Update on Life.

I'd be posting pics of our life lately, but as the previous post indicates, I'm having some trouble in that area, so I'm taking a short break to regroup (otherwise I might heave the laptop through the window). But an update is in order...

We are having a great time with my mom and sister here for 3 weeks--our first official visitors not related to volunteering! I spent 3 days on safari and had a great time (quiet, too, with no kids). Finally got to visit Ngorongoro Crater, which was spectacular. The magnitude of it is beyond description. I was sorry to realize it does have a bit of "zoo" feel, in that I think everyone feels guaranteed to see what animals they want and everywhere you look you can see lots of cars--at one of our lion "stops" there were 10, each holding 5-7 people. That aside, being that close to all the wildlife (including randy wildebeests, as mating season is approaching) was a fantastic experience. We were very priveleged to see 3 rhinos, one quite close to the road (for a rhino, who usually are quite wary of cars). We are hoping to head to Pangani for a taste of Tanzanian life on the coast before they head back to Montana (sniff).

We are also preparing to host 14 teachers who will be arriving on the 24th of June from California, New York, Chicago, and Minneapolis. They will be spending some time learning about our student selection work and education in Tanzania before planning and then leading a 2 day seminar for Tanzanian teachers. I had hoped to be able to invite 60 teachers to attend, and finally had to close the seminar at 150 teachers, which is a great response! The teachers will lead a 2 day seminar covering hot topics such as lesson planning, science/math activities, higher order thinking skills, cooperative learning, and extracurricular activities. They will also be spending 2 days in a Maasai village (including an overnight stay) and some safari time. Definitely busy!

Student selection proceeds on. On good days we see 4 students. On my last trip last week we saw 2. The student's house was about 15 miles out of town on a "road" that involved crossing a river (no, no bridge--you actually cross through the river), numerous irrigation-type channels all over the road, and an off-road stint through a wash-out that was very questionable. We have approximately 70 of the 120 students and are very confident that these students meet our PHF criteria of being orphans or extremely poor. While we have been frustrated at times by not being open officially, this time has proven to be invaluable in terms of building morale and a sense of pride and ownership among our teachers, who have really taken the lead in this process. Secondary schools will be closing for winter break in July so we will slack off a bit in the next few weeks to focus again on lesson planning and curriculum writing.

Construction continues very slowly and continues to be the frustrating aspect of the job. Max has been a tremendous blessing as he does so much coordinating and managing on this front, allowing Mark to focus on the operations. Max also takes his turn at student selection, though, too! The site is beautiful and far enough along to really get a sense of how the school will be. We are eagerly anticipating being able to be out at the site! The herb garden planted by P40 in February has taken off magnificently. When we look at it from the our house it is a beautiful addition to the dining area of the campus and will be place of learning for cooks and students alike!

Personal tidbits--last week my rental car had a boot locked on it because someone sometime didn't pay a ticket. Same car woke up with a flat tire that morning, too. The week before my family arrived we went 4 days without water and again last Saturday. My cat killed and disemboweled a mole in the clean laundry basket tonight--while the electricity was out so I could have the opportunity to manage angry spitting cat, mole parts, spatula, plastic bag, and flashlight all at once. No one helped. My sister and I went riding for a day and my horse laid down in a knee deep mud puddle. While I was on her. Definitely a first in my riding experience. The above-mentioned car now has 2 flat tires again. My freezer gave up the ghost and is getting a new compressor.

Just a typical week in Tanzania!

On the upside, the movie theatre is open and very nice, albeit loud. I'm not sure I can watch any action movies since we all had earaches from the sound for "Mr. Bean's Holiday." I need to remember to pack earplugs next time. And my sister brought a bunch of movies to watch while she's here so I've been catching up a bit. The best of the bunch has been "Casino Royale". Amazing opening chase sequence, so-so movie the rest of the way, but Daniel Craig...dang.

More later, including pics--I hope!