New Classroom

The past two days have had some ups and downs.....Yesterday I finally got to see my school and classroom for the first time!! I really enjoyed it! We got a tour of the whole school including our classrooms. I posted a link to the pictures that I took of the classroom how it is. There is not a lot in the classroom yet so I have a lot of work to do. This is going to be a little tricky since I cannot just go to the parent teacher store, John R Green, Target, etc to go and buy decorations for my classroom. I have been picking up some neat things at the open markets and brought some things but for the most part I will be making a lot of the things for my classroom. Any ideas will be greatly appreciated! I did find a cute alphabet strip that I can print off and am going to make a number line. I was also thinking that I would make some grammar posters....blends, diagraphs, etc. I have round tables which I think will work good and allow for group work and such. I also have several bulletin boards inside my classroom and one outside to display my students work :) They do not have bulletin board border here so again I will have to be creative! I am quickly learning that my classroom does not have to look perfect but it is more of what takes place inside of the classroom! If the students are learning that is what matters. I am really excited to meet my team teacher as well as my classroom assistant. I look forward to our orientation week that starts a week from Thursday and meeting everyone :)

After we got done at the school, Shannon and I went and had lunch at a nearby shopping area. It was good to get out and see more of the town. Upon arriving home I we played some games and had supper. Then the power went out. Should have come back on around 10 finally came back around 11 but was back out by midnight. Today we went to the beach at one of the resorts. It was absolutely beautiful. The water was a bit cold (it is still winter here) but the sun was bright. I spent the day laying out and reading my nook! Very relaxing and much needed! We returned home and played some more games and such as the power was still out. We wanted to do some laundry but unfortunately when the power is out the water is out so that did not work. The Power came back on around 6 as scheduled but was out within 10 minutes.....kinda frustrating. It finally came back on around 8 and hopefully will stay on until tomorrow night we shall see though ;-)

I think that is all that I have to report for now. Been a good two days for the most part despite not having power for over 24 hours. I am really excited about getting into my classroom and getting it together!

Pictures :)

Here is a link to some pictures...hope it works


http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.784111826828.2245465.37710699&l=20147a3382&type=1

End of the weekend

Today was an uneventful day here. We both got to sleep in quite a bit.  Shannon finally got to hear my lovely rooster friend that gives a wake-up call each morning :) Thankfully I did not hear him this morning.... we did discover that our landlord has chickens and a rooster on the patio right below Shannon's room ;-/ No power during the day today but the sun was shining most of the day so it wasn't an issue. It did rain a bit this morning which helped cool it down a bit. Today was our first day that we did not have anything planned.  I fixed us pancakes for brunch so we had a little taste of home. We finally have our apartment looking good and mostly decorated. Still need to pick up a few more things and hope to make it back to the market later this week to pick up some more paintings and such. This evening we had a nice dinner and played some Boggle and Phase 10.

Tomorrow we get to see our classrooms and the school for the first time!!! We are really excited and cannot wait to get in and start getting the classroom together. I promise to take pre and post pictures of the classroom :) Tomorrow we also hope to get our Tanzanian bank account opened and ready to use.

We are learning the power rations have a bit of schedule. It usually is out during the day every other day so that means it will probably be out on Tuesday so we are planning a day at the beach! We look forward to relaxing and working on our tans :)

We finally almost have our shower curtain up...what a challenge it has been. Hopefully we will get pictures up tomorrow of the apartment pre decorating and post decorating. Both Shannon and I forgot our camera cords......not sure how that happened with all of our luggage. We will buy new ones tomorrow.

I think that is all of the updates I have for now.

Tour of the city!

Today was another exciting day in Dar. I was woken up this morning at around 7:30 by Shannon who thought it was 9:30....we were scheduled to be picked up at 10! I then looked at my phone and told her it was only 7:30 she said oops. Needless to say not all of our clocks are set to Dar time yet and we are still getting used to the 7 hour time difference. We started our morning with fresh Starbucks coffee (Yes! I brought some with me from the states). This also meant that we had power this morning and we were able to use our new coffee pot :)

We were then off to do some shopping with the HR manager. The school got him to take us out today even though it is Saturday and he never works Saturday. The school has been extremely accommodating to us since our arrival. Our first stop of the day was at a shopping mall very close to our apartment. We went to a store called Game....It is like the Walmart of Tanzania. We were able to get some of the last items that we needed for our apartment....nightstands, rugs, extension cords, etc. Then we went on to do a bit more shopping and pick up some groceries. We also stopped to look at mobile phones and discovered that they do have Iphones here but unfortunately they are 1.5 million shillings which is about 1000 US dollars...not worth it :(

We made a quick stop at our apartment to drop some items off as we had already filled the car. Then we were off to another shopping area. Seacliff is an area where a lot of expats hang out. There are really nice restaurants and some really cute shops. There is also a resort there that has a spa that we will be visiting in the very near future. This place is very very close to the school we will be teaching at so we are excited about that! Next, we went to another shopping area called Slipway. We had lunch on the beach of the Indian Ocean. It was absolutely beautiful! Next, we were off to an open market. In this area you "haggle" with the merchants. Luckily we had Jesse (the HR manager) with us and he speaks fluent Swahili. He was able to get us some great deals. We got some really cute things for our classrooms and an awesome painting for our dining room! I will post some pictures soon.

We had a very successful day of shopping and got almost everything we needed. We are still struggling with getting the shower curtain up but that is just minor. As we were getting close to our apartment we began to notice that the area was very very very dark. We thought the power was out again and we were right! We did learn today that they can only ration the power for a maximum of 12 hours during the day and 4 hours during the night. So around 11 our power came back on tonight so it was that bad. We lit a bunch of candles and used our flashlights. We were able to get our nightstands together and played a game of phase 10. Tonight we are charging all of our electronics just in case there is a power ration tomorrow during the day.

Tomorrow we look forward to doing a little more decorating but we especially look forward to getting to relax for the first time since our arrival! Then Monday (hopefully!) we will get to go and meet some of the teachers at the school and see our classrooms so we can begin decorating them :) We also plan on going to a resort area a bit North of the city to another resort to enjoy some time at the beach.

All in all I am loving it here. We both are adjusting well and coming up with ideas for when the power is rationed. Having Shannon here has definitely made the transition a whole lot easier. I couldn't imagine being here  with out her being right across the hallway. It makes everything much  easier because we are able to shop, dine, decorate, etc together.  We also have found out that another teacher lives right next door to us and she is from the States as well. We are looking forward to her return so we can get ideas and what not with her as well!

I think that is all for now. Another late night. It is after 1 am here and I am not even tired. The jetlag is kicking my butt this time!

Greetings from Tanzania!

Well the journey officially started at around 6:45 am Wednesday August 17, 2011 when my family and I left for CVG. We arrived around 7:30 and are 1 challenge arrived. 4/5 of our suitcases were overweight!! 2 of Shannon's and 2 of mine. Our joint suitcase was the only one at 50 pounds. Shannon had thankfully brought an extra suitcase so we put our extra weight into it. So in total we began our journey with 6- 50 pound suitcases, 2 very heavy carry-on uprights and 2 backpacks filled to the top! We had very  little before boarding begun. We flew from CVG to Washington-Dulles and only had 50 minutes to get to our flight to Addis Ababa. We got checked in and during that time I deactivated my Iphone and activated my Blackberry (it is a global phone) and we boarded our very long flight to Ethiopia. We spend around 14 hours on the plane. By then end of that flight we were restless and ready to be to our new home. Once arriving in Ethiopia we went through security again, freshened up a bit and headed to our gate. Upon arriving they were announcing that the flight before ours was delayed due to the rain. We were worried that our flight would be to but thankfully it left close our scheduled departure time. Thankfully on our first two flights the planes were quite empty we got lots of extra room. This was a completely different story on our third flight and had very little room....it was a very long 3 hours but we made it to Dar es Salaam safely!!

When we arrived in Dar and walked down the steps to immigration where we saw a man holding a sign with our names...WOOHOO this meant that our visas had arrived!! We then went through the immigration line and got our first stamp from Tanzania!  The man then assisted us in getting all of our 6 bags of checked luggage. Shannon and I each got a cart and loaded it to the top. As we walked outside we found out HR Manager and met the other two men who were assisting us with our arrival! They all laughed when I told them that we promise we didn't overpack as we showed them our two carts full of luggage!

Next, we exchanged some money. 1620 Shillings= 1 US Dollar. So needless to say we felt like we had a lot of money on us even though it only averaged out to a few hundred dollars. Then we loaded up the pickup and hoped to be going to our apartment but no such luck. We went to a store and bought a lot of kitchen appliances and other supplies. After that the truck bed was stuffed full and the back seat was as well. One of the men had to ride in the back of the truck to protect our stuff from people on the streets. We were ready to get to our apartment but still had a few more stops to make. We stopped and set up our Tanzanian cell phone (I will not turn my US cell phone back on until December!) and our internet. We also did some grocery shopping for some basic foods and it was quite an adventure!!!

Finally we arrive at our apartment 7 hours after we arrived in Dar. Traffic is terrible and there is lots of congestion. Our apartment is quite spacious and was furnished before our arrival. We met our land lady who is very nice and lives downstairs. We thought we would just want to go to bed when we got all of our things into the apartment. Instead we started unpacking we had things everywhere and thought it would be easier to get some things unpacked. Unfortunately we do not have air conditioning in the apartment but have windows we can open (they have grids and mosquito nets on them) and ceiling fans in each room that make a huge difference!! I finally went to take a shower and had a surprise. Number one there is no rod to hang the shower curtain up so we made it work. Picture to be uploaded soon :) Number two surprise no hot water! It was shocking at first but then you get used to it!

Finally we both take some tylenol pm and go to bed around 9:30. I wake up around 11 to surprise number 3 so far........It is power ration day so no power. It was not to bad just a bit different. We opened all of the windows so there was a good breeze luckily. It turns out that every other day is power ratio day, usually it only lasts a few hours but today it was off for about 12 hours. It came back on around 6 pm. Surprise number 4-- the water tank runs out when the power is off because it uses electricity to pump the water. So as we go to make supper we have no water. Thankfully our land lady gave us a 5 gallon bucket full to use. Note number one--buy buckets to put water into for power ration days :) Each night we boil two large buckets of water for drinking!

Today we got all unpacked and did some more shopping. The apartment looks more homey and we are glad to be able to call it our home for the next two years! Since arriving in Dar only about 36 hours ago I have already learned many aspects of living that we take for granted in the United States:

--We have water that we can just drink straight from the tap and don't have to worry about it making us sick.
--Having hot water is not necessary for showering but a nice luxury. (We boil our water to do dishes as well)
--We use way too much electricity! Even though our power was out today there were many times that I totally forgot and it didn't bother me. (We are a bit concerned for the power months but are coming up with plans to help it be more comfortable)
--The bad part about the power rations is our fridge. We have to be careful what we buy and what we put into our fridge as it can go bad when the power is out for extended periods. Meal planning, cooking and grocery shopping take lots of planning.

We are learning and adapting already. When the power is on we make sure to get our showers, stock up on water, and charge up electronics! I am loving it here and still taking it all in. There is lots of differences but some similarities as well. I am anxious to meet the staff at my school and see my classroom!

That is all for now :)

AHHHH It's TIme!!!!!

Oh my goodness......I cannot believe that the day is finally here! A short two months ago I first accepted a first grade position in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. After signing and sending my contract off I thought the time would drag by but it has been the complete opposite. Since the day I knew I was moving to Tanzania the days have flown by and time passed by an at accelerated rate.

The past few weeks have been filled with a lot of good memories. I have said farewell to many many good friends. Times like these truly remind me how blessed I am and lucky to have each and everyone of you in my life! I have received so many "well wishes" and "good lucks" and a few "Are you crazies?!?" It has been hard to say farewell to so many people even though I will be back for a visit in 4 short months! I am dreading tomorrow yet so excited for it.....tomorrow is the day that I say farewell to my family, specifically Karrlee! This is going to be really tough and I hope she understands. I know it will be hard for her to understand why I am leaving, but I do hope that someday she understands that I have had this dream for a while and now get the chance to fulfill that dream.

My parents always told me to reach for the moon and even if I didn't reach it I would land among the stars! I am really blessed to have parents that love and support me even when my dreams and goals take me half a world away. I know my mom will miss me like crazy and her life will now be different without me living near but she wouldn't have it any other way because I am following my dreams and am truly happy with where my life is taking me!

Tomorrow will be a long and exhausting day for Shannon and I. We have a total of 3 flights that add up to 20 hours of flying time. We will arrive in Dar es Salaam at approximately 1:30 pm there which is only 6:30 am here in Kentucky! Hello jetlag!!

I will try and update my blog quite regularly once I arrive but power outages and power rations can happen often. Therefore when I have access I will update!

I also want to wish all of my friends whose first day of teaching is tomorrow, Good Luck!!

Almost Time!!

Two months ago I stood in front of an arena of people and gave a speech at my undergraduate ceremony...at this time....  I was scared to death and so nervous yet so excited to have the honor to do such a thing. I ended my speech with this: "As we take our next steps, the road may be rough but we are now prepared for the challenges that lie ahead by being optimists in a time of pessimism. We must expect success from ourselves and then work to achieve and maintain it. Ghandi once said: “You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” While it is easy to say that one can achieve anything, it is vital that we continuously challenge ourselves and set our goals high. Today I will leave you with this question. Yes, we have successfully completed our undergraduate journey but now, how will we allow this step to help us leave our footprint in the world?"

At that point in time I was not sure my journey would take me or what I would be doing this upcoming fall. It is hard to believe that in just 8 days I will board an airplane with 3- 50 pounds bags and move to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. I am so excited and cannot wait! When I stood up in front of thousands of people on that afternoon in May, I never imagined that I would get such a great opportunity in my life. I now know where my next steps will take me and I am so happy to have one of my best friends to be by my side as I take those next steps! I  preparing to enter a new chapter of my life that is so different than the chapter that I am closing. In a little under a month I will meet my students for the first time and welcome them to my classroom that I can finally say is mine!