A place to call home

While I am completely convinced that I have been here for at least three weeks, only one full week has gone by.  The people here really make you feel right at home and I have been welcomed with open arms into their culture already. It is impossible to walk down the street without people coming out of their houses to yell “Karibo” (welcome to my home) and there are always kids in the streets that are genuinely happy to see us so they can practice the few phrases they know in English. I am trying to blend in as much as a white girl with freckles can, I even follow the rules of covering my shoulders and knees when out in public! The weather has been gorgeous everyday- cool in the mornings/evenings and about 85 during the day with no humidity.

My house is very homey and the staff and other volunteers make it even more fun. There is a kitchen, 4 dorm style bedrooms with bunk beds & mosquito nets, two bathrooms, a dining room, and a living room.  We have running water, electricity (most of the time), western style toilets, and even a TV!  However, options for showering are not exactly ideal- we can take a cold shower, a bucket shower, or rinse off with a small hose in the shower. I have been opting for the bucket showers and it has been quite an adjustment!  First my house mama has to boil half a bucket of water on the stove and then I mix it with cold water to get the temperature just right. And after that, well, I’m sure you can figure out the rest…

My neighborhood is safe during the day but we are not allowed to walk around after dark and must take cabs past 6pm.  Zaki, our security guard, stays up all night long to watch guard and keep us safe. He is from the Masaii tribe so he’s not messing around.  While he is scary enough to ward off any intruders, he is so funny and happy all the time.  He is always laughing, dancing, and teaching me new Swahili words…he really brightens up my day.

On Saturday, a bunch of us went to the Moshi hot springs to go swimming.  It was one dalla dalla, a bus, and a tuk tuk away from home but totally worth the trip. Tuk tuks are these crazy little cars, kind of like a golf cart, that drive around the dirt roads easily (but not necessarily safely). I was pretty sure I was going to fall out 90% of the time; it was really fun though. The views while we were on the tuk-tuk were amazing, we could see Mount Kilimanjaro for most of the ride.  Every time the clouds separated and revealed the snow covered summit, I got butterflies in my stomach knowing that in just a few weeks I will be climbing to the top!!

I was as excited as a little kid at Disney World for the first time when we finally got to there.  It was sooo beautiful- the water was crystal clear blue surrounded by these exotic trees and the best part was that there was a rope swing!!  After realizing that we hadn’t all died and gone to heaven, we took turns trying to do flips off the rope swing.  No one was successful. After exploring a little bit, we found out that you can camp along the river for the weekend so we are definitely going back soon. I guess I could say that week one was a success.