Tuesday June 19, 2007

Hakuna Matata (from the lion king) means no problem in Swahili which is what the drivers kept saying to me when I asked about the bag, but now it is here and everything is perfect. Yesterday was my first day of school and I was teaching gr.1 by myself, 25 kids yesterday and 40 today. It was pretty intense with a lot of gesturing as they were learning numbers and colors in English. Also, we played a lot of soccer and the kids loved when I took pictures of them on the camera and showed them on the screen. The volunteer group is really gelling well and everyone is good friends now. One volunteer left yesterday because she thought she had malaria but wouldn’t go to the hospital because she was worried she'd get AIDS from the needles they use to draw blood to test for the parasite. Other than that, everyone is having a great time; we live near a beach resort, so our down time is nice because they have great places to lie out at the beach. Swimming is my main form of exercise right now in the Indian Ocean, absolutely gorgeous. I will try to get pictures onto the internet soon so you all can see them.  There is definitely an eclectic group of people here, ranging from 12 years old to 65. The 12 year old is with her mom though. The locals are really nice and I am actually starting to absorb some Swahili, as is always the case when thrown into the fire. Email is pretty much the only form of communication I have for the time being because the phone is usually busy because there is one phone for 27 people! I am staying safe and healthy; this is the experience of a lifetime!