Hi everyone!

I can’t believe that only a few days remain of my 6 months in Tanzania. Where did the time go? In some ways, I feel like I just got here; in other ways, it feels like forever that I've been away from home.

For my last update, I am going to hold off on sending pictures until I get home to faster internet. Instead, I'll sum things up this way...

I won't miss:
1. Lizards and other creatures, of various sizes, in my bedroom.
2. Brushing my teeth using water from a bottle.
3. Rice, potatoes, or pasta served with a light red sauce.
4. Sleeping in a mosquito net.
5. Having to reset the modem every 5 minutes in order for the internet to work.
6. Riding the dala dala.
7. Having to keep all snacks inside multiple plastic bags to fight off the ants.
8. Getting electric shocks from the office printer.
9. Sweating continuously.
10. Our smelly, flea infested dogs: Mama, Max, Johnny, Socks, Nipples, and Captain Morgan.

I'll miss:
1. Martin and all the amazing friends I’ve made here that I will never ever forget.
2. Working with my partner in crime on Mapinga and working with all the team leaders.
3. Witnessing how volunteers change from when they arrive to when they leave and making new friends from all over the world.
4. Having a ten-minute walk to the Indian Ocean.
5. Being able to get lunch and a soda for under $2.
6. Using my Girl Scout skills to teach the cooks new recipes.
7. Learning British English (and Swahili too).
8. Seeing Tanzanians try things like cheeseburgers and ice cream for the first time.
9. Crazy rides in tuk-tuks.
10. Nights at Mchuno's Bar.

I’m excited to:
1. See Mom, Dad, and Bennett.
2. See family.
3. See friends.
4. Drive my car.
5. Eat pepperoni pizza.
6. Cuddle up on the couch.
7. Be cold enough to want to use a blanket.
8. Take a hot shower.
9. Use DVR to watch the end of ER.
10. Show off all my Barack Obama souvenirs.

See many of you SOON,
Moriah

click to enlargeHi everyone!

Wow, it’s been a long time since my last update! Our internet problems have continued since my last update, but I think we FINALLY got to the bottom of the problem and now we are back up and running. There’s so much to write about, but I’ll stick with a few highlights from the last month and a half . . .

I avoided it for as long as I could, but I did make my first trip to a Tanzanian hospital in the beginning of April. I had a pretty bad cough and sore throat for long enough that I gave in and went to a hospital to have everything checked out. I went to one of the more expensive hospitals because I think the local doctors tend to tell you that you have things you don’t, just to get you to buy medicine. After telling the doctor my symptoms, he took a throat swab, but didn’t do anything else. He didn’t take my temperature or my blood pressure. He didn’t listen to my chest and he didn’t look in my ears. Then three days later when I called for my results they told me that I had strep. I did start a round of antibiotics to be safe, but I still don’t believe I had strep because I haven’t had strep in 15 years, since getting my tonsil removed. Things got better for a while and then the symptoms returned. Through an extensive process of elimination, I finally figured out that my throat was hurting because I was leaving my ceiling fan on too high at night and drying my throat out!

It didn’t seem to make the news in the United States, but there was a large explosion in Dar on April 29th (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8024656.stm). I wasn’t close enough to be in any kind of danger, but I did hear it. Honestly, it didn’t faze me at the time, maybe because I’m just used to hearing the canons at Norwich!

May was filled with lots of traveling. I took some time off to travel west to visit Pommern, the village I volunteered in during my first two trips to Tanzania with Norwich. I hadn’t been there since June 2007, so it was amazing to see how things had changed in two years. I was only able to visit for a few days, but it was wonderful to be remembered by so many people. I also took a long weekend getaway at the end of May with my boyfriend, Martin, to visit the northern beaches of Zanzibar! We stayed at the same place I did last year called Sunset Bungalows and as you’ll see from the pictures, it’s a very appropriate name!

It was quite a cultural experience to watch the madness leading up to the Barcelona vs. Manchester United Premiership Championship football match on May 27th. Their love for football (soccer) is amazing. It was like watching the Super Bowl or the World Series. All the local bars set up extra TVs and everyone crowded around them. They don’t seem to care too much about the Tanzanian teams, but they are crazy about the European football clubs.

I made my first visit to the American Embassy at the end of May. Frances scheduled a meeting for us with Patrick Brown, the Community Grants Coordinator, to discuss grants that might be applicable to the Mapinga project. It was very difficult to get inside because Mr. Brown forgot to put us on the visitors list, but once inside it was beautiful and very cool to see.

Last Friday I attended the Miss Dar es Salaam beauty pageant/competition as a VIP guest. Art in Tanzania was one of the major sponsors and they asked me to go to take pictures for our magazine. It was quite an experience! In some ways it was like Miss America with the usual portions such as formalwear and swimsuits, but there was no talent portion!

I can’t believe I have just a month and a few days left before I come home! I get back on July 21st and yes, I am still coming home! I still don't know what's next for me. Now that I have internet back, I'm looking for jobs of various kinds and in various countries! I welcome any suggestions!

I look forward to seeing many of you in August,
Moriah

Click to enlargeHi Everyone,

The end of March was filled with lots of excitement including traveling to Dodoma, the capital of Tanzania, for the Art in Tanzania Talent Show and then celebrating my 25th birthday! April has been very busy for Frances and me, as we’ve made a lot of progress on the Mapinga plot development. I’ve attached the latest version of the Mapinga master plan for everyone to take a peak. We have the basic design complete for all the buildings, including an adaptation of my thesis project for the arts center! You can also learn more about the project on the Mapinga website: www.mapingaone.com. Click to enlarge.

I was able to go to church on Easter with another volunteer and some Tanzanians. There was a little confusion as to what time the mass started, but we eventually got there and actually ended up being early for the second mass. Rainy season has officially arrived; it’s unbelievable. I’ll be sure to send pictures of the rain in my next update!

I’m happy to hear spring has finally made its way to New England. Enjoy the picture collage and the master plan!

Lots of love,
Moriah

click to enlargeTHIS UPDATE WAS SUPPOSED TO GO OUT ON MARCH 10TH, BUT WE'VE BEEN WITHOUT INTERNET SINCE THEN . . .

Hi everyone!

I promise you that even if the following update doesn’t make it sound like I ever do any work, I do work every day during the week; I just get to do a lot of fun stuff at night and on the weekends! The school design is moving along; Frances and I have pretty much finalized the basic classroom unit that will be replicated. Benja did all the filming and basic editing for the next Mambo Jambo music video, but I’ve spent some time cleaning it up and making sure the lip-syncing matches up, so hopefully it will be on YouTube and Facebook soon!

A few Wednesdays ago a large group of volunteers went to the Irish Pub for Karaoke Night (see picture collage). I did not participate, but I have it all on video! Two weekends ago, I went to my favorite beach, White Sands, on Saturday and then on Sunday I took my boss’ kids (Kimi, Rosie, and Houstorn) with one of the other team leaders, Minna, to the local water park called Wet ‘N Wild (see picture collage)! It was a blast; the kids are fearless so we went on all the slides together and having the baby with us was a good excuse to play in the kiddy area. This past Friday we were hoping to go bowling and out to dinner for one volunteer’s last night celebration, but we discovered the bowling alley that I loved going to last time is gone! I was devastated, but we still went out for dessert and to the casino that’s in the same complex.

“Pub quizzes” (testing teams in a bar on general knowledge and pop culture and the winning team gets a round of free drinks) are very popular in Europe (do we have them in America?), so the team leaders try to create something similar for a group activity to do once a week. We usually do it after dinner at the volunteer house, but I suggested that we truly make it a pub quiz by going to our local bar and including locals on our teams. We tried it last night for the first time and it was very successful and fun.

I may be going to the capital of Tanzania this coming weekend to help out with the Art in Tanzania/Mzuka Records Dodoma Talent Show. Art in Tanzania has been organizing talent shows throughout Tanzania to discover new talent for the record label. We should call it “Tanzanian Idol”!

I hope all is well with you! Picture collage attached!

All the best,
Moriah

click to enlarge (see previous post in Alumni)Hi everyone!

A month already! Things have been going well, but it’s been very busy. Two of the team leaders are on vacation this week, so I’m responsible for making sure all the volunteers get where they need to go, get fed, etc. and for handling the daily finances. Although I enjoy the organization involved with the job, it’s a lot to manage by myself while also trying to make headway with the architecture and video projects.

We finally got a site map of the land for our Mapinga (the name of the area) building projects! Well it’s not quite a site map; it only shows the property line and no information on the interior of the property, but it’s at least something to start with for master planning. We’ve also been working with others to put together a program for what buildings and services will be included in the first phase of construction.

It was a very last minute decision, but I went to Zanzibar last Thursday to Sunday for the internationally famous music festival called Sauti za Basara (Sounds of Wisdom) that celebrates music from all over the world. I didn’t have the opportunity to go last year, so I didn’t want to miss it again. The festival started around 4 p.m. in the Old Fort and lasted much past midnight each night. It was an amazing atmosphere to be in; there were people from all walks of life that had come from all over to attend. I’m really glad I went.

I hope all is well with you! Thanks for all the great replies to my last update. Picture collage attached!

Always,
Moriah