Thursday, August 13, 2009
Safari Photos
Here is a link to check out some pictures from the safari I went on when I first arrived in Tanzania. They were taken at Mikumi National Park, which is about 4 hours west of my home in Dar. Enjoy! http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2457317&id=5132789&l=9c8ef25e00
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
And So It Begins
Habari zenu! I can’t believe that I’ve only been here a little over a week. There is so much change thrown at me that it’s quite hard to process it all. I encountered a bit of travel delays getting here, but I finally arrived last Monday. God answered my prayers in a huge way in that a day before I left, the airline gave me permission to being all boxes of my household goods with me on the plane. They arrived safely with my flight and since I didn’t ship them via sea, they didn’t have to go through the port and customs clearance. I want to publicly thank my mom and grandpa for driving all of my boxes up to Washington D.C., which saved me an additional $3,000.00. There willingness to help me in such a huge way makes me ever so thankful to God for the people He has put in my life.
Once I arrived, I spent the first week going through new teacher orientation, which included getting me oriented with the city of Dar, shopping and settling in, and introducing me to the school campus, policies and procedures, etc. This week I’m doing my teacher planning as school starts on Monday. I’ve got quite a bit to do and not very much time in which to do it, but I know that it will come together.
I live in one of the six apartment complexes that the school owns. It is literally a two minute walk from my doorstep to my classroom, so the commute is amazing! Mixed in with the entire school campus and apartments is an amazing amount of landscaping. I’ve got beautiful trees outside my 3rd story windows, which provide wonderful shade all throughout the day.
The weather is beautiful as it is winter now. The highs are in the mid-upper 80s and I would compare it to Venice in April where it is warm but the humidity is not torturous.
I haven’t seen too much of the city since I’ve arrived as I’ve been busy getting settled and school planning. Dar es Salaam is a big city of 3.3 million people and is the 3rd fastest growing city in Africa. Despite its growth, it only has the offerings of a small town as it cannot keep up with the sudden population explosion. For this reason, there is much overcrowding and shanty conditions in most areas of the city. The area in which I reside though is a bit nicer as it is in the ex-patriot community. There are grocery stores somewhat similar to those at home (although not as wide an array of goods) and other stores aimed at the upper class ex-pats. There is most definitely a high cost in exchange for these Western conveniences; I recently paid $46.00 for an ironing board and $7.50 for 10 hangers! I’ve splurged and bought these crazy expensive items to help me settle in, but from here on out I plan to seek out street vendors to purchase goods and haggle my way to a fair price though they still end up getting a much high price from the blond white girl!
The one exceptionally positive thing here is that the staff members are incredible. Everyone is so welcoming and helpful, going above and beyond to help me be comfortable. I have met a few people with whom I plan to start church hunting this weekend. I've heard that there are quite a few protestant churches to choose from.
Last weekend my principal took all of the new teachers, roughly 40 of us four hours away, to Mikumi National Park for a safari. It was a beautiful trip and we saw plenty of great animals. My internet goes nearly at dial-up speed when it works at all, so I am currently unable to post my pictures to the web. I will upload them when I can get to another wi-fi area and plan to include them in the next post.
Well, I’m off to continue my lesson plans. I’ll post another update after school has begun. Thank you all for your continued prayers and interest in this new chapter of my life.
Once I arrived, I spent the first week going through new teacher orientation, which included getting me oriented with the city of Dar, shopping and settling in, and introducing me to the school campus, policies and procedures, etc. This week I’m doing my teacher planning as school starts on Monday. I’ve got quite a bit to do and not very much time in which to do it, but I know that it will come together.
I live in one of the six apartment complexes that the school owns. It is literally a two minute walk from my doorstep to my classroom, so the commute is amazing! Mixed in with the entire school campus and apartments is an amazing amount of landscaping. I’ve got beautiful trees outside my 3rd story windows, which provide wonderful shade all throughout the day.
The weather is beautiful as it is winter now. The highs are in the mid-upper 80s and I would compare it to Venice in April where it is warm but the humidity is not torturous.
I haven’t seen too much of the city since I’ve arrived as I’ve been busy getting settled and school planning. Dar es Salaam is a big city of 3.3 million people and is the 3rd fastest growing city in Africa. Despite its growth, it only has the offerings of a small town as it cannot keep up with the sudden population explosion. For this reason, there is much overcrowding and shanty conditions in most areas of the city. The area in which I reside though is a bit nicer as it is in the ex-patriot community. There are grocery stores somewhat similar to those at home (although not as wide an array of goods) and other stores aimed at the upper class ex-pats. There is most definitely a high cost in exchange for these Western conveniences; I recently paid $46.00 for an ironing board and $7.50 for 10 hangers! I’ve splurged and bought these crazy expensive items to help me settle in, but from here on out I plan to seek out street vendors to purchase goods and haggle my way to a fair price though they still end up getting a much high price from the blond white girl!
The one exceptionally positive thing here is that the staff members are incredible. Everyone is so welcoming and helpful, going above and beyond to help me be comfortable. I have met a few people with whom I plan to start church hunting this weekend. I've heard that there are quite a few protestant churches to choose from.
Last weekend my principal took all of the new teachers, roughly 40 of us four hours away, to Mikumi National Park for a safari. It was a beautiful trip and we saw plenty of great animals. My internet goes nearly at dial-up speed when it works at all, so I am currently unable to post my pictures to the web. I will upload them when I can get to another wi-fi area and plan to include them in the next post.
Well, I’m off to continue my lesson plans. I’ll post another update after school has begun. Thank you all for your continued prayers and interest in this new chapter of my life.
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Ngorogoro Crater
Sunset at Ngorogoro Crater