -file au piquet!!!-

im a pretty lucky gal to be able to go on this trip. the pharmacy mishap was also very lucky..someone along the line made a mistake, and i ended up not having to pay that extra money alriight.
tonight is my last night at my lovely home. we spent most of the day imitating my mom's frog swim in the pool--she's a mountain chamois, not a dolphin!
my plane leaves in 7 hours. i plan to knock myself out for the duration of the flight with a sleeping pill since im not sleeping tonight. ok the next time i check this , ill be in arusha, tz!! peace az!!!!

pre-voyage

hey homies,

i leave on saturday for my big adventure. i cannot believe i am actually going!!!!! that sounds pretty mundane, but i cant really describe how i feel any other way. walgreens has my malaria meds in stock---thanks to my neglectful ass i almost didnt get them in time! baah. $200 later and all is well...
yay!