Well, here I am in Tanzania!!! I’m going to go ahead and pre-write this post so that I will not have to use so many precious minutes online. I just bought some today, but had no idea how quickly those vouchers would be used up! Already I need to go back to the store and purchase more. But, learning takes time and soon I will get the hang of things.
So, in case you didn’t know, I am staying with the pastor and his family. (Although, of his 6 children, only his daughter Nadine and his son Nathan are at home now. The others are either away at school or married and back in the Congo). So far, they have been absolutely wonderful and generous towards me. My room is built off of their home and has a very nice sized bedroom that has a desk and a shelf covered with sheets that serves as a closet. The room has plenty of space for yoga stretching and also practicing karate!!! (YAY!!) A few hanging curtains serve to separate my room for a sitting area where I have spent quite a bit of time reading. The view from the house is absolutely STUNNING!! It looks out at the Uluguru Mountains and they are tall and majestic. Pictures do not do them justice in any way.
Friday was my first day at the school and the pastor introduced me to the head teacher. The head teacher gave me the materials that I would need in order to make my lesson plans so that I could begin teaching on Monday (tomorrow)! The school is very nice, the teachers were very warm in greeting me, and the students are very well behaved. I’m very excited to begin teaching them so soon!! On Fridays, the students get out of school early and have a chance to play sports. As I was sitting outside at the desk where I was making my plans, I was soon surrounded by a bunch of first class girls. They were so shy at first but soon they warmed up to me. We went out onto the playground and joined some other girls playing net ball, which is a popular sport here. However, I had so many children holding my hands that I could barely move, so I was content to just watch the others play.
Yesterday morning, Nadine and I went into town and I was able to exchange my American dollars for Tanzania shillings and also purchase vouchers for the internet (however, obviously I need to buy more). I purchased a 5,000 Tsh card, but that only lasted me about 20 min. Thus, my attempt to skype my family failed miserably, but I will make sure that next time I have enough credits to stay on longer. At least I got to see them and they got to see that I am here and also I showed them a virtual tour of my room.
This morning I went to church with the pastor and his family. It was WONDERFUL!!! The singing was great and upbeat! I hope that once I have been here for a while and become more familiar with the language and songs I will be able to join the choir. This afternoon I read for a while in my little sitting area with the door open. It was wonderful to have the breeze coming in through the doorway and to be able to look out at Tanzania! This afternoon, I went on a walk with Nadine and Nathan around Morogoro. It was such a wonderful afternoon (not nearly as hot as yesterday) and it was nice to be out, walking around. I can’t wait until Nadine shows me how to get to the international school tomorrow. They have a track and I will be able to run finally after a week off!! It feels more like a year!! For now, I must get back to lesson planning because I teach first thing in the morning! School starts at 7:40 am, so I will get up at 6:15am so that I will have enough time to do my morning yoga routine and get dressed and eat before I have to be there.
So far, I am very content to be here, finally! Everyone that I have met has been very kind towards me and I can’t wait to get to know them further during my time here. Words cannot express how grateful I am to be here and how much I know that God is going to bless this time.
"This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it." Psalms 118:24
Blessings, love, and peace,
~Christine
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