4 More Weeks!

I looked up today while getting my lessons ready. Everyday I sit in the teacher's office. I study swahili, get ready for classes, play cards, drink tea, say the swahili hellos and how are you.

Sometimes I forget where I am. I get in such a routine. I forget that I am in Tanzania. I have Tanzanian students, I encounter Tanzanian problems. I still have ringworm (months now), my feet are so hard I call them my permanent 'summer feet.'

Ava and Baraka (teacher and student teacher) playing some sweet music!!

i forget that I am here because I am so comfortable here. Over 400 students, their  siblings in the villages, they all smile and say Jill, Jill! The children, their families, teachers, everyone, though they have nothing have given so much to me. I am so thankful for everyone here.

I am have four more weeks here at RVCV before I move to Arusha. I promise to live every moment and show appreciation to everyone here that has made this feel like home while I am so far away from my own.

Big Announcement!

It is official! I am staying to teach at another school until Christmas time in Arusha! I will be teaching at Peace Matunda School, English and Mathematics for the older standards. And I get paid!! WahoO!! I am so excited to be living in Arusha on the bottom of Mt. Meru. Peace Matunda is also an orphanage. It is much smaller then RVCV with around only 30 kids. It is Tanzanian owned, and funded primary through safaris, Kilimanjaro climbs, and the Cicely Foundation. 

 

So here is the official invite for everyone to come to TZ and stay with me!! I will be here for over a year total! Come, come!! Safaris, TZ culture…it's awesome!

Here are some pictures from school this last week! We have been inside a lot because of the rain, so here is Std 7 watching a soccer match. In another class I showed the Green Mountain Boys ski videos. It was most of the kids first time to see skiing! Watching them see someone do a flip on skis was hilarious! 

May!

Some things I have noticed about the kids...

They prefer playing with only one shoe or no shoes. They are better playing barefoot. So I spend half the class making sure they have their shoes on so they don't get more worms in their feet. Playing without shoes hurts..don't know how they do it.

They play sports with pens and pencils in their pockets because they are so afraid if they leave them in the classroom, someone will steal them. It becomes super dangerous playing with pens in your pockets...trust me.

A company from the US but based in Nairobi came and donated two wind turbines. Which is awesome because now that is the raining season, solar just isn't cutting it! Here are some pictures!