Back home in Brooklyn, NY, sitting at my kitchen table with a turkey in the oven, I can't help but feel more thankful than ever. Yes, it's three days after thanksgiving,...but what good does it do to show gratitude and thanx for everything we have, only one day a year? Even as I sort through my mail and the stacks of bills, wondering if can scrounge up enough $ to pay rent on the 1st, I feel blessed. Warm and cozy with the smell of turkey in the air, my wonderful friends due to arrive shortly, bringing more food to share, [View Full Entry]

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After a week in paradise, I'm back. It's been kinda nice being so out of touch with the world. Plenty of time to reflect and relax. It's hot hot hot, and I'm lovin' it! I've been spending lots of time on the beach...swimming laps along the shore at high tide, and wading out thousands of feet in water only up to my knees at low tide. So beautiful. Dhows lining the shore left behind by the tides, crabs scurrying about, coconut trees and bungalows lining the beach. Paje paradise. I can't even do it justice with my words. Unfortunately I don't [View Full Entry]

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In the heat of the day, it feels as though my skin is melting off of my body. But I'm not complaining, I know that soon enough I'll be back in NYC shivering, wishing for a good sweat. I'm spending a few days in Stonetown before I head north for some beach time. I arrived here yesterday, exhausted after my early morning balloon ride, rising up with the sun over the Serengeti. (It was spectacular!!) I had a nice rooftop dinner under the stars at my hotel lastnight, and then went to bed nice and early. While I was eating (yummy [View Full Entry]

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Sadly, my time at the Children’s Village is coming to an end. I leave here on Sunday,…it will be so hard to say goodbye to these amazing kids…they are all so precious. I’ve decided to sponsor little six-month old Baby Grace, who lives in Serengeti house with me. Her mother died during childbirth, she was born very premature and when she first arrived here she was still just teeny-tiny. She now has these big pudgy legs, and adorable chubby cheeks, which I just love to muckle onto. She smiles at me every time I see her, and the mommas told me [View Full Entry]

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Day three teaching preschool this morning. A welcome break from playgroup...I now have seven kids ages four to six. Still a few that don't speak English, but my Swahili is getting better, and thankfully I have a student teacher, Babu, who helps discipline/translate when needed. We spend a lot of time learning to walk in a line and keep our hands to ourselves etc, but overall it has gone really well. We did face painting yesterday,...tigers and butterflies. I wish that I could post pics, but they have prohibited all photo uploads here after our $800 internet bill last month. I [View Full Entry]

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It’s fascinating to see how hype spreads like wildfire through this village. It started with the sound of big trucks in the distance and weeks of anticipation awaiting the arrival of two forty-foot containers filled with donations coming from the states. As the truck came into view with kids jumping up and down, singing and dancing, the spectacle erupted into 70 kids chasing after the enormous flatbed towing these two massive containers, the rest of the way in through the gates of the village. Throw in the excited smiles and giggles of about 30 staff members and all the volunteers cro [View Full Entry]

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Four volunteers including myself went on safari to Ngorongoro Crater today, and saw lots of great animals! Elephants, lions, hippos, zebra, hyenas, wildebeests, buffalo, gazelle, ostrich, crowned crane, flamingos, warthogs, jackals, baboons, and a serval cat. Here are a few highlight pics! [View Full Entry]

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Thirteen of us all packed into the 4x4, driving 45 minutes along winding, bumpy roads, skidding and sliding back and forth in the muddy ruts, the whole way to Karatu. After spending two whole days in bed with stomach pains and achy blah, I finally went to see the doctor yesterday. I brought two other kids from the children's village who were sick as well, and with both of them on my lap, and seven more local villagers packed in for the ride, we set off uncomfortably tight. As the driver stopped to pick up more and more passengers along the [View Full Entry]

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Sunday is the volunteer day off, so I went with 5 other volunteers into Karatu, a nearby village where we went out for dinner, drinks and dancing. It was a wild night for the wazungu (white people), a few of the staff (locals) from the children's village showed up too, and we stayed out until about 4 am! The next morning we walked about 2 miles outside of town to a local art gallery perched on the side of a mountain, looking out over the beautiful countryside, where we ordered delicious food, and sat relaxing (recovering) for about 4 hours waiting [View Full Entry]

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One of my favorite sounds in the world...children singing. [View Full Entry]

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