As of today, I have 27 days left in the country. My time here has flown by, and I am scrambling to pack as much into the last few weeks here as possible.
Two weeks ago, I finished my work at Mount Everest School. The last few days of school were incredibly hard; I told my class on Monday that it would be my last week teaching them, and even with the few days left a few of them broke down into tears, setting me on the verge as well. We didn't do any schoolwork that week, as exams had just ended, and instead we focused on games; I taught them how to play Ultimate Frisbee, and they taught me how to play a game called "Rede" (pronounced "reh-day"), sort of like Dodgeball.
The Thursday before school ended, they had a dance contest in the cafeteria. The contest started with the littlest kids from the nursery and worked its way up through the classes, and I was initially shocked. If I had danced like some of these little 4-year-olds at a high school dance, I might have been thrown out. Here, it's cultural, that's just what you do: (WARNING: The next video may not be appropriate if you don't want to see suggestive booty shaking, though it is an accurate portrayal of dancing here. Just letting you know.)
much like this is what you do at home:
(I did an ill-performed demo of "back-home dancing", which was met with concerned looks and sniggers throughout the classroom)
On the last day, it took a full hour to say sad goodbyes to all of my teary-eyed students. I will go back a couple of days before I leave just to say goodbye, but still I am saddened to leave behind this chapter of my life.
At the same time, I am hopeful for the future and the rest of the time I have here. This past week Jackie was on holiday as well, and we went shopping and to the beach a bit. I also got a new hairdo!
I was planning on going to the American Embassy today to see if there is anything that they had in mind for a volunteer to do in her weeks left in Tanzania, but found it almost impossible to make an appointment, as Hillary Clinton is in da house this week.
I will post a bit more as time rolls on this week; it's been beautiful out and I'm excited to have so much free time on my hands to experience more of Tanzania.
BIG shout out to everyone at home! Love you guys :)
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