Written by Matilda Mcconochie - Peru Detours 2008
Yes everything is going well. Was a bit out of my comfort zone when i first arrived, especially due to my lack of Spanish, and initially was thinking i would refer to live in the volunteer house, but i have now completely settled in with my host family and am very happy there.
It is amazing how quickly time goes here as the one month volunteers are already leaving middle of next week. My host family is absolutely lovely, and are always making sure i am comfortable in the house and am eating the food i like.
Showing posts with label Detours. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Detours. Show all posts
Tuesday, 30 September 2008
Tuesday, 9 September 2008
Tanzania update
Written by Karen Townsend - Tanzania 2008 Detours Volunteer
hey! everything is good here.
i had a little meltdown about a week ago but since then i have been really good. my meltdown was the result of having too high expectations when it came to the professionalism of the teachers (slack bunch of imposters!) and culture shock. but i have talked it thru with donna (who knows all about the slackness of the teachers) and i have decided to focus on the kids and having a good time in the classroom.
dan and i just got back from a weekend in arusha national park so we are on a bit of a high right now- so many giraffe and so little memory space in my camera! donna has been fabulous and we are actually at her house now.. we'll head back tomorrow to ilkurot for our fill of dust and dirty wonderful children!
hey! everything is good here.
i had a little meltdown about a week ago but since then i have been really good. my meltdown was the result of having too high expectations when it came to the professionalism of the teachers (slack bunch of imposters!) and culture shock. but i have talked it thru with donna (who knows all about the slackness of the teachers) and i have decided to focus on the kids and having a good time in the classroom.
dan and i just got back from a weekend in arusha national park so we are on a bit of a high right now- so many giraffe and so little memory space in my camera! donna has been fabulous and we are actually at her house now.. we'll head back tomorrow to ilkurot for our fill of dust and dirty wonderful children!
Monday, 11 August 2008
Tanzania update
Written by Ryan Wallace - Tanzania 2008 Detours Volunteer
Climbed to the summit of Mt Kilimanjaro in the first week. It was so good. The view from the top is amazing. The glazier is awesome. Our whole group made the summit. The guides are amazing. the porters are just insane.
They carried my pack up the mountain on their heads. Each of them have about 25 kilos on their heads smoking cigarettes listening to their radios while casually walking up the mountain. I am enjoying my placement. It has seemed to go quick though. I am there for two more weeks then in the last week I am doing a safari with maasai wanderings. I'm looking forward to the safari. Lango and his wife are so nice. His wife is about to give birth and she is still washing, cooking and cleaning. I feel bad cos she does everything for me but she insists on doing it. She is literally days from birth. Branco and janeth are so cute. Janeth is a real character. If i pick her up then put her down she pretends to cry until i pick her up again. Then she bursts out laughing. the nursery kids are so cute. Its taken me 4 weeks to learn about 15 names. I think I pretty much have the swahili and maasai greetings under control. There are so many different greetings for different occasions. I have taken like 1000 photos and no doubt will be taking 1000 more on safari. my mum told me to buy a decent camera and im so glad i did. If you have facebook you can view some of my photos on my page. I bought a vodacom simcard so i can msg my girlfriend and family. I just have to turn my phone off in the village to save battery. So glad i got the phone working. Anyway having a great time. Home in like 3 weeks. Speak soon.
Climbed to the summit of Mt Kilimanjaro in the first week. It was so good. The view from the top is amazing. The glazier is awesome. Our whole group made the summit. The guides are amazing. the porters are just insane.
They carried my pack up the mountain on their heads. Each of them have about 25 kilos on their heads smoking cigarettes listening to their radios while casually walking up the mountain. I am enjoying my placement. It has seemed to go quick though. I am there for two more weeks then in the last week I am doing a safari with maasai wanderings. I'm looking forward to the safari. Lango and his wife are so nice. His wife is about to give birth and she is still washing, cooking and cleaning. I feel bad cos she does everything for me but she insists on doing it. She is literally days from birth. Branco and janeth are so cute. Janeth is a real character. If i pick her up then put her down she pretends to cry until i pick her up again. Then she bursts out laughing. the nursery kids are so cute. Its taken me 4 weeks to learn about 15 names. I think I pretty much have the swahili and maasai greetings under control. There are so many different greetings for different occasions. I have taken like 1000 photos and no doubt will be taking 1000 more on safari. my mum told me to buy a decent camera and im so glad i did. If you have facebook you can view some of my photos on my page. I bought a vodacom simcard so i can msg my girlfriend and family. I just have to turn my phone off in the village to save battery. So glad i got the phone working. Anyway having a great time. Home in like 3 weeks. Speak soon.
Wednesday, 4 June 2008
Tanzania Wrap-Up
Written by Sally Flemming - Tanzania 2008 Detours Volunteer
Yes, the final week has arrived...and far too quickly! I feel as though I have only just arrived yet we have been so so busy and have done and seen so many exciting and breath taking things.
I know that there have been a few moments on this placement that have not really gone as smoothly for all of us, but on my behalf, i have had an absolutely amazing experience both in the Village and in Town.
I have met some amazing people, people that I don't think i would have clicked with at home however being here we have formed a friendship that I will cherish always.
The children, well what can you say really? It has given me a greater appreciation of all the things we take for granted back at home, it makes me look at my work with children in a new light and it really makes me appreciate my own family and the upbringing I have had, and I think that being able to realise the importance of my family in my life has been the most amazing thing for me overall!
I am so keen to meet you when I get back home to share all the experiences I have had since being here. I will be home early July so I will make contact with you soon...But maybe send me an email reminder at some point just in case I get caught up and busy.... :)
Thanks for all of your help, with everything!!!
Yes, the final week has arrived...and far too quickly! I feel as though I have only just arrived yet we have been so so busy and have done and seen so many exciting and breath taking things.
I know that there have been a few moments on this placement that have not really gone as smoothly for all of us, but on my behalf, i have had an absolutely amazing experience both in the Village and in Town.
I have met some amazing people, people that I don't think i would have clicked with at home however being here we have formed a friendship that I will cherish always.
The children, well what can you say really? It has given me a greater appreciation of all the things we take for granted back at home, it makes me look at my work with children in a new light and it really makes me appreciate my own family and the upbringing I have had, and I think that being able to realise the importance of my family in my life has been the most amazing thing for me overall!
I am so keen to meet you when I get back home to share all the experiences I have had since being here. I will be home early July so I will make contact with you soon...But maybe send me an email reminder at some point just in case I get caught up and busy.... :)
Thanks for all of your help, with everything!!!
Monday, 19 May 2008
My last few weeks in Africa
Written by Jodie Condell - Tanzania 2008 Detours Volunteer
I know it has been a while since I last wrote an update on what I have been up to but time here is so precious (as it is anywhere in the world really) and I have been working away on many little projects, including trying to stay a little bit longer, which i fear is a project which is providing a lot more difficult here than it is back home.
What have I been up to, well where do I start really? I have met some amazing people from all over the world and continue to Love, Love, Love the adventure and Life I'm living here. So, finally I'm used to the bucket shower experience and actually I don't mind it at all. Mum, Dad and jess (and anyone that knows how long I usually spend in the shower) you will not believe it, I don't even bother getting the water heated for me and I use only a small bucket a day to wash in, so I'm definitely making up for all those lost hours in the shower.
Actually on that note I decided I really wanted to understand and live like my Tanzanian family so....... I offered the other day to go on the water mission. What an experience. We walked to the water source (which thankfully the one at the school is working so its only five minutes away, cause it would have been a killer of a mission walking 25 minutes up a hill to get there) so we took about 23 buckets and filled them all up and then we carried them one by one back to our house. The wire handles cut into your hands and I have quite the classis to prove my hard work, now i know why the women carry these things on their heads. Actually i tried to do that but ha ha ha ha it was not particularly successful and the closest I could manage was up oin my shoulder which everyone thought that was crazy and they all were quite amused. So this went on for an hour and a half and I was well and truly able to feel my muscles (for the next three days in fact) but i will tell you I have a fine fine appreciation for water use these days and I have become a massive tight arse when it comes to washing and showering.
As far as home life, Ugali is proving more and more difficult to digest and I continuously feel bloated and cramped but thankfully sally has arrived and has the same issues so we suffer together. The other night I caught the local daladala to Ngaramtoni where I did some shopping off the side of the road. it cost me about five dollars for all the fruit and veg i needed and an extra couple of dollars for some more knives, so yeah everything is ridiculously priced. I cooked diner for the family on their little fire out the back (pasta and vegetables) and they all loved it so that was awesome.
I have also been spending some time in the kitchen with Mama B learning how to cook their trasditional food, so now im caclled mama Africa at home. Lango is so grateful and the other night he said that no other vollies have ever helped out with the cooking and collecting the water and he really appreciates the help I have been giving his wife. He loves how hard I work and I know ity means a lot to him that im trying to understand their culture. So that's really nice to hear that. Anyway its just me trying to make the most of this once in a lifetime experience, imagine coming all this way to have everything done for you?????
I am learning a lot about the culture and the way people live but what I find hard is how hard the kids work and there is no appreciation for it, they are continuously yelled at and hit for the most silly things like getting their homework wrong, so I have started top spend some time at home with Branco to help him with his math homework which he really struggles with, I find him nervous around the house and scared to do anything wrong which i don't blame him cause both mama b and lango are quite the perfectionists and like things just the way they do them.
We took one of the girls from the village the other day and bought her into town and spoiled her rotten. We took her to the markets and then to a really nice hotel where she saw a pool and people swimming for the first time in her life, it freaked her out at first and she would not go near it but she came round in the end. Then, it took her about half an hour but she tried out an elevator as well and we introduced her to pizza which she loved. Then we bought her a banana split and the coldness of the ice cream scared her so she spat it out and wouldn't go near it again. Back in the village there is no electricity so even soda's on the rare occasion they get them are hot. Anyway all in all she had a fantastic day before returning to the hard village life of household duties and school and being yelled at.
I'm learning about the locals as well in town and how they live. A couple of my friends who work in hospitality have not been paid for 3 months and there is nowhere they can go to complain. Most of them have no drivers licenses or passports and travel is not even a consideration for many anyway. Its funny i was having a chat to one of my friends about what he wants to do for the rest of his life and you know what he had never even thought about it, every day as it comes is pretty much how it goes here and that is how simple life is.
I went on safari the other day, accidentally - It was a last minute spontaneous decision that was more based on a miscommunication than anything but wow wow wow, so worth the experience. A group of eight of us went camping and then to lake manyara and the experience was amazing. Camping was so much fun and we went to the panoramic camping site in the afternoon for some drinks and just chilled, we all chatted and sang and carried on and basically had such a nice time with such a great group of people. On safari we saw hippo's, giraffe's and an elephant came right up to the car, we could have patted it if we wanted to. There were zebra's and warthogs and baboons and wildebeests and there is nothing in the world like seeing them in their natural habitat - Never again will i pay to go to another zoo. The terrain and scenery was diverse and so so beautiful, the first part was like driving through a rainforest then out onto the open plains with mountains in the background and a massive lake lined with pink flamingos. Its really impossible to explain something so free and beautiful but that's as good as it get, I was so so happy relaxed and content and I'm really looking forward to checking out the ngorangora crater and the serengeti - maybe see a lion or two.
The next couple of weeks are all about teaching and sponsorship for me but then i have plans to go to Zanzibar and chill on the beach for a week and then go on another safari and then trek off to Uganda for 10 days to do some white water rafting and maybe see a gorilla park if funds allow, the girls with the dollars will be doing a bungee jump and then we will go for a horse ride. So yeah that's the plan at this stage - Are you all feeling jealous right about now??
Anyway I'm really out of time but just wanted to give you a bit of an update on a few of the things i have been up to. will fill you in as time allows.
I know it has been a while since I last wrote an update on what I have been up to but time here is so precious (as it is anywhere in the world really) and I have been working away on many little projects, including trying to stay a little bit longer, which i fear is a project which is providing a lot more difficult here than it is back home.
What have I been up to, well where do I start really? I have met some amazing people from all over the world and continue to Love, Love, Love the adventure and Life I'm living here. So, finally I'm used to the bucket shower experience and actually I don't mind it at all. Mum, Dad and jess (and anyone that knows how long I usually spend in the shower) you will not believe it, I don't even bother getting the water heated for me and I use only a small bucket a day to wash in, so I'm definitely making up for all those lost hours in the shower.
Actually on that note I decided I really wanted to understand and live like my Tanzanian family so....... I offered the other day to go on the water mission. What an experience. We walked to the water source (which thankfully the one at the school is working so its only five minutes away, cause it would have been a killer of a mission walking 25 minutes up a hill to get there) so we took about 23 buckets and filled them all up and then we carried them one by one back to our house. The wire handles cut into your hands and I have quite the classis to prove my hard work, now i know why the women carry these things on their heads. Actually i tried to do that but ha ha ha ha it was not particularly successful and the closest I could manage was up oin my shoulder which everyone thought that was crazy and they all were quite amused. So this went on for an hour and a half and I was well and truly able to feel my muscles (for the next three days in fact) but i will tell you I have a fine fine appreciation for water use these days and I have become a massive tight arse when it comes to washing and showering.
As far as home life, Ugali is proving more and more difficult to digest and I continuously feel bloated and cramped but thankfully sally has arrived and has the same issues so we suffer together. The other night I caught the local daladala to Ngaramtoni where I did some shopping off the side of the road. it cost me about five dollars for all the fruit and veg i needed and an extra couple of dollars for some more knives, so yeah everything is ridiculously priced. I cooked diner for the family on their little fire out the back (pasta and vegetables) and they all loved it so that was awesome.
I have also been spending some time in the kitchen with Mama B learning how to cook their trasditional food, so now im caclled mama Africa at home. Lango is so grateful and the other night he said that no other vollies have ever helped out with the cooking and collecting the water and he really appreciates the help I have been giving his wife. He loves how hard I work and I know ity means a lot to him that im trying to understand their culture. So that's really nice to hear that. Anyway its just me trying to make the most of this once in a lifetime experience, imagine coming all this way to have everything done for you?????
I am learning a lot about the culture and the way people live but what I find hard is how hard the kids work and there is no appreciation for it, they are continuously yelled at and hit for the most silly things like getting their homework wrong, so I have started top spend some time at home with Branco to help him with his math homework which he really struggles with, I find him nervous around the house and scared to do anything wrong which i don't blame him cause both mama b and lango are quite the perfectionists and like things just the way they do them.
We took one of the girls from the village the other day and bought her into town and spoiled her rotten. We took her to the markets and then to a really nice hotel where she saw a pool and people swimming for the first time in her life, it freaked her out at first and she would not go near it but she came round in the end. Then, it took her about half an hour but she tried out an elevator as well and we introduced her to pizza which she loved. Then we bought her a banana split and the coldness of the ice cream scared her so she spat it out and wouldn't go near it again. Back in the village there is no electricity so even soda's on the rare occasion they get them are hot. Anyway all in all she had a fantastic day before returning to the hard village life of household duties and school and being yelled at.
I'm learning about the locals as well in town and how they live. A couple of my friends who work in hospitality have not been paid for 3 months and there is nowhere they can go to complain. Most of them have no drivers licenses or passports and travel is not even a consideration for many anyway. Its funny i was having a chat to one of my friends about what he wants to do for the rest of his life and you know what he had never even thought about it, every day as it comes is pretty much how it goes here and that is how simple life is.
I went on safari the other day, accidentally - It was a last minute spontaneous decision that was more based on a miscommunication than anything but wow wow wow, so worth the experience. A group of eight of us went camping and then to lake manyara and the experience was amazing. Camping was so much fun and we went to the panoramic camping site in the afternoon for some drinks and just chilled, we all chatted and sang and carried on and basically had such a nice time with such a great group of people. On safari we saw hippo's, giraffe's and an elephant came right up to the car, we could have patted it if we wanted to. There were zebra's and warthogs and baboons and wildebeests and there is nothing in the world like seeing them in their natural habitat - Never again will i pay to go to another zoo. The terrain and scenery was diverse and so so beautiful, the first part was like driving through a rainforest then out onto the open plains with mountains in the background and a massive lake lined with pink flamingos. Its really impossible to explain something so free and beautiful but that's as good as it get, I was so so happy relaxed and content and I'm really looking forward to checking out the ngorangora crater and the serengeti - maybe see a lion or two.
The next couple of weeks are all about teaching and sponsorship for me but then i have plans to go to Zanzibar and chill on the beach for a week and then go on another safari and then trek off to Uganda for 10 days to do some white water rafting and maybe see a gorilla park if funds allow, the girls with the dollars will be doing a bungee jump and then we will go for a horse ride. So yeah that's the plan at this stage - Are you all feeling jealous right about now??
Anyway I'm really out of time but just wanted to give you a bit of an update on a few of the things i have been up to. will fill you in as time allows.
Thursday, 15 May 2008
Maasai Wanderings
Written by Sally Flemming - Tanzania 2008 Detours Volunteer
I am having an absolute blast, I love this place!!! Words give this whole experience no justice at all!! Donna and Nas have been so supportive and Lango and Mama Branco have taken me in as their own...they're actually calling me their daughter, which is lovely.
SO here I am, in Arusha, and I am loving it!! I can see why so many people fall in love with Africa….So I’ve decided to stay.
Just for the next few weeks anyway, But I am sure I will be back! J
I have been staying in Maasai land for the past week and it is so different from life back home, but the people make this experience so worthwhile.
Manly Warringah Girls, If you think having 25children at kindy is a full day… Try having 250 nursery students in a room smaller than the poss/wom room…Yes, It is squashy and full of snotty noses, coughing, and flies and the hygiene practices are non-existent! But in saying that, I have had so many cuddles and their smiles just light up as I enter the room. It kind of makes you feel like you are here for the right reason.
So 4 proposals later, enough Ugali (Flour and water) to clog up your system for years and meat that I have to chew for 10 mins before swallowing, and I’m still here and I can’t stop smiling ( Mum, what were you worried about?)
Shannon, Jodes and I are heading into Moshi tonight to attend a women’s rights group which should be good, and the plan for the rest of the weekend if pretty open. Jodie has met a Tanzanian fella so she hangs at his house most weekends, Shan loves to go dancing, and I’m still finding my feet but life is pretty sweet right now!
Plan from here on in is.. finishing up at school on the 6th of June, heading out on a safari with shannono, Jodes and Nas and then heading to Zanzibar!!! After that Shan is keen on hitting Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda…so we’ll see where we end up!
I am having an absolute blast, I love this place!!! Words give this whole experience no justice at all!! Donna and Nas have been so supportive and Lango and Mama Branco have taken me in as their own...they're actually calling me their daughter, which is lovely.SO here I am, in Arusha, and I am loving it!! I can see why so many people fall in love with Africa….So I’ve decided to stay.
Just for the next few weeks anyway, But I am sure I will be back! J
I have been staying in Maasai land for the past week and it is so different from life back home, but the people make this experience so worthwhile.
Manly Warringah Girls, If you think having 25children at kindy is a full day… Try having 250 nursery students in a room smaller than the poss/wom room…Yes, It is squashy and full of snotty noses, coughing, and flies and the hygiene practices are non-existent! But in saying that, I have had so many cuddles and their smiles just light up as I enter the room. It kind of makes you feel like you are here for the right reason.
So 4 proposals later, enough Ugali (Flour and water) to clog up your system for years and meat that I have to chew for 10 mins before swallowing, and I’m still here and I can’t stop smiling ( Mum, what were you worried about?)
Shannon, Jodes and I are heading into Moshi tonight to attend a women’s rights group which should be good, and the plan for the rest of the weekend if pretty open. Jodie has met a Tanzanian fella so she hangs at his house most weekends, Shan loves to go dancing, and I’m still finding my feet but life is pretty sweet right now!
Plan from here on in is.. finishing up at school on the 6th of June, heading out on a safari with shannono, Jodes and Nas and then heading to Zanzibar!!! After that Shan is keen on hitting Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda…so we’ll see where we end up!
Monday, 28 April 2008
Letter from Tanzania (2008 Detours Volunteer)
Written by Jodie Condell - Tanzania
Habari za Alasiri Danielle,
I hope things are going well for you in Oz, although I hear the weather leaves a little to be desired.
Your email finds me so very well, Asante Sana. I am definitely settling in to life in the village and what a beautiful family you have me staying with. Mama Branco is such an amazing woman and so inspiring in many ways. I have been made to feel very welcome and the orientation could not have been better to be honest. Shannon has been invaluable right from the word go, showing me around town and letting me get to know everything little by little. It was nice to experience Arusha before going out to Ilkurot as it gave me the chance to take baby steps as far as being introduced to everything and everything has just been so smooth from there.
To be honest I left with not many expectations, so then anything which I would experience would be just as is. I have been emailing Sally quite frequently so if there has been any advice which I have to offer she has it already. I have told her what she will and wont need and what I have heaps of to share with her so she can have extra space in her luggage for other things.
I am very happy here in the Village and the entire experience has been everything I imagined and and more.
Thank you also for your call before I left and your email. Its so nice to feel so well cared about and so well looked after. I cant tell you how much I appreciate it, and how high my opinion is of yourself and your company. So thank you.
Enjoy your time off, and I will be in touch.
Regards,
Jodie Condell
Habari za Alasiri Danielle,
I hope things are going well for you in Oz, although I hear the weather leaves a little to be desired.
Your email finds me so very well, Asante Sana. I am definitely settling in to life in the village and what a beautiful family you have me staying with. Mama Branco is such an amazing woman and so inspiring in many ways. I have been made to feel very welcome and the orientation could not have been better to be honest. Shannon has been invaluable right from the word go, showing me around town and letting me get to know everything little by little. It was nice to experience Arusha before going out to Ilkurot as it gave me the chance to take baby steps as far as being introduced to everything and everything has just been so smooth from there.
To be honest I left with not many expectations, so then anything which I would experience would be just as is. I have been emailing Sally quite frequently so if there has been any advice which I have to offer she has it already. I have told her what she will and wont need and what I have heaps of to share with her so she can have extra space in her luggage for other things.
I am very happy here in the Village and the entire experience has been everything I imagined and and more.
Thank you also for your call before I left and your email. Its so nice to feel so well cared about and so well looked after. I cant tell you how much I appreciate it, and how high my opinion is of yourself and your company. So thank you.
Enjoy your time off, and I will be in touch.
Regards,
Jodie Condell
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