Life....not in chronological order

It is unbelievable! It’s going to be May in 4 days! What’s that all about?!
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I know I said this last time, but sorry it has been so long since my last blog. I have been really busy lately and whenever I have come to town, I have had a lot of work to do. I also have a lot of work to do right now but I have some extra time because the computer guys have my flash drive. Why do they have it?! Because there is a virus on it and I can’t open any of my folders. This is another reason I have not written a blog in forever…because every time I try to use a computer, I have some kind of computer problem. The problems vary…last time I was here, I tried to print a document, but the printer didn’t want to print page 8, or 13-17. Why?? I don’t know! Tanzanian computers are plotting against me.
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YAY they fixed my flash drive!! I can open all my documents!!!...And now the internet is down.
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Since I can’t get on the internet right now, I have no idea where I left off or when I last wrote, so this blog is going to be all over the place and I’m just going to write as I think of things…not in chronological order (at all).
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OK, let’s get to the important stuff, shall we?
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HAPPY BIRTHDAY COHEN!!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY JACKSON!!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY COHEN!!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY JACKSON!!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY COHEN!!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY JACKSON!!
LOVE YOU BOTH SO MUCH!
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Have I told you about my new kitten?? He is adorable of course! His name is Sparky, but I considered changing to Tiger because he has cute black stripes all over him. But I didn’t want to cause an identity crisis, so I’m just going to leave it as Sparky…it fits his personality anyway. So you are probably wondering why I got another kitten and why I am turning into a crazy cat lady. Well, I had no intention of getting a third kitten but I had to rescue him. When I was at school about a month ago, they students called me over to look at something as I was leaving. When I went to them, they had a little kitten and he was shouldn’t-be-away-from-his-moma small. And the kids were messing with him, making him meow. (I have already said people don’t have any respect for animals around here). So what did I do?? I took him…aka rescue party 101. I took him home and gave him some milk and he has been a happy little guy every since. He is still tiny but he is getting bigger with every day. I give him milk and I buy actual soft kitten food in Tanga for him. He has a hard time eating anything not too soft. He super adorable but has caused me a little stress on 2 occasions. On 2 different nights he didn’t come home before dark. On both occasions, I sent out my search party (aka…all the neighborhood kids) with flash lights and lanterns to find him, but on these two particular nights, he was nowhere to be found. I cried…both times. I told you! I’m a crazy cat lady. But he came the next mornings and my sanity was restored. I figured he has no sense of direction like me and got lost in the dark.
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Frik and Frak are still doing great! They are still cute as ever of course and have taking a liking to the new little guy. They play all the time and it is super cute to watch because the big guys barely have to do anything to pin the little guy, but Sparky always comes back for more. He’s determining to win at least one play-fight.
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Devil cat. I don’t if I have mentioned him before. But there is an all-black cat in my neighborhood and he attacks anything and everything…he even kills chickens!! I don’t know why my villagers haven’t killed him yet?! I’m telling you, this cat his seriously possessed. He has: attacked my cats on several occasions, cased my house (literally circling my house it at night), and jumping up to the windows or running into the door to freak out my cats, he waits for them to come outside in the morning, and (again) he has killed chickens!!! So, I apologize to all of you animal rights people (I am one too), but there may come a day when I am dressed in all black, war-paint on my face, sitting in my backyard with a machete and a shovel.
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Sometimes I have dreams that I have electricity and a fridge.
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Mafia Island! So freaking beautiful!! First we went to Dar and stayed one night at the beach which was super pretty and fun. We went swimming, got some sun time, and played pool. Then the next morning we caught the ferry to go to Mafia Island. We took the long/cheaper route to get to the island. But I would recommend taking a plane…it’s not that much more AT ALL and it will save you a whole day’s travel. Anyhow, the island was sooo pretty. It had white beaches and teal warm water. It was fabulous, to say the least. We spent a lot of time on the beach napping, sunbathing, relaxing and swimming. Another day, we rented a boat and boated around a bit, went to another small island and saw/walked through ancient ruins. Bitchin! For lunch we stopped at a long and GORGEOUS white sand bar. They people we in-charge of the boat brought us freshly open-fire smoked fish, chapatti, salsa, limes, bananas, soda and beer. We hung out, ate, swam, and played Frisbee. SO FUN! Another day, 3 of us got another boat and went snorkeling. And I saw the biggest star fish I had ever seen!! It was awesome! The rest of the day, my friend and I just did…nothing. It was a perfect day. We napped, read, rested, and laid on the beach, and only got up to eat :) Mmmm delicious. They weather was perfect-ish the whole time we were there. It was the off-season so there was some rain/cloud cover, but not too much and it was nice to have a little break from the sun…didn’t get a sunburn, just a tan :)
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One bummer of the trip was….i had forgotten my cord to charge my camera and it was dead. I was able to take some pictures in Dar and on the ferry ride over, but that’s all. I know! I was supper bumbed too! But don’t worry…I am going to get pictures from everyone else when we meet up in September for training. Better late than never!
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Sometimes I hear frogs at night.
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Work is going great. I have been super busy. I am still teaching Biology and Health. We just had midterms, so I had about 400 papers to grade between all my classes (yup and 300 were in Swahili). My head hurt. I have finished most of them but I think I still have about 100 left. I have also been helping my Headmaster fill out an application to get an Education Volunteer for our school. That would be so cool if I got another volunteer in my village…here’s hoping! With my Assistant Headmaster, I have been helping him write a letter/fill out an application to this non-profit company I found in the states. They give donations of sports equipment. We are trying to get equipment for soccer, basketball, and volleyball. (Note: The donation itself is free, but I will have to pay for shipping and custom fees for the packages to get here. The school doesn’t have money, so I may pay for it. I am not sure how much it will be, but I am estimating around $500. So if you would like to possibly help, that would be wonderful and greatly appreciated!! I will let you know if the donation comes through!)
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My health group is rolling along too. We are learning about HIV/AIDS right now and plan to go out into the community next month and teach the villagers. We are also planning for our big AIDS education event in July. It’s going to be great!
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Sometimes I wake up in the morning and smell bacon or pancakes.
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I have had 2 more spiders and I would guess they were in the tarantula family. And yes of course I handled the situations like capable mature women….I went to get my mama next door and she came over with a big stick and a mission to kill. I got a picture of one of them and the flash reflected off his eyes they were so big. NUTS!! I have also a few scorpions in my bathroom, but they are just little fellas and I don’t mind ‘em. Lastly, I saw my first snake the other day on my dirt path to school. He also was a little fella…probably a garden snake. I almost stepped on him, so I jumped to avoid him and he ran away. They next day the grandparents who own the house next to where I saw the snake had cleared on the overgrown bushes. They said they didn’t want be to see another snake…how cute of them?!
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Sometimes I run out of things to say.
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Sidenotes:
- I have been here 10 months…15 months to go!!
- I have a lot of dirt under my nails right now…I wonder where I can get a manicure around here?
- I went swimming in town yesterday and met some adorable kids and we played in the pool for hours together.
- I want to drive a car.
- 7.5 months until I visit home for Christmas WHOO HOO!
- I am going to start writing things down so I remember to write them on my blog.
- I just got internet back…the last blog I wrote was on February 20th!!!! MY BAD!
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XOXO Jessie