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Published: September 12th 2007
Testing, testing, 1 -2 - 3.
Well, I am 9 days away from leaving for my trip and getting very excited. Some background for those who may not know...I am going to spend a month in Tanzania volunteering through Cross Cultural Solutions (CCS). I've always wanted to go to Africa and when I read about "volunteering vacations" I decided that would be a great solution. I want to be able to do something useful for the community and get a better understanding of life in Africa that I wouldn't get if I simply went on a safari. I will be staying at the CCS Karanga house in Moshi which is a small town right at the foot of Mt. Kilimanjaro. Moshi just won the "Cleanest City in Tanzania" award and has major amenities like banks, hotels, internet cafes and restuarants. It is still pretty rural though, I think there are 10,000 living in my village and they are mostly spread out on farms and such. This is all speculation based off of what I've read in the CCS literature and the internet so I'll be able to share more details once I get there.
I received my volunteer placement information yesterday. I will be teaching at the Safari College which is a vocational college that prepares students for a career in the tourism industry. There are 20 students but I'm not sure of the ages yet. I'm assuming mid teens. The college provides training on hotels, tourism, jouranalism, computers and language skills. The current volunteer is teaching computer skills which made me a little nervous until I found out that he is teaching the students AND all of the other teachers basic skills. I am excited that I will have the opportunity to provide lasting skills to the students which will last far beyond the duration of my trip. You know what they say...give a man a fish...and all that.
Anyway, that's it for now. Just working on organization all of my clothes (nightmarish) and paperwork. There is an enormous amount of forms and fees that are required. Also, one interesting thing about Tanzania. The tourism industry there runs on American dollars. If I want to go on safari I have to pay in US dollars. Some places don't even take the old bills so I have to make sure I have new ones. Nobody takes credit cards or travellers checks so I have to estimate my spending and carry cash with me. Yikes! It's going to be interesting. But they do have a Western Union office in Moshi so Mom & Dad I may be hitting you up for a transfer if I get desparate. :D
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James
non-member comment
If you find a way to Timbuktu, would you let everyone else know? There seems to be some confusion here. Thanks.