Tanzania '11

Wow. That is the immediate reaction I have to what I have experienced. Tanzania is such a beautiful country with amazing people and an interesting culture. The things I've seen and experienced since I've been here are incredible. We arrived in Dar on wednesday, where we were picked up by these two Tanzanian guys called Elli and Peter (they are such lovely people and they work for the volunteer programme that Hollie and I have signed up for). We stayed with them in this tiny little slum in a place called Mabibi, and we were literally the only white people there. Children were shouting 'Mzungu!' at us, which means white person - way to draw attention to ourselves, eh? They don't mean it in an offensive way; if you smile and say 'Mambo' they look at you with this huge grin on their faces. They are just adorable. We have been welcomed into their community with open arms and people are so warm and happy for us to be there, but the thing is, we're the ones who are lucky to be invited into their community more than anything. Oh, lovely - there was just a cockroach crawling around the desk right now.. Haha. The slums where we were staying at had ants crawling up the walls, we had to use a hole in the ground to pee and we had to pour a bucket of water over our heads to clean ourselves. You'd think I'd freak out, but it's all part of the experience and I wouldn't have it any other way. We have seen some incredible beaches. The sand is so white and the sea is so clean and green and the views are just breath-taking. We went clubbing one night in Dar, which was quite an experience and man, can those Africans dance! Anyways, it's time to log off now, we are on our way to the local village now in Mbeya, where we will see some hardship and suffering - it's going to be sad to see but quite necessary as well. Hope you're all well! xxx