Update Time :)

Hard to believe it has been 2 ½ months since I last updated my blog. Time has truly gotten away from me. So much has happened since my return to Dar. I began my 2^nd term of teaching. The term has flown by and I can’t believe we will end this term in just 2 short weeks. This term has been a growing experience for me. I have found myself being challenged in new ways and asking a lot of questions. I have managed to stay busy but have also started to take more time for myself. 

In the middle of February myself and 3 other friends decided to take a much needed weekend get away to Zanzibar. It was the weekend of the annual music festival, Sauti za Busara. It was good to get out of Dar and have relaxing weekend.

During the last weekend I got the opportunity to go on my first over night field trip as a teacher. I was asked to attend the Primary Sports Weekend in Moshi. I was excited to get to see another part of Tanzania but was a bit nervous about taking 35 primary students on a plane and away for the weekend. It was a fantastic trip though. It was a good mixture of fun and new experiences. The sports team did extremely well and we brought home 3 trophies and lots of new medals.  

Following my return home from the trip I became ill. I ended up with walking pneumonia and an upper respiratory infection due to the climate change and other factors. After several days off I decided to return to school as I was feeling a bit better but I ended up returning too soon. After being on meds for 10 days and still feeling run down and still having high fevers I decided to get a 2^nd opinion….. Good thing I did as it turned out I had malaria. After getting some new meds, I finally began to feel “human” again. This school year I have been sick more times than I have in the last 4 years I think so needless to say I hope my body adjust to the changes and viruses here in Dar sooner rather than later!!!

Overall the past two months have been a good mixture of work and social life. I have made some great friends through DIA. My roommate, myself and another teacher from school will be heading to Zanzibar again in two weeks. We get 10 days off between terms and decided that we needed a few days out of the city and on the beach to just relax! I am really looking forward to it and hope to return after 4 days on the beach refreshed and ready to finish out the last 2 ½ months of school!

Hope everyone will have a wonderful Sunday and I will try to not let so much time pass before I update again J

Back home in Dar!

I can't believe it has already been a week since I departed the States. Of course the goodbyes were harder this time around knowing that it will be at least 7 months before I return home and get to see everyone. Karrlee was not ready to say goodbye and at first even refused to say goodbye at all.....then she realized that I was leaving no matter what. I hope that some day she will realize that I am not leaving to be mean but instead to follow my dream.....

I remember as I was boarding the plane last week thinking to myself....I sure hope this next week does not fly by as quickly as the previous two weeks. I thought that with my return to Dar I would slow down and find some time to relax a bit more.....well I was quite wrong and I think time has moved at a faster pace this past week than before.

Upon returning to Dar I was filled with mixed emotions....I was so happy to be home and as I saw familiar things on my way back to my apartment...I instantly felt relaxed and at home.....I guess that is how you know that where you are is where you are meant to be.....I know the "see you laters" will always be hard and I will always be excited to get back to the States and see everyone but my heart and life are in Dar right now!

Things in Dar have been good for the most part since my return. The only down fall has been the water issues. Unfortunately during the major flooding about 2 weeks back a pipe on our street burst....it has yet to be fixed but they keep saying that it should be up and running some time soon!! In the mean time we have had water delivered to the tanks at our apartment building to hold us over until the problem is fixed. Other than that things have been good....we have had a few power cuts but the weather has been a bit cooler so that is an advantage :)

We decided to post pone our mini vacation to the island due to me still recovery from surgery and the weather forecast calling for rain all of the days that we were planning on being there. I am looking forward to the trip which will probably take place in February during one of our long weekends!!

For New Years Eve we had some people over to our apartment where we played games, ate and just had a good time. It was great to get to catch up with everyone since for most of us it was our first time seeing one another since we closed school 2 weeks prior.

During the day of New Years Eve I had some time to think about and reflect on the past year. Amazing how much things can change in just 365 days. 2011 was truly a life changing year full of many great accomplishments.....I graduated college, spoke at college graduation, traveled the world a bit more and landed my first post college job that then took me half way around the world.  Along with the many great things came a few bad things but I believe that those bad things have steered me onto a new path. I now know exactly how short life can be and also the importance of following your dreams....I have set some great New Year's Resolutions (10 to be exact) but my overall goal for 2012 is to find more time to relax and enjoy life and spend time with those who are important in my life.

To finish off our break a group of us headed to Bongoyo Island yesterday. It was a lot of fun. We spent the day relaxing, swimming and soaking up the sun. I think there will be more trips like this one in the future as it was good to just get out of the hustle and bustle of the city for a day!

Well I think that is all for now! I hope everyone will have a good rest of the week as we all try to get back into the swing of things after much time off :)