Hamna Shida

It's hard to believe that it was exactly one month ago that I left Seattle! I have been keeping busy with my Swahili classes during the day and then trying to retain all that I've learned in the evenings. But besides studying, I haven't been up to much else.

This past weekend however, I visited a farm right by Kilmanjaro, about two hours away from where I am staying. On the drive there we passed by hundreds of zebras! We stated at the farm the whole weekend, trying to gain a sense about what farming is like here in Tanzania since most of the MCC projects here have to do with the environment and agriculture. Farming here is a whole lot more complex than I'd ever imagined! To help out, we planted a whole bunch of seeds in their green house and washed dishes the whole weekend. There were a couple of other guests staying there that were about to climb Kilimanjaro, so I talked with them and their guide just in case :)

In about two weeks I will head down to Dar es Salaam to start my work with the church. I met with my "boss" the other week and he gave me a bit more information about what Ill be doing. Initially, it looks like I'll be helping with a reforestation project just outside the city. Then after that, I am going to be working in the office and helping to plan new projects and over see other projects that are already in place. It sounds like I will be helping with some income generation projects that are already set up, which I am really excited about. I told him that I will probably be of more help dealing with microfiance type projects rather than agricultural things, but whatever I end up doing sounds like it will be a great experience. I will be working in a team with two other recent graduates (I think one is from India and the other is from Tz) so it will be nice that I won't be completely solo in whatever I end up doing.

Internet continues to be the slowest thing imaginable, but hopefully once I'm in Dar I'll be able to blog more regularly and post some pictures!