what more do i need?

3-5-09
9:12 am

so first of all, i'm coming home march 13! well, leaving here the 13th and getting home the 14th. it's crazy to try to wrap my head around the fact that what was supposed to be a 12 week adventure through africa/madagascar has turned into a 4 week trip to africa, 2 week trip home and 6 weeks in fiji. i have to keep reminding myself though that going home early is okay--it's not like the students will be here to spend time with anyway. plus, i need to get home and do some research--it's time to choose where in australia i'll spend the next 3-4 years of my life!

yesterday was one of the best days yet. now that i'm in the classroom and really getting to know the netball team, things have been looking up.

janaya and i started the day by teaching maths again. okay, i cannot say "maths" without feeling really weird, so we're going back to math. so we taught math, and this time we actually sort of knew what we were doing! the kids were a ton of fun. the great thing is that they're entertained by stuff that would normally barely entertain a 7 year old in the states. remember, "up high, down low, to the side, to the other side, in space, on your FACE?" (an elaborate way of high fiving). well, i did it once and suddenly all the kids were getting in space, on your faced. plus, the students are becoming less shy around me. some of them are practically my age (there are 20 year old students here), and we're developing less of a teacher-coach-student relationship and more of a friendship.

for lunch, the cooks made SPAGHETTI! this is pretty much unheard of. plus, one of the cooks waited until it was my turn in line and then revealed... vegetarian spaghetti! even though i eat meat at home, the beef here isn't too appetizing, so i usually just skip it. however, they had made an entire vat of vegetarian spaghetti after noticing that i don't eat the meat. there was enough to feed a starving family of 10, so i pretty much stuffed myself with pasta. so nice to have something other than ugali :)

at 1:50 we were supposed to depart for our second netball tourney game. at like 2:00 we found out that our ride was going to be a truck. i think they're called flat bed trucks? the kind they use on farms and stuff that look like really big pick ups, but the back of them lift up? it usually wouldn't be a problem except it was POURING rain. ha, so the team crawls into the back (outfitted in white tshirts. of course.) and off we go. when we arrive at 2:40 (our game was supposed to start at 2:30), the netball court is empty... AGAIN! however, we had the time correct this time, it was just that other teams were late. we started the game at 3:40 and got completely dominated. i have given up the role of coach and taken over the role of head cheerleader. some of my girls are outstanding athletes, but this tournament is really the first real game they've played in. i'm convinced that once they get the hang of it, they'll be unstoppable. there are a couple girls who i want to bring home, throw in a real gym, and have train. it's frustrating to know that some of these girls could be on their way to full-rides for sports in college if they came from someplace other than tanzania and had the resources to fully develop their skills. the girls were sad they lost, but assured me they would win the next one :)

part way through the 2nd half, angelo (one of the school's social workers) and i took a taxi to andrew's house. we had planned on meeting up, but since he doesn't have a phone, i just showed up. for some reason, one roommate thought he had left to come to peace house, one thought he was still home, and his mama was just wondering what the heck i was doing wandering through her house! luckily i found him and we rode back to netball and then took the van back to peace house. back on campus we had a beer, cheese and crackers, and sat on the porch looking out onto mount meru.

it was a great day. being here reminds me of christmas when i was little-i wake up so excited to see what the day will bring. everyday is an adventure and i'm learning to appreciate even the setbacks.

today i'll probably work on the netball court and then we have one tutoring session this afternoon. i can't believe that i only have 8 days left. how is it that it's gone by so quickly? i know though that i'll be back sometime. maybe once i graduate college and peace house is completely done with construction i'll come back for like a year. one month definitely isn't long enough.




take the time to start anew, maybe it's in front of you. take the time to walk down your street, heaven knows who you might meet. take the time to be okay, laugh a bit along the way. we could breathe again, step outside our front door. gaze upon the stars and know we're not alone. take the time to stop and stare at heaven's beauty everywhere. take the time to think about someone else besides yourself. so run into the fields, scream louder than you can. it's good to be alive and breathing air again. --robbie seay band

got the radio on, my old blue jeans, and i'm wearing my heart on my sleeve. feeling lucky today, got the sunshine. could you tell me what more do i need? and tomorrow's just a mystery, but that's okay. --taylor swift