TeenyD

I spent my last day in Tanzania volunteering and spending time with my new local friends. I taught both classes at the nursery school, the real youngsters (3-5) and the older class (5-7), and played outside. These kids are so smart for how young they are; it blew my mind. They can all say the ABCs and count really high. Their math skills impressed me the most as they could do both basic addition and subtraction by drawing balls and counting them. It was hard for me to teach them at times as I needed to translate things in Swahili, so they would understand what we were doing. I noticed that if I was teaching them something they would just repeat everything I was saying, but weren't really absorbing the information. For example, we would go ... read more

Sorry it's been sooo long! The last two weeks of my trip flew by as I did and saw so much. This entry is on my trip to Zanzibar and then I will follow-up with my trip to Northern Tanzania and my Safari adventure. I am probably going to write one more as a reflection because I am actually already home safe, but didn't want to leave you all hanging. So Zanzibar... After a few more days of volunteering, teaching english at the nursery school and playing soccer at orphanage, I was literally melting away at Bahari Beach (where I am). I can't even describe to you how hot it is here; you are literally always wet and sticky with sweat (it's great for my skin). As the weekend approached I planned to journey over to ... read more

So this was truly an adventure of a lifetime and tested me in every way. I know I am very independent but I have to say this put me on an extreme level. I must admit leaving Roma I was scared-shit-less (excuse my french). At times my hearts was pounding and I kept thinking what am I doing? But I knew there was no turning back now. I held my head high and did as my momma always taught me; walked like a man. I had arranged for a tour in Cairo and they were to pick me up at the airport, but of course I had horrible thoughts going through my head, like what if it was a scam and no one is here to meet me, what will I do? I had ideas for ... read more

The UK has been just brilliant. I think the best way to describe England would be to say it is "same, same, but different" to America. London, which is where I spent a majority of my time, reminds me of New York and Hollywood, while still holding that old European feel. It may of felt like N.Y. and L.A. because I was there during the BAFTA awards (like the Oscars) and London Fashion Week. However, it also reminded me of Seattle a bit because of the gloomy, wet weather. I was so fortunate to have my dear friend Wendy to stay with in Richmond (a cute town just outside of the city) and to show me around the bustling city. As Wendy would say I got the "whistle-blown tour" of London. But we did manage to ... read more