Mommy

I love my mother so much. I feel amazingly blessed to have had such a beautiful, creative, loving, and nurturing role model for my entire life. Every day I see myself turning into her which is very, very strange, but so great at the same time. I even miss my exit off the highway on a regular basis. Win. Thanks, mom, for being the best ever.

This is cool.

http://elcosmico.com/index.php

What an awesome idea, I would love to be a part of something like that! Not terribly expensive either which is nice.


Soooo my car got broken into last night. Its such a shame. That stereo prob won't even get $20 at a pawn shop......

I never really hated school...

When I think back to the times when I thought I hated school, I've realized that is for the exact same reason that I sometimes think I hate school now. I don't mind studying, I love learning new stuff, not a huge fan of 8am classes but I can deal with that, I just hate writing papers. That sounds so terrible because most people I know really enjoy writing and english classes and stuff like that. I love to read, I like to journal/blog, I even like writing letters. But i hate writing papers. There is something about someone telling me that I need to write something for the sole purpose of being graded on it that really gets to me.

As you may have guessed, I'm supposed to be writing a paper right now.

This was just my blog for while I was in TZ but I'm going to use it for other stuff now too! coool.

It is so hard to motivate my stuff to get things done when I have a whole day free. I tend to want to sleep until noon, watch movies, take a nap, and then go to bed. I am trying to get all the things I have at my apartment unpacked today and also write a paper. The paper is less optional since it is due tomorrow at 8am.

Princess Diaries 2

That is my new favorite movie. Go watch it. I watched the first half a week ago, and then finished it yesterday. It is hilarious. (this segment co-written by Jess Macha)

I've been hanging out a lot at the Macha's the past few days. I am going to miss them so much!!! They're my second family. I have been busy making friendship bracelets for Jess and Jonny the past two days!

I'm getting ready to head to the airport this evening. I am scared. I have 30 hours of traveling (by myself) and on top of that I'm leaving my whole life behind here. Its hard to put my finger on exactly what it is that I'll miss. I just like how everything is polepole, laid back, and easy going. Everyplace I want to go is within walking distance, all the people I want to see are just around. I can talk to anyone on the street anytime. I like buying food out of a glass box on the street. I even like washing my own laundry in the bathtub. There are so many things I love here. Going home means going back to the order and the standards of America. I am, however, excited to see family and friends, and eat some good food! The whole thing will be bittersweet.

Tamogotchi Love

My Tamogotchi is in love with Jonny's Tamogotchi...isn't that great?

I spent most of last week in Zanzibar with Claire and Charlotte. It was an AMAZING trip, very relaxing, and lots of fun! We stayed in Dar Es Salaam the first night at a 'nice' hotel. It is funny to think that a smoke detector, a TV with 15 channels, and a real mattress are what make up a nice hotel room; I'll be so easy to please when I get home! We ate at the hotel restaurant and had the second-nicest meal I've had since being here. The chicken had no bones in it!!!! Pretty fantastic. Before we left for the ferry the next day we stopped at SUBWAY!!! Yes, a real Subway franchise in Tanzania. I took a lot of pictures...it looked just like home! On Zanzibar we spent our time at Kendwa beach on the north-eastern coast. We stayed in a bungalow right off the beach and had a beautiful view from our front porch. We also used our amazing bargaining skills to get about $75 off of the price of our room...I guess six months of practice paid off! We enjoyed swimming in the ocean (which is surprisingly warm), laying out in the sun, getting henna tattoos, and eating on a budget (soup for almost every meal!). On Claire's birthday we also went snorkeling! It was really cool, and we found almost all of the fish from Nemo....except for Nemo. Apparently as snorkeling goes, its not the greatest in Zanzibar, but since it was a first time for both of us, we were pretty easily pleased. On the boat trip back from snorkeling, we ran into a storm. I thought it was pretty exciting but some people didn't really seem to enjoy that part. For our last night, we stayed in Stone town and ate at the night market I had been to last time....good as always. The trip home was loooooong, and I got motion sick for the first time in my life! The ferry ride was terrible. After the ferry though, we stopped again at Subway, and things started to look up! We got into Moshi around 9 and went to bed pretty soon after. I don't understand why traveling is so tiring!

Sunday night was the European Championship Final game....Germany vs. Spain. Since Caroline, Claire's roomate, is German, we dressed in the colors of the German flag and painted flags on our faces. Germany lost, but we still had a good time and went out dancing afterwards. I'm going to miss watching the football when I go home. The football games are usually the big social events of the week here...everyone comes out for them...wazungus and locals.

I have been spending the past few days packing, sorting through things, shopping for gifts, and taking pictures. It is so weird to think about going home. I am definitely ready to see family and friends, but not so much ready to switch back to 'American living.' I am going to miss so much about Moshi and the community here.

This won't be the last blog on here...but might be the last one while I am still in TZ!

See ya'll soon!

SUE-vin-EARS

There are some words that I will just never be able to spell... I thought it looked wrong!

I'm so glad to know that people who read my blog actually get an idea of what Moshi is like! Sometimes I do wonder if I'm actually communicating anything helpful or informative!

Today I am trying to get everything sorted to pack. Tonight is my last night in the volunteer house!!! To be honest it is ok with me to be moving out. I really like everyone there, but it is SO crowded and I think it would be nice to have some down time without loads of people around me all the time. Zanzibar is going to be soooo nice...

Coming soon....a letter for those people googling i-to-i or Art in Tanzania! Its gonna be good...get excited.