I made it!
Hey!
I finally made it to a computer that will load blogger! How cool is that?! I'm sorry it's been awhile since I've made it online; it's looking as though I'll be able to check email/load updates about twice a month, so don't worry if you go for long stretches without hearing from me.
I only have a few minutes, so here are the big things going on:
* I made it to Ndanda! The trip here was surreal; a plane flight down the Indian Ocean coast, a trip deep into the Makonde Plateau (monkeys as roadkill! more palm trees than you can shake a stick at!) but I finally made it, and am happy to report that the job promises to be great. I'm teaching at a brand-new school run by a Benedictine Monestary in the tiny village of Mwena (next to the the slightly-less tiny Ndanda.) The kids are super-respectful, the work is interesting, and I'm in one of the more beautiful locations on earth. You should see my house. I'll be moving in next week and while it used to be a chicken coop, it does boast enough gorgeous views to create a whole library of bad poetry. It's remote, right at the edge of Mwena, near the end of a dirt track that lead off into hills that look like they have yet to be touched by man. In the valleys you can see palm trees and bamboo, while the hilltops themselves are hazy with mist and birdsong in the mornings. I can't wait to get a bike so I can start exploring. The only downside to my school is the school shirt that I'll have to wear. During our last teacher's meeting, we were debating on what kind of shirts to wear; after an hour or so, the Headmaster finally came to the decision that we'd have polo shirts printed with "Education Empowers," followed by the school acronym. Which would be great if we weren't "Abbey Secondary School." Who says Americans don't get irony? Yeah, I know what you're thinking Uncle Al, and I'm not even going to dignify it with a reply. So there :) And, yes, I'll make sure to take plenty of pictures.
* About a week ago I found out that Grossman managed to pull it together, and that the Bears would indeed be playing in the Superbowl (My first thoughts after hearing the news were roughly "YES!" and, "I HAVE to watch that game.") That second thought took some work. After literally hours of searching, I managed to locate one bar (in a roughly 300 mile radius) that not only had satallite T.V., but also ESPN. Great! Now all I had to do was track down the owner and see what I could do to get him to open up the place at 3 am for the Superbowl. Martin, happily, proved obliging, but wanted a firm commitment from a party of at least 10. Luckily, this region has loads of football hungry Peace Corps just dying for a Superbowl party; an upstanding lad named Dennis had been having similar thoughts, and less than 24 hours later it was all wrapped up: on February 4th the best superbowl party in Tanzania will be in Mikindani at 10 Degrees South Lodge, with several PCVs, a few curious Brits, and yours truly for company. The only downside to the whole thing is that the lodge is 7 hours away from me by minibus, but 14 hours with chickens on your lap is worth it for a few hours of glory, right? And who needs sleep?
Okay, there's more to tell but, alas, I'm out of time. As email doesn't seem to be much of an option, I'm keen to write letters if people are game; just send me your address!
Much love,
Katie
I finally made it to a computer that will load blogger! How cool is that?! I'm sorry it's been awhile since I've made it online; it's looking as though I'll be able to check email/load updates about twice a month, so don't worry if you go for long stretches without hearing from me.
I only have a few minutes, so here are the big things going on:
* I made it to Ndanda! The trip here was surreal; a plane flight down the Indian Ocean coast, a trip deep into the Makonde Plateau (monkeys as roadkill! more palm trees than you can shake a stick at!) but I finally made it, and am happy to report that the job promises to be great. I'm teaching at a brand-new school run by a Benedictine Monestary in the tiny village of Mwena (next to the the slightly-less tiny Ndanda.) The kids are super-respectful, the work is interesting, and I'm in one of the more beautiful locations on earth. You should see my house. I'll be moving in next week and while it used to be a chicken coop, it does boast enough gorgeous views to create a whole library of bad poetry. It's remote, right at the edge of Mwena, near the end of a dirt track that lead off into hills that look like they have yet to be touched by man. In the valleys you can see palm trees and bamboo, while the hilltops themselves are hazy with mist and birdsong in the mornings. I can't wait to get a bike so I can start exploring. The only downside to my school is the school shirt that I'll have to wear. During our last teacher's meeting, we were debating on what kind of shirts to wear; after an hour or so, the Headmaster finally came to the decision that we'd have polo shirts printed with "Education Empowers," followed by the school acronym. Which would be great if we weren't "Abbey Secondary School." Who says Americans don't get irony? Yeah, I know what you're thinking Uncle Al, and I'm not even going to dignify it with a reply. So there :) And, yes, I'll make sure to take plenty of pictures.
* About a week ago I found out that Grossman managed to pull it together, and that the Bears would indeed be playing in the Superbowl (My first thoughts after hearing the news were roughly "YES!" and, "I HAVE to watch that game.") That second thought took some work. After literally hours of searching, I managed to locate one bar (in a roughly 300 mile radius) that not only had satallite T.V., but also ESPN. Great! Now all I had to do was track down the owner and see what I could do to get him to open up the place at 3 am for the Superbowl. Martin, happily, proved obliging, but wanted a firm commitment from a party of at least 10. Luckily, this region has loads of football hungry Peace Corps just dying for a Superbowl party; an upstanding lad named Dennis had been having similar thoughts, and less than 24 hours later it was all wrapped up: on February 4th the best superbowl party in Tanzania will be in Mikindani at 10 Degrees South Lodge, with several PCVs, a few curious Brits, and yours truly for company. The only downside to the whole thing is that the lodge is 7 hours away from me by minibus, but 14 hours with chickens on your lap is worth it for a few hours of glory, right? And who needs sleep?
Okay, there's more to tell but, alas, I'm out of time. As email doesn't seem to be much of an option, I'm keen to write letters if people are game; just send me your address!
Much love,
Katie
posted by Katie at 4:41 PM
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