Hamjambo Marafiki? (How are you my friends?)

So today was the last day of training, and now i'm inside scrabbling away at the keyboard, because it might be up to a week before I write again! Our Kiswahili lessons have been pretyy intense but I feel a lot more confident know. I've been wondering around this lodge, practising with all the staff and have made quite a few friends. I'm not boasting though, even Hitler could make friends in Tanzania, it's such a friendly place!

Our training has covered EVERYTHING for example: how to teach PE to over 100 kids with only one ball (if you're lucky), avoiding crocodile attacks, what to bring as a gift when invited for dinner (NOT flowers or chocolate, a kilo of flour is far more popular), dealing with the bush clinic doctors who want to treat everything as malaria (even heat stroke or food poisoning), where to go out to eat in arusha at the weekends (McMoodys, a weird mick-take of McDonalds) and where not to go in Arusha (the infamous Bridge). Tomorrow we'll get the bus to our school where we'll be met by the Headmaster and Headmistress of the 2 schools we'll be working at, then we'll get the paraffin lamps working and set out all our staff, before having dinner with the teachers.

Our living situation has changed somewhat from what we planned. Originally we were supposed to stay in an appartment annexed to a newly built and so far empty orphanage in the school grounds. However, the matron for the orphanage will be arriving soon and has declared the apartment hers. Cheeky woman. So our new plan is to stay in a few rooms on the other side of the building, but we'll still have our own cooking area. We have to use the showers at school and the Headmaster suggested we use the school toilets too but Lynette (our Rep for Africa Venture) absolutely refused as walking across the field at night is not only dangerous, but also totally incovenint if you're suffering from the inevitable food poisoning/dysentry and have to get out of bed 5 times a night. Instead they've got us a hilarious portaloo, and in the meantime they're building us a proper flushing toilet - we're so spoilt! This whole thing has been really funny to be honest, with Lynette arguing on the phone with the Dutch Evangelist who's building the orphanage, but it doesn't really bother me. I used a long drop last time I was in Tanzania and if I can survive that I can do anything!

So school starts on Monday and I should be down in Arusha to use the PC and buy groceries during the week, so it might be a while before I talk to you, but until then, I love you all heaps, and I hope you're having a good time back home!

- Ruby xxx