Mambo!!

Well, the internet at the home base is no longer working, which makes it much harder for me to post to my blog. So, to all of my friends - my apologies for my lack of contact.

I have so much to report, I don't even know where to begin. Jack (my fiance) decided to come visit me here, and arrived last Tuesday night. I decided to bring him to my school on Wednesday, just to introduce him ... but I should have known better - they gave him a lesson plan, and want him to come back to help everyday! It is great having him there, though. The boys hang all over him, and love playing with him at break time. A group of boys from the 3rd grade noticed Jack around the school yard, and actually went to the principal's office and asked if Jack could teach in their class!

Last week Libby and I decided to start bringing our cameras to school. We hoped to somehow capture the beauty that we see everyday so that we could share it with you all back home. After realizing how excited the kids get with pictures, we decided it might be fun to take class pics. We took individual pics of every child (200+), as well as class pics of the entire class with teachers. We then brought our memory cards to a photo shop in town and got all of the pictures printed. On Friday we had a little ceremony where we called each child's name and they came in front of the class and got a new pencil and their picture. The kids were so excited... every time we called a name, the entire class erupted in screams and clapping. It was slightly out of control, but a lot of fun and we could tell the kids really loved their pictures. And a little side note here... Thank you mom for sending 500 sharpened pencils! If only you could have seen their faces :-).

I know you are all dying to see some pictures. I have been trying to get some on the computer, but the comps are incredibly slow and I've had a few complications with my camera/memory card. I will try to get our class pics on the computer this week.

A Relaxing Weekend

This past weekend Jack and I stayed in a nice hotel in Machame, which is near the base of Kilimanjaro. Not only did our hotel have HOT water, but it had a beautiful view overlooking the peak of Kili and was surrounded in monkey-infested trees. On Saturday we did a 6 hour hike up and down Kilimanjaro. The entire hike to the peak takes 5-7 days, but we were able to do more than one day of the climb in our one day excursion. It was a lot of fun and we saw a lot of beautiful rain forest... as well as BLUE monkeys!

Well my time is running out at the internet cafe. I will be in touch! Miss you all so much. Xoxox