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School Update - August 1

Today it all became one step closer to being a reality! August 1 is the day that all the selected and verified students gathered, for the first time, in Arusha to learn about their futures. One hundred and thirteen teenagers, along with a guardian or friend, all came to Arusha to be measured for their school uniforms, to meet the teachers and staff, and to hear about how their lives will be different starting in September.

On our trip, the teachers and I got to visit some of these students at their homes, to give them the letter which proved their acceptance into our school. It hit us very hard - the realization that suddenly these specially picked students were being given a future - an education which will allow them to grow into adulthood with more advantages than, really, we can even imagine.

Today, reading Carla Hillman's blog about the August 1 event, I was struck again by the enormity of what is happening thanks to Peace House Foundation and every one of its supporters, volunteers and friends. Every one of you reading this - you have become a part of shaping these childrens' lives - because you have supported, in some way, the people making it happen.

Asante sana!

-Karen

And then there was one

So we left Nungwi and went back to Stonetown. Jill, Taryn and I walked around the town and ran into our friend Dave from Nungwi. We (4) ate a bit at the fish market in Foridani gardens. I (the non fish eater among the group) ate baracuda...and liked it! There was a variety of potatoes, baracuda, crab, shark, mussels, and sweet banana. We then walked to Mercury's which is named for Freddie Mercury of Queen. We listened to some live music but we thought it would be local music instead he sang a medly of Elton John and such. Not exsactly local...ha ha.

The next morning we packed up and went to our new hotel. We found some new area's to shop in. We bought a lot!

That afternoon Jill left us for Dar and then she was off to Moshi. We were down to two. Taryn and I walked about the city and did some sight seeing. We saw some neat sights and learned about the stonetown local history. We made friends with a shop owner who brought us coffee in the store and brought us to his house to use the bathroom. He was a very nice man named Rasheed who ran an antique store. From there we ran into another friend we had made at the fish market and organized a ride on a vespa.

On Tuesday we woke up to pouring rain so we did not get the vespa. We walked about the town again and then went to Prizon Island just off the coast of Zanzibar. We went snorkling until I bumped into a jellyfish (luckly not the tenticles) so I jumped back in the boat only to realize there were no tenticles on the jelly! We went onto the beach then walk into the reserve for the giant tortises. We had an opportunity to feed and pet them...but not ride them (that was posted on many signs there). We had a wonderful time with the tortises and wandering the historical island.

We rode the dhow back and went for dinner. On Wednesday we rode a dala dala (local trucks/buses) to jozani forest. We hung out (excuse the pun) with red colobus monkeys. They were all around us and we had the rare opportunity to see a pregnant one and a new mom with her baby attatched. We found this rare since they only have one baby every 2 years. We took lots of pictures and video of them. Very cool animals. We went for lunch at the forest restaurant which was a 2 hour undertaking! We had a bit of time after to walk through the forest...much a which is overgrown. We also walked to the boardwalk and had to cross part of it what was not yet done...that was dangerous...but fun! We walked a bit of the way back to stonetown but them flagged down another dala dala. We were the only wazungu on the bus and we had many funny looks. We went to our favorite restaurant for dinner (yes we have a favorite already) called the ETC plaza.

Taryn boarded the ferry to Dar this afternoon to get on her plane to Amsterdam. So now there is one...I am the lone mzungu left from 14! Taryn and I had many adventures...and misadventures here and loved every minute of it! Thank you for all of you who have shared our adventures. I have a day and a half left before I head home. I am happy to see familiar faces again but am sad to leave the wonderful country of Tanzania. 'til next time!

Ginger

our interesting adventures in Zanzibar...

We know mama safari will worry so here is the latest!...it is long but fairly entertaining!

We are in Zanzibar and loving the beach. We left Dar and took a ferry to Stonetown. The ferry was interesting since they just pile your luggage at the back of the boat in the open part so when you go in the boat you are not quite sure you will see it again..ha ha. We did, however, get to go
outside and sit at the very front of the boat with our legs hanging over and watch the sea. It was a beautiful ride. We arrived in Stonetown and were bumped, shoved, and shuffled off the ferry. We agreed it was not a bad as we had heard. We went through customs and walked to our hotel. We had a nice guide to walk us there. His name is Matt (we named him that though because he is mute and didn't tell us his real name) Matt looked out for us and arranged for us to have a ride the next day because we wanted to leave Stonetown.

The next day we went on a spice tour since Zanzibar is known for its spices. It was interesting where all the spices come from and look like to start off since it is very different from what we see in the store! We even saw Ginger (or Tangawizi as it is called in kiswahili...also what I have been called all trip!) We had a part of the tour where we tasted all kinds of local fruit and most were delicious. There was one however that they say "smells like hell but tastes like heaven" I believe they only tell tourist that to make us try it because it did not taste like heaven however it did smell like hell...or worse! It took a while to get that taste out of mouths but we did go straight to lunch. They had a small pavillion set up for us, where we ate on the floor in groups of
five. We left lunch and went to the slave caves. These were caves close to the coast where they held slaves before sending them off in boats. It was a sad place. We headed from there to the beach. We walked through some cool rocks and climbed down some stone steps to reach a private beach with clear light green water. The water was warm and extremely salty! We had a great time swimming and wandering the beach.

We returned from our trip to head out in a bus for the eastern coast of Zanzibar. We weren't sure where we were going to stay but ended up in jambiani at Mt. Zion. This is where Nancy and Molly had stayed before joining our Peace House trip and Zion remembered them. This was a great place...it is a beachside hotel with thatched roof bungaloes and it is run by local rastas. They had posters of Bob Marley everywhere. They were very funny and easy going. We really enjoyed the people there. In the morning we went snorkling. The conditions were a bit rough and many of us drank a lot of salt water. Either way it was a fun ride out there on a dhow and a good swim. We returned to lay on the beach and be lazy.

Rob and Jessica left us the next morning...and now our group is down to Three. The three of us (Taryn, Jill, and I) made a quick decision to leave Zion and head north. We packed quickly and headed for the northwest coast to Nungwi. After checking a lot of expensive hotels we settled on the Union. We are again on the beach and loving it! We spent that night at a place called the choa with some very interesting locals and met some new friends. We had a blast until a group decided to go for an evening (or early morning as it was) swim. While they were swimming a dog came and snatched up our keys and ran with them. We discovered this about 2:30 am and started to search...unsuccessfully. We then had a local guy help us find the night gaurd on duty. He eventually found a key that worked and let us in. We were very tired and all layed down but wouldn't it be my luck that after I lay down my bed collapses! We were laughing so hard at this point...and a knock came at the door...the night gaurd could not find the key for the other guy who went swimming and the night guard was trying to break down the door! We eventually convinced him not to bust the door in but instead give the guy another room. It was a long but very entertaining night.

The next morning Dave (the other guy) found his key washed up on shore but no luck with ours. We took off on a boat early in the morning to go snorkling off the coast of a private island. The coral reefs were magnificent. I could not believe how many different kinds of fish we saw.... Taryn even saw a Puffer fish! We ate lunch (with our fingers) on the beach and layed in a sun a bit then headed back on the boat home. A bit later we decided to try a beautiful terrace for dinner. We watched the sun set over the water and our waitress forget our food. 3 and a half hours later we had no food and no drinks and walked out. We went back to Chao's to eat. Another eventful night! Entertaining to say the least!

We are being lazy today then heading back to Stonetown later for some more sightseeing. Missing everyone and hoping all is well in your lives!

Ginger

The Whole Group!

Front, L-to-R: Jessica, Ginger, Taryn, Jill

Back, L-to-R: Helen, Julie, Nancy, Janine, Rob,

Carrie, Terry B., Karen, Terry M., Cathy

(click on photo to make bigger)

Headmistress and Administrator

Theopista Seuya and Mark Hillman - the two great minds and incredible individuals who lead Peace House Secondary School.