Blogs from Girton, Cambridgeshire, England, United Kingdom, Europe

So. The out of office is on, the packing is complete and we are ready to go in the morning!... read more

I'm now back in the UK, which has advantages and disadvantages. For instance, here the risk of dehydration is much lower, but I feel cold everwhere as I am now using to living in a tropical dry season. I am back with my family, but they are busier, so they cannot give me as much time as Patrick and his family could. It is also actually a bit easier to see a Doctor out of hours out in Tanzania - out there I could afford Private Healthcare which was 24hrs, though in the day they tended to be very busy. Also hospitals and surgeries here are better equiped. I am still really weak, and incapable of doing much at all. I am tending to get pain after eating, which I am sure is not a good ... read more

After another bout of diarrhoea in the night, at about midnight I decided to try to get back to the UK as quickly as possible. I phoned home to tell them. Patrick was awake, and a contact of his allowed us to work out there was a flight that morning, leaving at 9:45am. I packed my bag, to prepare to leave. I slept very little, only one hour after midnight. I was very worried about whether I would be able to get on the plane. I did not eat any breakfast and imodiumed up to avoid any diarrhoea. I said goodbye and left the house, to be taken the airport. I was feeling pretty rough. At the airport I was able to change my ticket easily enough (although there was of course a cost). There were ... read more

Last weekend I met the team I will spend one month in Tanzania with. We spent the weekend getting to know each other through a series of teambuilding activities (how do you untangle 15 people from each other - we failed), a pub visit and just chatting. I also learnt more about the month itself - rice and beans for a month and washing in the river. Some of the health issues were slightly scary, they said one of us would probably get malaria, but it is treatable, and should not cause too many problems. I got on well with all of my team, and look forward to spending a month of my life with them. I will be in effect welcoming most of them to Tanzania, as most don't arrive until 5th January. I have ... read more

Welcome to my TravelBlog. Subscribe if you want to receive regular emails when I update regularly. You could also check out some of my photos in the gallery. I will leave on the 28th November, flying out to Dar Es Salaam overnight, and then catching the ferry to Stone Town on Zanzibar. I will be staying in an apartment attached to St Monica's Hostel, and working for the Anglican Church of Tanzania. I will travel out to the Mainland in January to work for Frontier Conservation, in the Kilombero valley. I will also go for a preparation weekend on the 20th November. In the meantime I am working for Addenbookes Hospital in Cambridge, as a Medical Lab Assistant, as well as learning Swahili. Mungu bariki! ... read more