"Life is not defined by the number of breaths that you take, but by the moments and places that take your breath away." I am still trying to catch my breath........................................

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!!!Its been over 10 days of adjustment, confusion, amazing sights/sounds, but filled with many more life changing experiences. Life in Tanzania is good overall- I have waited this past week to write not sure what to say, but have been thinking of you all. It is easy to doubt whether you are in the right place, doing the right thing….everything is SO completely different from the US. The simple moments of beauty can be so hard to capture and to write about. And the fun stuff would seem boring to most people since it involves simple pleasures, board games like Cranium, and laughing at all the stupid things the other volunteers do in our daily routine. I am officially part of the sponsorship team here at St Jude. I work with the children on a daily basis, make sure the money is coming in from our sponsors, give out gifts they receive, and will be running the testing in the fall for all the new kids. Yet that's only a few of the jobs I do. Bottom line is that we all work as a team here- there is nothing individual about Africa.

In the last week, the rains have arrived! They bring with them life-sustaining water and food for our community. As I write this, its pouring down on the tin roof of the office that I sit in. And when I mean pouring, I have never experienced rain like this in my life. Accompanied by deafening thunder, shards of lightning, and children shrieking with joy. The best part about the rain is that is settles the dust and dirt for the time being. Clears the air and cleans everything around us. Its fantastic, on top of the fact that it provides the water we drink and the showers we take. I never thought I would be so excited to have rain!

Lets talk about the children. Getting to know them and breaking the wall that separates us has been hard and fun. I realized with the little ones like the kindergartners, playing games and eating lunch with them has been my best option. I learned that swinging them around was the best excitement for them, They had never had an adult grab them by the arms and swing. But of course I opened a huge can of worms by giving one a turn and then 40 more wanted to partake. Then I decided that the slide on the play ground would be fun. Great laughs and smiles. The older ones are much more difficult. But finally after spending the afternoon with the 7th grade girls, I think they might give me a chance. All the kids LOVE my new camera that my parents gave to me before I left. I have some incredible photos which I am slowly posting on my blog. (It takes forever and I am trying to make them smaller but am having some difficulties.)

The most interesting part of this week is the medical checks we are performing on all 900 children. 2 pediatricians from the US and 1 doctor from Canada arrived this week, working along with the volunteers we are going through each and every student. It's a basic physical- height, weight, eyes, hearing, etc. Then the doctors exam each child. Many of them have never had there eyes tested and are basically blind. No wonder they have a hard time in class. The experience has been truly amazing and also exhausting. We have 7 children that have full blown Aids, other children with a host of other diseases, injuries, and problems. Once you work one on one with each child the health problems that each have experienced is heart breaking. To top this off we are running this make shift clinic in our old uniform room. It's a lovely setup, but hey it gets the job done!

Personal milestones, things I have learned and events that have happened in the last 2 weeks:

Tanzania is becoming my home not just some far off place. A cold beer that is $1.50 and boxed wine are both fantastic. You can live without a refrigerator, ours died on Monday. One person's trash truly IS another person's treasure. Rain makes everything better. 1 out of 5 people in Arusha have HIV. And our Religion teacher was teaching that condoms are a sin never to be used, wonder why Africa has a problem with Aids. The ABC's of AIDS: "Abstinence, Be Faithful, and Use a Condom" Beans, rice, and potatoes can be cook in hundreds of ways. Eating new foods, speaking a different language, and dressing differently is actually really fun and exciting. I CAN live without cheese and coffee. Cooking for 7 people maybe easy back home but here it takes hours. Steam from a kettle burns and hurts, my burn on my arm is just a lovely sight. Running water is an unattainable luxury for most of the world's population. and Washing your hair everyday is way too difficult, its better just to cover it up with a scarf. Simple things become great pleasures. That having "no money" is a very relative term. Having an eye exam is something we all take for granted, many of the children I tested cant see-nobody has ever taken the time to ask them or figure it out. Everybody in Africa is fascinated with the United States, they know more about our politics then many of my friends. It took one night for the government of Tanzania to be completely dissolved- corruption at its best the Prime Minister stole over $350 million US dollars. Africa can be COLD. Washing your clothes by hand in a sink is hard work! Going easy on people doesn't help them to realize their mistakes... and that being too hard on them doesn't make them want to right their wrongs. Hunger and need can drive people to do things that you never thought they would. Stealing in Tanzania can result in death by a crazy mob. That changing the world is a slow process. Talking is easy... action is difficult... and behavioral change can sometimes seem impossible. Lastly, I am lucky. I am privileged. and I am loved. I

love you all and miss you more then you know! I am off to go shopping in town with another volunteer Alex, we are going to the second hand cloths market (should be interesting) Please keep us all here at St Jude in your constant prayers. If you are interested in contacting me. aka sending me an actually handwritten letter, I would love it. Address: Jenny Adams c/ The School of St Jude PO Box 11875 Arusha, Tanzania East Africa