Hey hey hope all is well at home! I'm in Lindi town for the weekend hanging out with a few other PCVs. I was just trying to think of what has happened over the last month but I honestly I can't remember...the only thing that comes to mind is a description of one of my Form IV students, Hassani. Hassani, who is one of the few students that is taller than me, is a pretty cocky kid and this last month he has taken to wearing a woman's purse around his neck all day, every day. And I mean a woman's purse - a big, black leather bag that hangs around his neck...during morning assembly, between classes, and my personal favorite, sitting at his desk during class. You cannot imagine how funny it is to look up and see a tall, teenage boy wearing a purse around his head as he's working on math exercises! And I think he's starting some kind of fad because lately I've seen other students holding Hassani's purse, too. So I'll keep you posted on that one.
Anyways, school has been pretty crazy lately getting ready for the end of the term...I'm not sure who's more restless for a vacation, me or the students. Next week our Form IVs will take a regional mock NECTA exam and then the following week Forms I-III will take their terminal exams. Teaching is pretty much over, and I spent the last week writing my 8 exams as well as typing all 28 of my school's terminal exams which ended up being quite the undertaking! This week I'll do a bit of teaching and also invigilate (what they call proctoring here) the Form IV exams. Then on Tuesday, June 7th I'm off to Newala then up to Dar for a few days of Peace Corps training. I'm on PSDN (Peer Support and Diversity Network), which is made up of 12 volunteers from around the country. We're basically a resource for volunteers to call if they're going through a hard time at site. So I'll be getting some training on counseling and active listening skills as well as enjoy all the food options Dar has to offer. Then Katie will head up to Dar and we will commence SUMMER VACATION 2011...
First stop, Zanzibar. That's right. We will spend an amazing 5 or 6 days enjoying the beautiful island, swimming in the Indian Ocean, eating amazing foods, etc. Then we'll head to Iringa, which is west of Dar on the road out to Mbeya. It is supposed to be amazing and has a fairly large ex-pat community, which means it is well stocked with food and entertainment that white people enjoy. There is, get this, pizza delivery and iced coffee. We'll also get to see a few PCV friends that live in the area. Then we'll head back to Dar and then up to Arusha and Moshi for a week. This is a huge tourist area (base for Mt. Kilimanjaro, Serengeti, Ngorongoro crater), so they are supposed to be very nice and stocked with food straight out of an America grocery store. I'm especially looking forward to eating a famed banana split in Moshi. We'll also visit with a few other friends in the area which will be fun. Last stop is Tanga, where we'll meet up with a bunch of other volunteers for a 4th of July party. We'll charter a boat to take us out to a little island so it should be really fun...of course there won't be a BBQ and potato salad but sometimes you just gotta make do! Then off to spend the last couple weeks of break at home in my village before the second term starts July 18. I really can't wait!
Also, Peace Corps Tanzania finally got a website up and running. I haven't really had a chance to check it out, but maybe it's got some interesting stuff? http://tanzania.peacecorps.gov/
