Thursday we went to Neema orphange dubbed the baby farm by former volunteers. It was babies everywhere, it was great that we were able to cuddle and hold the babies, who are well taken care of, but can only get so much one on one time from the nurses and staff. Every volunteer 25 of us had a baby or toddler to hold. One of them was only 7 days old. It was sad since they are all orphans most due to their parents dying of aids. Also it was sad because when we had to leave after 2 hours we all just put our babies down and they all cried. We had a special acrobatic performance back at the house too. It wasa a busy day. On friday I went to a a placement with anoter girl since my was a no go. It was an orphanage where they homeschool the kids until 7 yrs. It was interesting, and made me appreciate my placement more. The poor kids were just copying, they didn't understand what they were doing. For you teacher people -they had no comprehension of the concept of subtraction. I used little toy gorillas to help explain one on one, but it was a challenge. And when he had done some right and was starting to understand, the teacher said he did't double space it and made him erase the whole page. I stood up for him, but he still had to erase it. Sigh.

Yestersday lots of people went out clubbing but it was a big hasell since curfew is 11pm and they had to get a hotel room. I jsut stayed home and relaxed, it was good since I was very tired. Today, we had a very lazy morning, it's nice since we work hard all week and never sleep in. Then after lunch people came home and a bunch of us took off to the art market- I bargained down a painting from 12000 to 8000. only 8 dollars. It's lovcely and the man I bought it from actually painted it, and it's of Chagga people and he's chagga I love it. I have lots of time to get mroe, but I am being very careful to only buy stuff I really love and not just stuff. You want anything????

Alright, we're doing a day hike of kili tomorrow since I can't do the whole thing. It will be a taste of smoething to come back for. I'll let you know how it goes, I'm off now to shop a little more. Talk to you all soon. Missing you guys today.

Hugs, Laura

PS: The more comments you write the more I love you.

written by  Laura Collins on October 4, 2008 from Moshi, Tanzania
from the travel blog: My Adventure in Tanzania
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Thanks so much for the comments, I love to get them, they made my day. And I hate to tell you it's not raining or cold here, it's gorgeous, but it did spit a little bit yesterday, no big deal. So I have to say today is awesome -the internet is working at the house and my kids had a wonderful day. Everyone was behaved for the most part- no one got bit, and Godi (actually named Goodlisten which is very ironic) and I bonded over beads and string. Richard didn't attack everyone. We played football, go go go stop, and what time is it bwana simba (aka mr. lion). It burned off energy in a productive way. So today was officially my first good day at my placement, and I don't go back until next monday since it is a muslim holiday and schools are closed for 2 days and on friday the teachers told us we shouldn't come since they are doing a private home visit, so Mama Fatuma will arrange for me and Ellie to go elsewhere.

Tomorrow we are going to have a Chagga day. Chagga is one of the local tribes, and we are going to have a "cultural day". It should be good, the other volunteers said it was cool, caves and a market. I still haven't bought much but I have time.

This weekend though was amazing. 20 of us left friday at 1pm to go on Safari. It was an incredible experiene and words don't do it justice. We went to Ngorongoro crater which was amazing. A crater that formed from a volcano keeps the animals in there, it is a protected site so they'll always be there. We say a female lion very close, rhinos very far away, hippos, tons of zebra and wildebeast, water buffalo, ostrichs, cranes, dik diks, other antelope type things, lots of birds, elephants, monkeys, baboons. INCREDIBLE! We went to a masaii village too, they danced and sang, we toured their houses made of cow dung, and we saw them grazing their cattle in the crater. (Read up on it on wiki). The next day we went to Tarangire National Park -it's like the serengeti but a lot closer. We saw lots of the same plus giraffes, male lions, female lions and the rare but gorgeous cheetahs. It was so wonderful!! I wish you all could have been there. We had our roof down on our 4x4 and hung out the top all day. The most amazing experience to acutally see these animals in the wild.

Anyways, people are waiting for the internet so I'll make it quick. Today I helped Molly and Jill make potoato latkes since it is the jewish new year and they are jewish. It really is a cross of cultures. They smell good. It's almost dinner so I'm off, but I'll update when I get a chance. And you all have to sit through my slide show of pictures when I get back. Prepare to look interested! Love you all.

Laura the mzungu.

written by  Laura Collins on September 30, 2008 from Moshi, Tanzania
from the travel blog: My Adventure in Tanzania
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Today I went to my volunteer placement for the first time, its in a class for "children" with mental disabilities. They range between 7 and 30 though. It's very interesting and very busy. We have 3 teachers and 3 volunteers and today there were only 15 students and we were run off our feet. The system is very different though, the kids kick and hit with no consequences really -but often they don't understand what they did wrong. The teachers english is very good actually, but only 1 boy speaks english and it is about the same level as my swahili, so not so good.

On my walks everyday I talk to the children -today we played baseball and "ruka-ed" aka jumped toghether. It's so amazing, they are so trusting, but some do ask us for money, we say "sina pesa" no money. And then we just play together. The dirt is really red and it makes us extremely dirty -we never really come clean, after showers are towels are brown -it's all part of it and I wouldn't change a thing. Right now the bugs aren't even bad. THe other day we went on an excursion to buy sugar cane for the kitchen, the family we bought it from were so sweet, they welcomed us fully and we chatted and played with their kids.

I am having the best time, and to tell you the truth, I don't miss you guys -not yet anyways. :) Though I truly wish you all were here to experience it too. Much love and hugs! -Laura

written by  Laura Collins on September 23, 2008 from Moshi, Tanzania
from the travel blog: My Adventure in Tanzania
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Ok, so to start I will answer comments from the last blog.
Amy: No we didn't plan it, but we did look pretty spiffy, no?
Karen and Victoria: Sorry I'm missing the party, have a blast without me. :(
Shannon: I KNEW you wouldn't actually get a tatoo!
Mom: I said hello to everyone- they say hello back.

Alrightie, I can't believe it's only thursday morning, and I have only been here 2 full days. I feel like I've done more in the last 2 days than I did in the whole 3 weeks before I left -but anyways here's my update.

So Ron, Rob and I went to watch their beloved Watford football team take on Plymouth on Tuesday night. It was cold out but thankfully it wasn't raining. We watched the boys, and I scoped out the cutest one, but Rob said he was only 16 so that is a little bit of a problem. When he asks, I'll have to turn him down! Poor guy. Watford lost 2-1 but it was still a fun game and the crowd was quite entertaining. Shannon, I have to say- Japan still rules in the world of cheering! Here are some pictures of us at the proper "football match".

Robert and Me at the "match". Notice the "football pitch" in the background!

Watford vs. Plymouth

Me and Ron at the Football Game taking a "Jenny photo"

The next day, I navigated the tube down into London, and didn't get lost. I met Jenny at Covent Garden and we had lunch sitting on a curb! Do we know how to have fun or what! We poked into some shops and then took the tube to Camden, it's an outdoor market type area. This was somewhere I'd never been! Camden and football!!! Woah! It's like Granville island, only it's not an island and the market is crafts and clothes and stuff not food really. We had a good time!

Jen at Camden Market

Then Jenny and I went walking through Regents Park- it was huge! London really does have a lot of green space.

Regent Park

We took pictures and the sun almost came out for us. It hasn't been very warm or sunny, but Lavers say this is the first time It's stopped raining in a long time.

Jenny! (My cousin- I'm sorry Jenny!)

Cousins!

We walked along a lake and saw ducks and bridges. Traditional lake-like things.

A Lovely bridge in Regent Park. Too bad there was a gate on the other side that didn't actually let you cross it.

A duck resting in Regent Park. We wanted to be able to swivel our heads around like the duck!

We headed back and in the evening we all went to Ken and Shelia's (another aunt and uncle). They left me there -it was on purpose- don't worry. I'm staying with them for the next few days before I leave. Ken and I are going to play tourist this afternoon again somewhere else -I'm not sure! I'm posting all my pics now to keep you amused since I don't know how long it will take to post them in Tanzania. Anyways, thanks for reading!

Hugs to you all!

-Laura

written by  Laura Collins on September 18, 2008 from Bovingdon, United Kingdom
from the travel blog: My Adventure in Tanzania
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I am safely in England! After a long flight, which was actually shorter than I expected I arrived in Heathrow and was greeted by my lovely relatives! The flight was an overnighter but I only slept a little. The man beside me enjoyed his complimentary red wine and gin and tonics and that kept him chatting most of the night. He was a nice man and very interested in everything I was doing and reading, so I was a nice person and chatted back.

Yesterday, Monday, I arrived around 2pm and came back to my Uncle and Aunt's home. I had a nap, which is nothing unusual for me, and that seemed to take care of most of my jet lag. Dinner later, and then some catching up with my cousins and some TV. The ads that are the same as in Canada have all been dubbed so that the actors have english accents! Bizarre I know. You try saying "febreeze, freshens your fabrics" with an english accent. Somehow it just makes me want to buy febreeze more! But I didn't.

This morning, I slept til about 9 -yay for the holiday part of this trip! Then my Aunt and I headed into London for some tourist activity! We took the tube in, "say chube". (There you go, now you're talking"). All I can say is: Those people who walk around with maps in Vancouver looking lost, and we look at them and wonder why they really need a map when we only have 2 skytrain lines. I must have been the tourist to the max. Luckily Gill knew where she was going and I just followed along on my map. I could have navigated it alone but it would have taken me much longer. Maybe I will venture to do a little of that tomorrow!

We went to Green Park,

Guards Marching

Buckingham Palace

Trafalgar Square

Double Decker!! -not the chocolate bar

Look look- a horse!

My Photographer Gill and the London Eye

London/Tower Bridge

On the wobbly bridge

St. Pauls Cathedral -the top part

St. Pauls Cathedral

I'm off to a proper "football match" tonight with my uncle and cousin. I might call it a soccer game just to bug them! They're die-hard fans.

I just wanted to let you know that I am here safely for now. I leave London on Friday and get to Tanzania on Saturday, but I will update before then.

Hugs to you all! As the British say, Cheerio!

written by  Laura Collins on September 16, 2008 from London, United Kingdom
from the travel blog: My Adventure in Tanzania
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So my goal for today is to make a travel blog that is easy for me to use and update and easy for readers to navigate and comment on. I think I've finally found a blog that you don't have to sign up in order to be able to comment. So please, if you read this, comment on it, it's more fun that way - and maybe leave your last name or something that allows me to identify you, since "Love, John" could be many people I know!

For those of you who don't know why I have a travel blog, I am leaving to Africa for 2.5 months! I finished university and have always wanted to go to Africa so there is really no better time. I am going with an organization called Cross Cultural Solutions (Check it out here www.crossculturalsolutions.org) and will be going to Tanzania. I will be living in Karanga, which is a small suburb just outside of Moshi. Moshi is at the base of Mount Kilimanjaro, so I am so excited for the views I'll see so regularly. In Karanga I will be living in a volunteer house with about 40 other volunteers and they provide all our meals, a place to sleep and space to hang out. The program also offers "cultural programming" which is supposed to include some really neat stuff, but I'll know way more when I actually get there.

So I'm not just going as a tourist, for those of you who know me, this is no surprise!! I'm going to volunteer. CCS has placed me in what I hope will be an amazingly rewarding placement. I will be working as a "classroom assistant" in a school for children with mental disabilities in Moshi. This totally fits me, since I want to go into occupational therapy next year and I love working with kids. I'm so excited for it, but I definitely need to improve my swahili so I can at least somewhat communicate with the kids.

Alright, I have tons left to get ready for, people to email, things to pack, papers to organize- so I will leave this here. Remember, if you read this let me know so that I know this blog works for you guys!

Tutaonana! Goodbye!

Hugs, Laura

written by  Laura Collins on September 3, 2008 from Vancouver, Canada
from the travel blog: My Adventure in Tanzania
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