Presentation

My presentation this afternoon went well!  Thank you for your support and for your interest in the Rift Valley Children's Village.  Click HERE to view a PDF file of the Power Point. It's a big file, so a thumbnail image does not appear. Click "Download" and it will appear a minute or two later. Some of the videos I showed are linked below. The rest of the videos can be found in previous posts on this blog.  If you have any questions about how you can help, please let me know!

The link below will take you to the movie I made about my time at RVCV.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAgv6_4E5PE 

Birthday Gift:

Morning Preparation:

Chores, gathering for school, and walking to school

Water Access:

I'm home!  I got here about 9:00 last night and was sound asleep by 9:05.  I had been awake for 22 hours and traveled for 41 hours.  It feels good to be home--but part of me really misses RVCV.  I miss the kids, the workers, and the other volunteers. I am tired and am still noticing all of the differences between America and Tanzania--but that's a good thing!  I uploaded some videos. Enjoy!

The last week with my preschoolers was spent on identifying numbers 1-10 and counting. Here is a short video. Since there aren't as many educational materials as there are in my classroom, I found myself being super creative with materials. The curriculum writing went well for PreK and K!  Now the other volunteers will have some guidance as to what to cover.  I really enjoyed working with Lorraine on this project! She leaves later this week to head back home to NY.  Kate leaves tomorrow for the west coast, and Sarah, Emma, Maddie, and Cashen leave in a couple of weeks.  Ben (sponsor coordinator) and Heather (volunteer coordinator) leave tomorrow for a month leave. (The long-term staff get a month leave every year.)

Here is a pretty sunset.  At the end of the video you’ll see Ben (the sponsorship coordinator) and Heather (the volunteer coordinator).

Every morning I got up at 5:40 to get breakfast started.  (Most mornings I woke up about 5:15 because the mammas were typically up and moving.) The girls woke up at 6:00, got ready for school, ate breakfast, did chores, and then I walked them to school. Saa ya shule means “time for school” in Swahili. I learned that sentence rather quickly!

I was totally out of the loop about current events, news, and gossip.  Internet is difficult and there is not TV.  One of the volunteers, Kate, was really excited about the Royal Family.  She kept talking about Princess Kate going into labor. So one of the other volunteers, Sarah, spent at least an hour logging onto the computer to find out the gender.  (When the Internet is up and running, we get info fast.  But then we’re usually checking emails and communicating with family and friends.  When it’s slow, it’s really slow, worse than dial up.) On this particular day, it was slow.  Sarah found the information and turned her computer to keep it private.  We waited for Ben, the sponsor coordinator for RVCV--who just happens to be British, to come in and read the announcement during breakfast.  A few minutes later, the Internet crashed and the page was lost.  Sarah shared the gender with Ben and he shared his ad libbing-announcement with the rest of us in his best British accent.

Mamma Upendo (one of the mommas in my house) is a Massai. I asked her if she would dance and sing in traditional clothing.  Her and another momma performed for us.  They were bashful in front of the cameras, but it was fun! In this video Lorraine is joining in the fun.

Here is a tour of Manyara (the house I lived in). Theresia froze on my name while touring the bathroom—which is funny because she says it least 20 times a day. (She recalled Monica’s name immediately though!)  So the next video is of Theresia saying my name over and over and over. There is also a video of Lucia dancing. She has quite the upbeat personality! J  

The Manyara girls love to dance!  There was dancing just about every day.  Here is a small taste! (And in case you're wondering...YES--I did try to dance. It took much prompting from the kids, and it produced quite a few laughs!)

During one of the free play sessions I made an iMovie trailer with a group of kids.  The kids, boys especially, love super heroes! They also got a kick out of watching the Planet Palooza trailer.

Stay tuned for more details about my presentation.  Thanks for reading the blog!!

Back in America!

I made it to Detroit!  I board in about 40 minutes.  Going through customs in Detroit took awhile because I got "tagged" to be inspected 3 times.  I'm guessing that's because I was coming from Africa. Bryan left our house about 10 minutes ago to drive to Columbus.  He will pick me and we'll go to my mom's place.  I've  been traveling so far for just about 36 hours.

It was so strange getting off the plane in Amsterdam and in Detroit and seeing all of the lights and plumbing.  I actually brushed my teeth using the tap water in both countries!  I feel like I'm experiencing culture shock...

I will post some videos tomorrow or the next day from home, so be sure to check back!  For now, here is a picture of me trying the fruit guava for the first time.  I tired it on one of my walks with the girls. We picked it right off the tree.  They had to teach me how to eat it.  I just assumed I was to eat it like an apple. Boy did that get the laughter--not to mention a bitter taste.

Edina, Jane, me, Rebecca

I would really like to plan some sort of presentation for those who are interested.  If you have good ideas of where this could be done, please let me know.  I received so much wonderful feedback about my trip, my experiences, and this blog.  I would love to share more!

Wireless in Amsterdam!

I made it to Amsterdam!  Fortunately, I slept for 6 1/2 hours on the flight.  Thanks for my Air Mall pillow, neck pillow, eye mask, and ear plugs--I slept well.  It seemed like such a short flight!  Now I'm relaxing in a quite lobby in the Amsterdam airport.  My flight leaves in about 2 hours for Detroit.

Good Bye!

My long journey home started 6 hours ago.  I was picked up about 10:00.  Now I'm at a lodge close to the airport.  I got a day room for 4 hours so that I could relax and shower before leaving.  My plane leaves at 8:40 pm Tanzanian time (1:40 Ohio time).  I fly to Dar es salaam, then to Amsterdam, then to Detroit, then to Columbus.  If all goes according to plan, Bryan will pick me up about 5:00 on Monday (which is midnight here). We'll have dinner with my mom and then finally head home to Cleveland.  I'll most likely get home about 10:00 pm on Monday.  So basically, I would have been traveling for over 40 hours!

Last night was sad!  I've grown so attached the the girls in my house.  I made a Power Point slide show and showed it last night (before dinner) on my lap top. There was a slide fore each girl and each Tanzanian momma in Manyara.  Each slide had a picture of the two of us and also included my favorite memory.  I wrote each person a hand-written card and glued a picture form the Power Point slide show to the card.  It was emotional, yet very rewarding. (Once I explained to the volunteer coordinator why I wanted to print 14 pictures, she was all for it!)  All day yesterday I was receiving hugs and very nice cards. In the evening we watched most of Mirror Mirror.  About 20 minutes before the movie ended the solar power ran out. So I'll have to catch the ending at home.  I didn't finish packing until 11:00 pm, and I had a restless sleep.  I'm sure I'll sleep for 2 days when I finally get home.

These girls (Jane and Rehema) were crying...so was I!

Edina holding the front of her card

Edina showing the inside of her card

Coletha

Lucia, Coletha, me

I'll publish more when I'm home with good internet!

Last Day

Last night we had a volunteer party at India's house.  India is the founder of RVCV.  It was nice to hang out and relax before dinner.

me, Heather, Viola

Sarah, me, Lorraine, Kate

Cashen, me, Maddie, Emma

India

Chris

Today is my last day.  I get picked up tomorrow at 10:00 am and will start my long journey home!  More to come...

Two More Days

I only have a few days left.  The time has flown by.  I’ll really miss the girls in my house, but I’m also really excited to come home. I miss Bryan, my pets, my friends, and my family.  I miss Chipotle, Dunkin’ Donuts, hot showers, paved roads, and a rodent-free house.  I’ll miss the beautiful kids at RVCV, the Tanzanian mommas, the volunteers/friends I’ve met, the look on a kid’s face when I give him/her a hug, the beautiful scenery, and my adorable little pre-schoolers who have come so far in 3 short weeks.   This has been an amazing experience and I plan on making the best of the next few days.  I truly feel like I’m making a difference! 

I started a Walking Club with some of the older girls in my house.  I’ve been walking every day with a few volunteers between bath time and dinner.  Last week a few Manyara girls joined.  We walk through cornfields, dirt roads, and up steep paths.  We have to keep our eyes peeled for wild dogs, buffalo, elephants, and snakes. A few days ago the askaris (night guards at RVCV) killed a viper snake that was hanging out by the volunteer house, which is where we eat.  We haven’t seen any wild animals, but it is common to see local villagers. 

I have many more stories, videos, and pictures that I was planning on posting.  Unfortunately, it's not possible to do so right now.  The Internet is quite slow and I'm about out of my data bundle.  I will post it all when I get home--unless there happens to be wireless in the airports. You'll then get to see a tour of the house, some dancing, a sunset, preschoolers counting, and even something about the Royal Baby!