Mornings at the funny farm...

Any time from 2am:

Cockadoodledoo! (Annoying rooster starts, roosters of the world all respond…and continue all day)

Bark! Bark! (Zungu and Bongo, our newly arrived “guard” puppies who like to bark at random stuff)

Cluck-cluck SQUARK! (Hens, annoyed at now being locked up because of previously mentioned dogs tell the world their troubles)

Me-ahhh-ow! (Mogley, our cat with an ugly face and ugly meow joins the chorus)

6:30 am:

Jump out of bed and undo the bolts on the door so Mama Jackson (our house helper) can get in. 

Realise the power is still on!  It’s been consistently off between 7am and 7pm….the authorities are pretty slack with how much power they let us have L

Water comes through from town about 10pm each night and we ran out yesterday so had to bucket it in….air pocket in the pipe methinks because there’s no water this morning L

Run outside and turn the tap to bleed the system so the pump will pump water up to the roof….just in time because the power is off again at 7am as predicted :P

7:00am:

Get ready for work.  No hot cup of tea, hair straightening or hot shower here!

8:15am (will be 7:15 from next week - we get an hour sleep-in during prep week):

Begin the 45min walk to school  J

This last week has been full of different experiences.  I’ll write more about school next time, since we are just setting up this week.  Kids start next Tuesday!  This last weekend all the teachers went on a retreat to a place called Maua up in the mountains.  It was so green and beautiful!  We learnt more about the school and also had a chance to get to know each other and relax before school starts.   

 

Maegan, Cynthia, Brendon and Taylor at the river

Selfie time!

Moooo!

The Catholic Convent where we stayed...Kili in the background

Close-up of Kilimanjaro

Here are some other random pics from this week.  I’m loving creating new routines and traditions, and making life here something that just feels normal J

Yummy icecream!  A new walking home from church tradition.

Fizzy apple juice!!! Just like home :)

Buying our fruit and veggies at Rosie's stall

Second hand clothes shopping at Memoria.....

....I love the way they display the clothes to show lovely wide hips!

God's blessings on your week......less than one week until school starts!

First days

Greetings!

I've been here a few days now, so time to post some pics.  I'm curious to see how my perceptions will change during my time here, but for now it's pretty good really!

It is quite odd to be in a new place that you know has to become home.  But actually, I was listening to a worship song this morning talking about our home being with Christ.  It challenged me to look for that feeling of "home" in Christ, and not where I am in the world :)

That said, the house we are staying in is amazing!  We are blessed with more than we could ever need.  There are 7 girls living here, 5 in the main house and 2 in the back house - and each with our own bedroom.  I'm in the main house and have a beautiful room, and most importantly (for me anyway) a huge comfy bed :)

I made a "love" photo collage using pics of friends, family and places from back home.  It's just beautiful to have this as the first thing I see every morning (depending if my rooster-alarm goes off when it's actually light enough to see!)

It's been great getting to know my housemates, and getting out seeing the town.  I wasn't sure if I would be able to go running solo, but no problem!  I seriously feel so safe here, and the people are so friendly. I think it helps that it is quite a touristy place....I went running yesterday and hardly got a second glance :)

This afternoon 3 of us went walking to see how long it would take from our house to the school.  It's about 45 mins but I'm keen to walk most days if I can.  2 weeks until school starts!  Here are some rather amazing pics of our walk home from school with views of the top of Kilimanjaro.

This week will be lots of exploring different places in the morning, and orientation stuff in the afternoons.  Then Friday to Sunday we are away on a teacher retreat!  The following week will be all about setting up for a new school year...

Well done, you read right til the end!  God's blessings on your week :)

Kwaheri! (Goodbye!)

So it appears that once more I'm leaving Aus for another random place.  Seriously, I'm going to have to stop this someday!  Why Tanzania?  Well, I really have no idea so moving on.....

I am pretty excited though that everything has fallen into place, and I can see God's provision at every step.  Just the fact that I feel so calm about it all is a testimony to His faithfulness.   I'm excited to see what will unfold on this particular journey and how life will look 2 years from now :)

Saying goodbyes is always sad, but also a blessing too.  It has been wonderful to not feel rushed and be able to pack and catch up with people without any stress.  Here are a couple of pics of me with all my worldly possessions....pretty impressive I think!

3 boxes to store in Aus......

........and 30 + 7 kgs to come with me :)

So what will I be doing? Teaching!  I'll be living in a place called Moshi at the base of Mt Kilimanjaro (yep, already have plans to conquer the mountain) and teaching at Hope International School.  The plan is to teach for 2 years with some fun adventures in between.  Moshi is in the little bump at the top of Tanzania near the Kenyan border (ooh, a map...aren't I techy!)

More details later...I need to go eat food (just in case Qatar Air food isn't up to scratch).  I'm hanging in Melbourne at the moment, then flying out at 10:55pm with a stop in Doha before landing in Kili at 2:20pm Friday.  Tis 7 hours behind Tassie time I think.

Feel free to follow what I'm up to and pass my blog address on to whoever might be interested!

Kwaheri!