Tumbo na Twiga

The title today means "elephant and giraffe"
Mikumi National Park . . . I am so excited . . . we leave tomorrow morning, and I can't wait. We will be taking two safari trips- one tomorrow evening and one sunday morning. According to Lonely Planet and Globetrotter guide books, this is a good season to go . .. we should be able to spot lions, leopards, elephants, zebras, hippos, giraffes, etc. . .. I really hope we do. I have my camera batteries charged and ready to go.
Contrary to what you may be hoping to hear, I will unfortunately not be wearing an all khaki outfit and pyth helmet, riding in an open-air jeep, toting a giant rifle and shooting exotic game . .. though I just finished reading "Out of Africa" and have a secret desire to be like Karen Blixen . . . living on her own in Africa, running a coffee plantation, and shooting random lions (only because they were eating the village cattle.) So, sorry guys, I can't bring back any zebra skin rugs for you . . .
I hope to have pictures posted at some point . . . perhaps in a few weeks when we are in Dar es Salaam- I here there are internet cafes with relatively speedy connections there.

We just finished our mid-exam week. We had a two-hour written exam and an oral proficiency exam. I haven't had to take tests in four years, so I forgot how anxious I can be. Honestly, I think I did fine, but we'll get the results on Monday.

one of my favorite things here is brushing my teeth outside in our courtyard under the moon and stars . .. on a clear night, you can see thousands of stars- there is virtually no light pollution here.

Castle milk stout is another favorite . .. it's the African equivalent to guinness, very tasty.

The children here are amazing . . . they never cry, they are always laughing, smiling, and playing soccer barefoot . . . with balls they make themselves out of rags sewn together. I feel like I've already written this before, but maybe it was just in my journal.

The other day, we went to visit a traditional healer, or "medicine man" to see how traditional, spiritual healing is still practiced in conjunction with modern medicine. The meeting was short but interesting. Afterwards, school children in the village swarmed around us . .. I don't think they are used to seeing a whole gaggle of Americans . .. and they just stared and waited for us to say something to them . . . so . .. we taught them "the hokey pokey" in English and some Swahili . .. we taught them to hula-hoop with the used bicycle tires that they are always playing with . .. and we played soccer with them. I kicked the ball to one child, and before I knew it, 20 kids were swarmed around me, only kicking the ball to me . .. as if I was the goalie . . and I was exhausted after 10 minutes . .. besides, playing soccer is a little difficult in a skirt (which we are required to wear at all times unless at home or on the weekends.) I hope that soon, when I am placed at site, I can continue to play with the enthusiastic children . .. but teach them something valuable at the same time.