I've decided to continue using this blog to document my next big adventure. In September I will be heading to Manow, Tanzania to teach English for three months with my grandma Dot and my roommate Katelyn. Manow is in South/Central Tanzania, just north of Lake Malawi, kind of near Mbeya. In about two weeks we will fly in to Dar es Salaam and then take a 15 hour bus ride to Manow. Nancy Winters, the woman who wrote the curriculum (which includes some lessons on sustainable farming, nutrition/hygiene, and AIDS prevention in addition to English) and coordinates the trip will be traveling with us and helping us with parent-teacher meetings during our first week in Manow.
But before we can leave there is still a lot to do. I have all of my immunizations: Yellow Fever, Hepatitis A, Typhoid, and a giant bottle of Malaria pills that I will take daily for the three months I am away. There's also some paperwork to finish before Evergreen can give me credit. Initially I was planning on posting to my blog weekly or bi-weekly but Tanzania has been experiencing rolling blackouts due to the extreme drought in Eastern Africa. Nancy talked to the school last week and it sounds like we will have power about once a week. Nancy has suggested sleeping with the light switches on so we will wake up whenever the lights come on. I will write regularly and post whenever possible.
I also just wanted to say thank you one more time to everyone who came to the fundraiser/going away party we had here in New York. It was a really great success, helping us raise the rest of the money the foundation needed to begin building a new school in Manow!
Although it's only two weeks away I still haven't adjusted to the thought that I will be away for three months. Living in Africa isn't what makes me nervous. The most unfamiliar aspect of this trip, and what makes me the most anxious, is teaching. I think teaching will be the greatest challenge, as well as the most valuable learning experience, for me. But until I get there it's just too much thinking. I can't wait to be there and let the adventure begin.
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