I'm Home!

I have had quite the week. Things didn't go exactly as planned, but then again, they never do when you are traveling. We arrived at the Kilimanjaro airport late at night after Zanzibar. We decided to just stay in the airport since our flight was at 6am the next morning. The staff said that we couldn't stay there and that we would have to stay in the lodge for $150. We said absolutely not, and tried to explain that we were volunteers and didn't have the extra money to spend for the lodge. Eventually they gave in and let us stay there. I awoke to a swarm of mosquitoes around my body and 3 men standing in front of me. I almost peed my pants. The men were security at the airport and brought us cushions to lay on . We were soooooo thankful. I was able to sleep for a few hours, but poor Michele layed and watched the mosquitoes eat us alive. We were sure that we had contracted malaria on this night, if we hadn't yet. In the morning the guards got us up at 4, as the other passengers were arriving. They wanted a tip, not necessarily money...we were soooo angry and upset, but they left us alone after they saw our reaction.

When we arrived in Nairobi, we were informed that our flight to London was canceled and that we would have to stay in Nairobi for the night. All other flights were booked solid. We were not thrilled! We just wanted to get out of Africa at this point. We were scheduled to fly out to Munich the following morning at 9am, so this meant that we would miss our flight. We were told that they would reimburse us for a new flight, but when we called later that day, they said that they would not pay for it because it was booked through another airline. We spent all day on the phone, arguing, and trying to fix our plans. Luckily, the hotel was really nice and the food was amazing. I was still feeling quite sick, but managed to eat a bit. Later that night we went to the front desk about the phone bill, and we were told that it was $200 and Virgin Atlantic would not cover it. We couldn't believe that they would cancel our flight, not help us with our arrangements, and then not pay for our phone calls to try and fix our plans. We argued for a long time and managed to get Virgin to pay for most of the bill. We will definitely be sending some serious emails to customer relations. We finally arrived to Heathrow and were able to purchase a new flight to Munich for later that night. I was able to talk to my parents, but was given the bad news that my dad's best friend had died. He had been diagnosed with brain cancer a year ago, and was given a month to live 2 months ago. Bob will be greatly missed. It's always hard to be away from family when something like this happens. I've realized on this trip that when I am feeling any intense emotion, I always resort to prayer. It seems the only thing that I have control of, that brings a bit of solitude. So I said a little prayer in my head to Bob and his family, and to my parents. After Bob passed away they received a call that my dad's older brother didn't have much time to live, as he is having liver failure. So, they had to fly to Oregon to be with him. It is just never ending. I had 2 thoughts, 1, I wish I could be there for my parents, and 2, I couldn't help but think how thankful that I am that I have been able to do so many wonderful things in my life. Michele and I both agreed that if we died today, we would be ok with it as we've both lived pretty great lives...traveled the world, helped people, laughed, loved, and LIVED! I feel incredibly lucky.

I started to feel very, very sick at the airport. When I boarded the plane to Munich, my fever came on strong. I looked to Michele when we landed, with tears in my eyes, and said that I needed to go to the hospital right away. I was having really bad stomach pains and my fever was extremely high. I think it scared me a bit. We dropped our stuff off at the hotel and went straight to the hospital. They took some blood samples and hooked me up to and IV. We were there until 3am and finally they came back and said that they weren't sure what was wrong, but the tests they did were all normal, except my potassium was low and my fever was high. They said that I needed to go to the Center for Tropical Disease in the morning. So, we slept 2 hours, then went straight to the center in the morning. They did lots of tests, I won't get into details here, but finally discovered that I had Shigellosis, a bacterial infection. They gave me some meds, and I felt instantly better after taking the first pill. I rallied for the day, as I wasn't about to lay in the hotel room and not see the city of Munich. We took a bus tour of the city and did some shopping. Munich was beautiful. I wished that we would have had more time. At night we went to the Hof Brauh House, which is a huge beer garden. It was quite a scene. I managed to get part of my huge beer down, but decided I definitely shouldn't finish it. The next day we went to Dachau Concentration Camp. It was such a sad place. It is absolutely unbelievable that such a horrible thing took place there. Hard to imagine. Later that night we flew to Amsterdam. I had been there when I was in college, but didn't get to experience the entire city, aka, the Heineken Brewery. When we got to the entrance, we were informed that it was under construction, of course!!!!!! We went to Van Gogh Art Museum, walked around, shopped, and spent some time in a coffee shop. We had a great time...lots of laughs :) We went to a great dinner and walked around the Red Light District. Michele was in awe. It really is a wild experience to watch a man walk into a prostitutes door to purchase her.

The next morning we went to the flower market and to Anne Franks House. I had done a lot of these things my first time in Amsterdam, but was happy to do them again, as I didn't remember much the first time. Somehow, we miscalculated how long it took to get to the airport, so we had to sprint to our gate. We barely made it, but unfortunately our luggage didn't. We had to wait over an hour at the London airport for our luggage. It could have been worse. My Grandma Pat booked a great little hotel in Knightsbridge...we even had a counter top in the bathroom :) We met one of the volunteers from Africa and my friend Kira for dinner. We had great food and caught up with each other. It was a wonderful last night. The next morning, Michele and I caught our separate flights. I, of course, had a 2.5 hour layover in New York and didn't get home until 10pm last night, but I made it in 1 piece, which is all that matters. My mom was waiting at the door when I walked up to the house. My parents are sooooo happy to have me home, and it is nice to be home. To be honest though, I wasn't quite ready to come back yet. In my previous travels, I have always been ready to go home, but I think because I spent 4 weeks in 1 place, I didn't feel ready to come home yet. I love Europe soooo much and just have so much more I want to see. I know I have time, but I just feel this sense of urgency to see everything. My travel addiction has gotten stronger. I thought this last trip would slow me down a bit, but I already find myself planning my text trips in my head. It's amazing that soooo many things could go wrong, lost luggage, illness, canceled flights, death, yet I still can't wait to go again. It is my greatest passion. There are so many great things to see in this world, and I am so excited to see them ALL :)

This is my last blog. Again, thank you all for EVERYTHING and for following me on my journey. This trip has truly changed my life in so many ways...and has hopefully helped others as well. XOXO to you all!

The top picture is me in Amsterdam, below is Michele and I in Amsterdam, then some Tulips in the market, a boat in Zanzibar, women fishing at sundown....they all ran in the water with a huge net, in their clothes, and the bottom picture is me with my beer in Munich :) Click on the image below...it is a video of my kids saying their morning prayer.

Malaria Negative!

Overall, Zanzibar has been great. We stayed in Nungwi, on the northern tip of Zanzibar. Our days went as follows: get up, exercise a bit, eat breakfast, lay out on the beach, eat lunch, lay out or head to the shade, take a nap in the bungalow, clean up for happy hour, then dinner, then bed. The sun is extremely intense here so we could only lay out for a few hours a day as our skin could only stand so much heat. We ate delicious food, read books, drank wine, and always made it for happy hour by 6pm. We also discovered a beach party down the beach from our bungalow, which was quite a good time. We met some interesting people and managed to have dinner with a big tour group, and then one night with a father and son who had hiked Kilimanjaro. The son, Greg, had just so happened to have went to U of A, where Michele went. He was a few years older than her, but they had known the same people, and he had recognized her. He had volunteered with the Peace Corps. for over 2 years, after he graduated college. He was placed in Paraguay and was able to bring running water to his community. It made our 4 week volunteer trip seem a bit small. He is now a lawyer in the Virgin Islands...what a life he has. We had planned to spend the last 2 days and last night on the eastern part of the island, Paje. On our last night in Nungwi, we decided to go all out and order the lobster and crab. After dinner I began to feel realllly sick, and it hit. Let's just say it was a horrible night. I wasn't sure if it was food poisoning as Michele didn't reach my level of sickness. The next morning I couldn't move, but we had to check out at 10am and head for Paje, which ended up being a 2 hour ride...absolutely miserable. When we arrived at our new bungalow, we just looked at eachother and laughed. It reaked of mildew, the bathroom looked like a prison cell, and there was no air conditioner, which is essential in this type of heat. The beach was out our front door, but the tide was almost 1 mile out from the beach. I took a quick nap, then we headed for lunch. It was awful....I ordered soup, thinking I needed something in my stomach, but the soup was onions, tomatoes, and green peppers, which I hate! There were flies and cats everywhere and a cat actually jumped up on our table to eat Michele's disgusting fish. We then decided that I could possibly have malaria and that we should get to the hospital so that I could get tested right away. It would have been a bad situation if I had gotten worse, as we were over an hour away from town. We had to pay for part of the night, but we didn't care. We had the driver take us to a nice hotel that we remembered from before, which just so happened to have one more room left. Thank God!!!!!! We then went to the hospital. I walked up to the desk and said that I needed to be tested for malaria...they said ok, go to the back. So I walked to a tiny room, sat in a chair and was searching for the needle they would be sticking me with...but didn't see one. The man then grabbed a blade from the counter, then pricked my thumb with it before I could say a word...I was appalled. All I could think was I realllllllllllly hope that blade was sanitized. About 2 minutes later the man came out and said negative...woop woop!! I say "man" because I am pretty sure he wasn't a doctor. We went back to the hotel and I slept for a few hours. I am feeling a bit better today. Just feeling quite achy all over. We are heading for Kilimanjaro tonight, then have to sleep in the airport because our flight is at 6am tomorrow for London. It is going to be a long night, that's for sure. All is good here. Hopefully I will get a chance to write in Munich! Much love!!!

Piffy!

It is my last day! I had an amazing last day at the school yesterday. Brittney came with me as she wasn't able to go to her placement. It was so great to have some assitance. Made all the difference. She couldn't believe that I have been doing it all alone. It was so nice to have some assurance. The principal, Imelda, called me into her office to say goodbye. She thanked me for all of my help and expressed the need for more. She said that they desperately need more volunteers as they are not funded by the goverment and cannot afford to hire more teachers, hence the 45 kids in my class. I explained that all I can do is express the need to CCS, but it is very difficult as everyone is in need of help here. Imelda gave me a necklace and a nice card. On the front of the envelope she wrote, "Piffy!" I had thought that she couldn't pronounce her T's, but it turns out that she never really knew my name....she was quite embarassed when she saw in my email address that my name is Tiffiny. At the end of the day, Sister Angel came into the class with her students to thank me for everything. She had 3 of the children present me with a conga and then she wrapped it around me. She had so many nice things to say. It was so sweet....I had huge tears in my eyes. I have never received a more sincere thank you in my life. The woman who I have tea with everyday, Getrude, couldn't stop crying when she had to leave. She said she will write me when she get's married in the next year and that she will never forget me. I didn't realize how much she liked me as most of our tea sessions have been in silence because of the language barrier and lack of things in common. As Ang says, "it gave me warm fuzzies inside." I was able to give each kid in my class a new pair of socks and pencil. They were ecstatic!! I now feel like I have truly impacted the lives of those around me, which is an amazing feeling. It has all been worth it!

After school, Jennifer, Michele, and I went on an adventure with one of the drivers's, Simon, to buy some more things from the donations Michele has received. We bought a huge bag of rice, tons of baby formula, soap, pampers etc. We then delivered the goods to Upendo Orphanage. Again, they were so thankful! When we walked into the children's rooms to say goodbye, we were malled by all, when I looked down, I realized Ava was attached to my leg. Michele and I became quite emotional when we left. The head of the orphanage said that Ava will be joining with her family soon, which is so exciting, but baby Gabriel has no one. We discussed the possibility of sponsoring some of the children. Very exciting!!!

We had to say goodbye to the volunteers that left for the weekend. It was so hard, as many of us have become attached to eachother. I am definitely going to miss my "family" here. The staff has expressed what a unique group we have. We have been so lucky!

We were told a few days ago that the skydiving company had a plain crash. 4 were killed, including a mzungu(white person), the pilot, the instructor, and an African on a bike. It is such a tragedy and so scary to think that 4 of our volunteers went skydiving with this company only 2 weeks ago. You just never know.

I truly feel like I did what I came here to do....I gave my helping hand and now understand that I have made my mark on some peoples lives. I will definitely stay connected with these people, and plan to come back in a few years. I plan to keep giving and will now make it an essential part of my life. If people who have nothing themselves can give, then I have no excuse. I am so thankful that I was able to experience this. Many of you have made this possible and there no words to describe my feelings of gratitude. Just know that you have truly made a difference in my life, through the words of encouragement, the donations, and love I have felt by all. Thank you from the bottom of my heart :)

Michele and I leave for Zanzibar later today. We have a few loose ends to tie up, then we are off. I will write again soon, depending on my internet access. Much love! XOXOXOXO

Happy Valentine's Day!

I had a much better day today. I went through my lessons and had the kids make Valentine's for their families. The teacher actually tried to translate for me today, which was awesome. When math time came, I started to feel extremely sick, so I sat in the back of the room, praying that I wouldn't vomit or get malaria. It passed after an hour or so...whew!!!!!!!!!!!!!! At least I got out of teaching math. During tea time, I spoke with a few of the visiting sisters and they expressed how they didn't want me to forget them. It was a nice feeling....they reallllly do appreciate me being their and helping the children.

I had to handwash my underwear the other day. It is considered unclean for you to send out your underwear to be laundered. I'm definitely throwing everything away that I brought here. I had to sit in the backyard with a bucket and soap. That was it!!!!!!!!!!!!! What an experience.

Last night the boys surprised us with a Valentine's Day song titled, "Happy F****** V-Day To You." It was hilarious!!!!!!!!!!!!! Tonight we are all headed to the local bar for my favorite.....cheese, chocolate, and wine!!! I'm very excited. Should be a much better Valentine's than last year, when I got a flat tire, then in an accident, then turned down a 1 way street.

After placement today, Michele, Brooke, and I had our feedback meeting with the directors of CCS. They expressed their sincere appreciation for everything we have done. It felt so good! They are such wonderful people and you can sense their gratefulness in their eyes. We gave them a few tips on things that could be improved, which they of course appreciated. It went very well.

Michele and I have pretend husbands here. Michele's is one of the drivers, Athmani, and mine is Kaleo, the local volunteer. Michele is the 2nd wife as Athmani's tribe promotes polygamy, but of course, I am the one and only. We have a good time joking around with eachother. Makes for a good laugh with everyone :)

We hung out with Sarah's, one of the staff members, boyfriend last night. He is a chef, so I asked if he cooks for Sarah. He said that he will never cook for her as it is not in their culture. I asked her about it today and she said that he would only cook for her if she was on her death bed. I couldn't believe it. He is a chef, but cannot cook for his girlfriend because it is not proper. Such a different life here. I have a deep appreciation for their culture, but could never live this way.

I am so excited for my last day. I think it may be a bit emotional for me, as I know I will never see those children again. I'm sure that they have impacted my life more than I have theirs. I have to run.....must go buy some socks and pencils for my last day.

The top picture is one of the girls cutting the lawn with a machete, below is me and Janet, then my teachers attempt of a picture of me and the class, then Anita(she sticks to me like glue and cries for her mom all day), then Gertrude with the new mop and bucket, then the boys singing their song. Enjoy!
Much love!!! XOXOXO

2 more days!

Yesterday was Michele's official b-day. I put a happy birthday sign on our door and taped it with band-aids, as I could not find proper tape. Anyone who has every received anything mildly creative from me knows how un-creative I actually am. Hahhaa, but she was thankful! School was fine yesterday, accept for Anita throwing up again. I am convinced that she either eats to much or the porridge upsets her stomach. I mentioned it to the teacher today and she just said that it is too hot for her...she has no idea what she is talking about. This language barrier killlllls me!

I delivered the mop and it was a success!!! Angel ran up behind me and hugged me tight.....they were very thankful, but a bit timid to use something new.

After school, Michele, Brooke, and I went to Upendo orphanage to play with the kids for a few hours. I met Ava, who I fell in love with. She is about 2...sooo sweet and wanted to be held the whole time. There was another volunteer there from Austria. She was so angry at the woman who work their because one of the little girls needed bigger shoes as she could barely walk because her shoes were so small. I really think that the workers are doing the best they can. They are with the children day in and day out and can only do so much. There is no possible way that they can cater to every child that needs attention. There just aren't enough hands. I went to the back again to visit the disabled children. There were 3 in the dark room, laying in their cribs. It absolutely broke my heart. I just held their hands and spoke to them in English....one of them even giggled, which warmed my heart a bit. I have always believed in hope, but for these children, I feel they have none. When they leave the orphanage, they will most likely be put in constitutions, and will have very short lives after. I will be going back with Michele on Friday to deliver food to the orphanage...should be an exciting afternoon!!

Jennifer delivered the soap and food to the Juvi Center that Michele had bought, and the kids were ecstatic!! They had to hide their soap from the warden so that he would not take it. It's such a sad place. They have no extra clothes and only get 1.5 hours out of their rooms a day. Many of these children have stolen to survive. It is a vicious cycle for them.

Last night, the chefs made an awesome cake for Michele, which tasted amazing!!!!!! Oh how I love chocolate!! We ventured to the local bar across the street for some wine and chit chat. When we made it back to our house, of course, the power was out. As they say...TAB(That's Africa Baby). :) Poor Michele can't sleep when the power is out because it is about 100 degrees in our room...I slept like a baby :)

I am quite frustrated with teaching. One of the visiting nuns came into my classroom while I was there alone, and realized that the kids were out of control. They wouldn't even listen to her...so she left and came back with a stick and started swatting. She told me that the only way they would listen was if I would hit them. I tried to explain that this is not the way we do things in America and I didn't feel right hitting the kids with the stick...I don't think she understood. I just wish I had another set of hands. One of the volunteers was supposed to come help me today, but got my hopes up as she wasn't able to make it. Thelma, one of the older ladies at the house, sees me everyday when I get home and seems to be the only one who understands how beat down I am. She explained it well.....I have no control over the classroom, can't communicate with the teachers or children, which makes me feel unuseful and horrible about myself. When I try really hard to think positively I know that I am helping....it's just so easy to see the negative. They have learned many english words from my flash cards, head, shoulder, knees, and toes, most of the alphabet song, some shapes, some colors, and how to write a few numbers. I know they have improved and love me being their to play games and give them attention, but it just doesn't feel enough. I found out today that I can't send them things from home because they have to pay a huge tax to receive packages. It seems the only way is to connect with other volunteers, send them money, and have them purchase things here to take to the school. It's never easy.

Time is winding down. I have 2 more days of school, which is very exciting! I will miss the kids , the staff, and the volunteers, but I am ready to continue my travels, and will most definitely be ready for home on the 29th of February. I can't wait to be clean!!!!!!!!!!! I am off for more errands....hope you enjoyed the pictures! Much love!!! XOXO

Arusha

Just made it back from Arusha early this morning. I had a good time. Ludovic picked me up on Friday night. My aunt pin pointed it when she said that Ludovic's personality is much like Leonardo Decaprio in the movie "Blood Diamond". He's the guy you would want to be with you if you were at war in Africa. We picked up a few beers to drink on our drive home...apparently that's the way to do it here...I've learned that there really are no laws in Tanzania. On the way back to Arusha our car overheated so we had to stop, in the middle of nowhere, in the dark, to put water in the radiator. I stayed in the car because we were surrounded by the Tanzanians who wanted to "help." I watched as Ludovic unscrewed the cap to the radiator, and was just holding my breath because even I knew that you never do that when the car is still hot. The cap exploded in the air, along with boiling hot water. Luckily, everyone was able to get out of the way. After the car cooled, we continued our CRAZY drive back. Ludovic is quite the driver, which means out of control. There was no slowing down for speed bumps or people crossing the street. I almost had a heart attack a few times. We made it safely to his house. We made some din din and chatted for most of the night. He told me of his crazy African stories. While he was in South Africa getting his pilots license, he and some of his buddies were sitting in their house when a group of African men charged through the door with guns. Ludovic and his friends were tied together and held at gunpoint while the gang took everything they had. Luckily no one was seriously injured. Recently, he was being followed by a UN vehicle, so he pulled over to see what the issue was. The people in the car had stolen the vehicle 30 minutes prior and pulled out a gun and pointed it at Ludovic, he said that he just ran and ran for as long as he could. He later found out that this gang was from Kenya and had killed a bartendar in Arusha and was going around the area stealing and mugging people. I was extremely paranoid after hearing all of this. You just never know around here.

Ludovic works for an American company as a charter pilot. He was called in to work on Sunday, so I hung out at the house, with time for myself, which was great!!!! His new roommate, Eugene, arrived later so we all went out for drinks and an amazing dinner. It was a good time. I had to be back at my house at 7:20 this morning so we all got up at 5:30 for them to bring me back. Soooooo nice of them to bring me as I reallllllly didn't want to take the bus.

Work was a bit rough today. Poor Zebron is in pain again. He wimpered all day long. He wouldn't let me clean his ear today so I held him and he fell asleep on my shoulder. It breaks my heart as he must be feeling so sick. There is absolutely nothing I can do in this situation, which is the hardest part. Michele is headed to buy food for the Juvi Center and the orphanage today. It seems that there is a mass shortage, so she is using some donation money for this, which is wonderful. We have this week to get everthing accomplished, so it will be a busy one to say the least. I really want to spend some more time at the orphanage, so I will try my best to get there in the afternoons. I'm hoping we will have time to go buy some socks for some of my kids and maybe some extra clothes as well. 4 more days of class. Time has just flown by. It's unbelievable. Much love to you all! XOXOXO

Mo-Town (Moshi)

The last few days have been pretty uneventful. School was as usual yesterday.....frustrating. I try to take deep breaths when the kids are out of control, but I still fill with rage. I was trying to contain one of my problem kids, then one of the little girls came up and started hitting him...so I just decided to let them duke it out. They wrestled on the floor for about 10 minutes....I think I might continue with this tactic. Hahha. I thought of something else to purchase with the donation money....pillows for the hospital. The only pillows they had when Lindsay was there was blankets, wrapped in sheets...it was like laying on a rock. Pillows would be a nice plus after someone has surgery or is infected with malaria. Speaking of, my friend Brooke has malaria in the house...we are all on edge!

Last night we all went out to a bar with a bunch of the locals, but I was feeling a bit off, so decided to make it an early night. I curled on the couch and watched Braveheart with a few of the volunteers....it was so nice to veg and not think about anything that is going on here.

Today we ventured to the Keys Hotel to lay by the pool. It was a perfect Saturday afternoon...even got some color which was needed very badly. Ludovic, my Uncle Daniel's nephew, is coming to pick me up from Arusha tonight. It's such a small world. We are going back to Arusha for the night...dinner and out on the town I am assuming. Should be fun I'm sure.

That's about all I have for now. All is good here. 1 more week of volunteering left. It is bittersweet. Much love!!