I'm infamous for not packing for huge trips like this until the last minute. Yes, I'll make 14,000 lists of what I should be packing, which I'll then revise 27 times, which I'll then color code, which I'll then sort in order of importance, and so and and so forth. However, I don't actually put anything into my bag until it actually hits me that I'm leaving... which happens about 12-24 hours before I board the plane. So of course, to stick with tradition, I have still yet to place a single thing in my brand new camping backpack at this point. And normally, that wouldn't bother me, because this strategy has always worked for me in the past.

But this time I've run into a slight problem. I'm leaving in 3 days, and I'm about to go to the doctor to get tested for mono. I've had a horrible sore throat since last Sunday, and I've just felt "blah" overall. Finally on Wednesday I used the ultra-handy travel flashlight my mom so kindly bought for me to take a peek at my throat.... only to see that my tonsils were (get ready for way too much information) completely white and pretty much touching each other. Delicious. I was thinking it might be strep, but my doctor nixed that idea (and by doctor, I mean my pediatrician. Because I think I'm the only nearly 22 year old that still goes to her pediatrician. And I feel even cooler about that fact when I'm sitting in the waiting room next to girls who are the same age as me... except that they're there with their infant children.) The doc took one look at my throat and said, "Wow, that must really hurt." Oh good, I'm glad someone agrees. But after he ran a strep test, he let me know that its not the cause of my troubles so all we can do is wait for the infection to clear up on its own. But if I wasn't better in a day or two, he wanted me to get tested for mono. Its now two days later, and my tonsils are bigger than ever. So, on a day that was supposed to be devoted to trip preparations, I'm busy heading back to the doctor. Just my luck.

I am just praying that I soon feel well enough to actually function normally. Aside from some soup and baby food (a real delicacy, I'll tell ya) I've barely eaten in 3 days. I have zero energy, and there is still so much I need to do. Shop for the trip, write and mail my graduation thank yous, photocopy all my travel documents, figure out my spending money situation, buy Spartan football tickets for next season (woo woo!), get donations together for the school I'm volunteering at, PACK! ...the list goes on and on. I'm wishing more and more that I finished all this weeks ago like a truly responsible traveler would have :)

So I booked this trip to go to Africa and teach English through i-to-i travel... they arrange volunteer trips around the world, and when else am I gonna be able to do something like this?? Except for me having to fill out some paper work for my visa and buy my plane tickets... and pay the bill, of course... i-to-i has been extremely helpful and has taken care of everything so far. When I get to Tanzania, they'll give me an orientation with the other volunteers, put me up in a volunteer house, find me a placement to work at, and feed me twice a day. Not bad.

But, the downside of having all this taken care of for me, is that they don't tell me the exact details of my trip (aka where I'll be living, working, blah blah blah) until three weeks before I officially start my volunteer project, which was... last Sunday. And up until about 5 minutes ago, I still hadn't gotten these details. Keep in mind I'm leaving in six days, because I plan to do some traveling before hand. Anyway, needless to say I was freaking out a bit. So, after several thousand phone calls and frantic emails (lucky me was called to serve jury duty the week before I'm supposed to leave the country for a month and a half, so at least I had plenty of down time to make these calls...), I finally got the details. Let me share them with you now... this is where I'll be living:


MOSHI VOLUNTEER HOUSE

There are 2 shared volunteer houses based in Moshi near to the project. There are shops and restaurants nearby. The houses are basic but clean and there will be a house girl present to prepare local style meals. Rooms will be shared up to a maximum of 4-6 volunteers. The house has a lounge area and garden for communal areas. Most of the projects are within 45 mins-1 hour from the house to the project. The house is about 20 minutes from town. The houses have hot water and western toilets but please remember this is Africa. The hot water can run out/go off and some of the bathrooms have African style toilets. There are facilities for hand washing clothes in the house, or you can arrange for it to be done nearby. The shower relies on electricity to heat up so you may find that due to unreliable electricity you may not always be able to have a hot shower.


By the way, "African style toilet" means hole in the ground. So this trip will be slightly different than my tour through Europe a few years back. It's okay. I don't like hot showers anyway...


Next! this is where I'll be working:

THE LIFE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CENTER (L.C.D.C.)
NURSERY SCHOOL - FARAJA

The school is a fruit of an individual initiative of a single widower who felt the need and vocation to devote his efforts to orphans, street kids and children living in very hard life conditions. It was an outcome of a bitter experience and hardship he experienced in paying school fees for his own children after his wife passed away leaving a one day baby. It is a nursery school that is very needful and in appalling conditions, started to help these miserable kids left on their own desperately strive against illiteracy. The school is open from Monday to Friday 08:00 am-11:00 am. It follows the government school holiday calendar, though with high flexibility at volunteers’ convenience.

At 5 km from volunteers’ house, one can walk or take a local bus. The school now has 34 orphans with a 5-12 year age range. There is no qualified teacher to teach them. There is only somebody to keep them busy trying to teach alphabets and counting numbers. Employing a qualified teacher is still beyond the reach of the school's financial means.

This project can generally take two volunteers at a time. The volunteers will be teaching English, alphabets, counting numbers, drawing, music and singing, sports and games.

On the needs of the center, it is above said that the school is in appalling conditions and thus needs everything: food stuffs, clothing, school fees, school uniforms, shoes, study materials, reading books, teaching aids, including blackboard, sports and games equipment, and many others. Note that any donation is very important and appreciatiated.

Wow. That's all I can say. I am so nervous. But at the same time I'm 10x even more excited. This is going to be an incredible, life-changing experience. After hearing about this school, my plan for these next six days is to revise my packing list just a little bit, take out some "essentials" like... umm... clothing... and try to gather up some stuff for the kiddies. Anyone wanna contribute?? :)