Jambo! Have i mentioned how happy i am to finally have been connected with Gohechi? In case i didn't mention it earlier, Gohechi stands for God Help the Children. Peter thinks that God has helped by sending me to the orphanage. I think that Peter is doing the majority of the work with his amazing devotion and strength. Maybe God had something to do with that as well. Each day Peter and i sit down and map out that appropriate actions for the orphanage. Yesterday we talked for over an hour, going over the orphanages needs and roadblocks he has faced. After our talk, where we identified what needs to be done, we went into town. I went to the office of the Arusha times, while Peter parted ways to speak with a company about getting ... read more

Jambo! This past weekend I climbed Mt Meru! It was by far, the hardest physical thing i have EVER done. the last day was the killer - we woke up at 12:30 at night to reach the summit by dawn, and then hiked down the rest of the day. My legs are still throbbing, and all feelings of invincibility shattered. I made it to the peak, but at a price, and it was a close call. Meru, standing at 14,980 feet, is the second highest mountain in Tanzania. Climbing Meru is extremely difficult, much moreso than Kilimanjaro, because of its sharp incline and quicker assent. While Kilimanjaro is 19,341 feet above sea level, you take 4 or 5 or 6 days to climb it, and the path is a slight zigzagging incline up the mountain. With ... read more

Jambo! I have now been in Arusha for one week. Things are going wonderfully, but I find myself looking for more things to do. Every morning i wake up to toast and a mile walk to the dala dala, where i squeeze in for a 10 minute drive down the street. Today, on the way home, there wasn't even enough room in the dala dala to close the door! It was very alarming at first...the dala dala started driving like they always do before the man jumps in and slides the door shut. But we were so packed in it wouldn't close, and I clung to the ceiling as the pavement wizzed by a foot away. At the school, I teach english to the 4th and 5th graders. I've decided their curriculum is short on creativity, ... read more

Jambo! I'm in Tanzania! I completely cannot believe that i am here, I am so excited and filled with this energy I've never had before. I don't want to sit anywhere but run around and see everything, meet everyone. I've only been here two days and i feel like my entire life is different, like I've already done so much. But the first few days do take the most adjusting. The flights took a day and a half, but i arrived without any mishaps, and got my VISA at the airport along with most passangers. they didn't even check my vaccination card, just asked for 100 cash and my passpart and voila, my visa. my program was waiting outside for me, and the first employee i saw was Omi. i immediately imprinted on him like a ... read more

Hello all, The fundraiser was a wonderful success. All of the donated art was beautiful, the company couldn’t have been better, and we had a special presentation by the Cheltenham acappella group, Up The Octave, who sang wonderfully. From donations and the auction, we raised over $500!!!! This is wonderful, since there are still donations on the way. I have many elephant packets left over that I would love to sell if anyone who couldn’t make it is interested in contributing. If you would like to, please email me at awolpe@emory.edu. I leave for Tanzania in less than two weeks. I just ordered some clothes, put in my malaria prescription, and bought a ukulele for classroom entertainment (my guitar is too big to bring). It’s different than a guitar, but I’ve already learned to strum out ... read more