final blog

Final Blog

                Saying goodbye to the kids was the last thing on earth that I wanted to do. I was on the edge of crying a couple times. The kids were so sweet; I kept giving them hugs, and they would give me a letter. When I opened them that night, they were all love letters saying things like “We love you,” “God bless you,” and “Don’t forget us.” Saying goodbye was really hard, but I knew as we drove away from the school that there was a part of me still there and a part of that school in me. It’s something I never will forget.

                We threw a party for Class VI, VII and the staff. The kids were so excited – I heard someone say that the kids were showing each other what they were going to wear to the dance. When everyone got there it was funny because the girls were in the middle dancing but all the boys were on the side just talking. I tried my best to get the guys to dance, but once I got them out there and I turned around they were on the side again talking. I was surprised at how good a couple of kids were at dancing, but when I told them that they were really good, they would get all shy and stop. The teachers were really happy, and a couple of the younger ones danced.  The Tanzanian dance that they did was really cool because everyone knew it and when I tried, I was spinning the wrong way and it didn’t end well. I wish in America there was a dance that everyone knew that wasn’t the chicken dance. At 6:30, the power went out at the club, so we went outside and it was the end of the party. We got bracelets from the kids, flowers, and many, many hugs. Some of the teachers and I exchanged emails, and they were super happy that we came to LOAMO, but sad to see us leave.

                Yesterday, we went to a Maasai village that was a two hour drive from Arusha. It was so cool there because, since we spent most of our time in the city, we didn’t see a lot of the wild, but out there it was like it was taken right out of a book. Our guide, Freddy, was so cool – he was a senior warrior (which is when you are above 30 and had gone through the entire junior warrior training). There were a couple of junior warriors there, and they followed us around for a while. We went into the bush, which is what the Maasai people call the wild land. When we walked around, the guide explained how the warriors can survive out there, which is amazing because all it takes to survive was to cut open the right tree and drink what was inside, but if you cut open the wrong tree, you can die. We stopped at one spot to try and throw the spear that a warrior carries around. The spear wasn’t that heavy, but to throw it and keep it balanced so it sticks in the ground was hard. Ms. Gutmann was the only person to get it to stay in the ground. The saying “practice makes perfect” definitely came in hand here. On our way home, we saw zebras running around, a couple of giraffes chilling, and some monkeys playing around. It was so cool seeing some animals like that.

                Africa was amazing and I’m going to be sad as I look out the plane window and see it disappearing in the distance. The school was amazing and I’m so grateful to have gone there and made a difference that they will never forget. 

Last blog

Final Blog

                Saying goodbye to the kids was the last thing on earth that I wanted to do. I was on the edge of crying a couple times. The kids were so sweet; I kept giving them hugs, and they would give me a letter. When I opened them that night, they were all love letters saying things like “We love you,” “God bless you,” and “Don’t forget us.” Saying goodbye was really hard, but I knew as we drove away from the school that there was a part of me still there and a part of that school in me. It’s something I never will forget.

                We threw a party for Class VI, VII and the staff. The kids were so excited – I heard someone say that the kids were showing each other what they were going to wear to the dance. When everyone got there it was funny because the girls were in the middle dancing but all the boys were on the side just talking. I tried my best to get the guys to dance, but once I got them out there and I turned around they were on the side again talking. I was surprised at how good a couple of kids were at dancing, but when I told them that they were really good, they would get all shy and stop. The teachers were really happy, and a couple of the younger ones danced.  The Tanzanian dance that they did was really cool because everyone knew it and when I tried, I was spinning the wrong way and it didn’t end well. I wish in America there was a dance that everyone knew that wasn’t the chicken dance. At 6:30, the power went out at the club, so we went outside and it was the end of the party. We got bracelets from the kids, flowers, and many, many hugs. Some of the teachers and I exchanged emails, and they were super happy that we came to LOAMO, but sad to see us leave.

                Yesterday, we went to a Maasai village that was a two hour drive from Arusha. It was so cool there because, since we spent most of our time in the city, we didn’t see a lot of the wild, but out there it was like it was taken right out of a book. Our guide, Freddy, was so cool – he was a senior warrior (which is when you are above 30 and had gone through the entire junior warrior training). There were a couple of junior warriors there, and they followed us around for a while. We went into the bush, which is what the Maasai people call the wild land. When we walked around, the guide explained how the warriors can survive out there, which is amazing because all it takes to survive was to cut open the right tree and drink what was inside, but if you cut open the wrong tree, you can die. We stopped at one spot to try and throw the spear that a warrior carries around. The spear wasn’t that heavy, but to throw it and keep it balanced so it sticks in the ground was hard. Ms. Gutmann was the only person to get it to stay in the ground. The saying “practice makes perfect” definitely came in hand here. On our way home, we saw zebras running around, a couple of giraffes chilling, and some monkeys playing around. It was so cool seeing some animals like that.

                Africa was amazing and I’m going to be sad as I look out the plane window and see it disappearing in the distance. The school was amazing and I’m so grateful to have gone there and made a difference that they will never forget. 

Last blog

Final Blog

                Saying goodbye to the kids was the last thing on earth that I wanted to do. I was on the edge of crying a couple times. The kids were so sweet; I kept giving them hugs, and they would give me a letter. When I opened them that night, they were all love letters saying things like “We love you,” “God bless you,” and “Don’t forget us.” Saying goodbye was really hard, but I knew as we drove away from the school that there was a part of me still there and a part of that school in me. It’s something I never will forget.

                We threw a party for Class VI, VII and the staff. The kids were so excited – I heard someone say that the kids were showing each other what they were going to wear to the dance. When everyone got there it was funny because the girls were in the middle dancing but all the boys were on the side just talking. I tried my best to get the guys to dance, but once I got them out there and I turned around they were on the side again talking. I was surprised at how good a couple of kids were at dancing, but when I told them that they were really good, they would get all shy and stop. The teachers were really happy, and a couple of the younger ones danced.  The Tanzanian dance that they did was really cool because everyone knew it and when I tried, I was spinning the wrong way and it didn’t end well. I wish in America there was a dance that everyone knew that wasn’t the chicken dance. At 6:30, the power went out at the club, so we went outside and it was the end of the party. We got bracelets from the kids, flowers, and many, many hugs. Some of the teachers and I exchanged emails, and they were super happy that we came to LOAMO, but sad to see us leave.

                Yesterday, we went to a Maasai village that was a two hour drive from Arusha. It was so cool there because, since we spent most of our time in the city, we didn’t see a lot of the wild, but out there it was like it was taken right out of a book. Our guide, Freddy, was so cool – he was a senior warrior (which is when you are above 30 and had gone through the entire junior warrior training). There were a couple of junior warriors there, and they followed us around for a while. We went into the bush, which is what the Maasai people call the wild land. When we walked around, the guide explained how the warriors can survive out there, which is amazing because all it takes to survive was to cut open the right tree and drink what was inside, but if you cut open the wrong tree, you can die. We stopped at one spot to try and throw the spear that a warrior carries around. The spear wasn’t that heavy, but to throw it and keep it balanced so it sticks in the ground was hard. Ms. Gutmann was the only person to get it to stay in the ground. The saying “practice makes perfect” definitely came in hand here. On our way home, we saw zebras running around, a couple of giraffes chilling, and some monkeys playing around. It was so cool seeing some animals like that.

                Africa was amazing and I’m going to be sad as I look out the plane window and see it disappearing in the distance. The school was amazing and I’m so grateful to have gone there and made a difference that they will never forget. 

Last Day Teaching

                                                                     Last Day Teaching

Yesterday, I started to get to know the 4^th grade class more and more. I played a lot of games with them and the kids got very competitive over everything.  One of the funniest things happened when we played hangman. I wrote everything down on the board and the first girl I chose guessed the entire word correctly! I had no idea how she got that answer, so I stood there in shock for a second, because I didn’t believe it. I was funny that every time I turned around to write on the board, the kids would be a foot behind me when I turned around again. We then played “Simon Says”, and the kids were so loud that I was yelling most of the time, and my voice was dead after.

                Yesterday I went on a home visit to Godfrey and his son, Brian’s, house. Godfrey is the cook at LOAMO, and Brian is in kindergarten.  It was a thirty minute drive to the house – up a mountain and tucked away behind some trees. After we drove out of the trees, there was a small little community hidden back there. It was one of the most beautiful places ever; it was green and full of life. When we got out of the car, we were instantly greeted by the grandma and the neighbor’s kids. The grandma had to be older than 90, but was walking around the hill like it was nothing. She gave us a hug and a huge smile; you could tell that she was very excited to see us. I was glad I got to go there and see some African culture, like how much everyone respected the grandma. If she said it, it would be done. When we walked into the house, it was very cozy. The house wasn’t that big, probably a little bit bigger than my garage, but it housed seven people. Godfrey, his wife, and his five kids all lived there. Godfrey said that he rides his bike to school every morning. He drops Brian at the bus stop, but he isn’t allowed to take the bus himself. I was really surprised that he rode his bike, because, when coming home, he has to ride up a huge hill with bumps and holes all over it. He said that because they live so far up the mountain, it was really safe and everyone knew each other. The family was amazing, and I’m happy that I had the chance to meet them.

                Today, I went on another home visit to a boy named Miguel’s house. Miguel is in kindergarten and his brother, Mejooly, is in 4^thgrade.  Their house was a three minute walk from the school, and it is a really nice house. Right when you walk in, there is the family room with a couch and a bed in it. The next room is the kitchen, with a bathroom off to the side, and then there is a bedroom. The boys lived with their mother, Rachel, who works at the Palace Hotel in Arusha. The boys’ dad died a year ago because of Meningitis. When we asked questions about the dad, the mom stayed strong, but looked like she was about to cry. She either has the morning shift or night shift and the hotel, so she either gets to see her kids in the morning or at night. About half of her salary goes to paying rent, and then the rest is for school fees and food. The family looked really happy, and they are all hard-workers. I learned when you think it’s the end, when you persevere, you can make a life for yourself.  I’m thankful that I had the chance to meet this wonderful family.

               

 

One Week To Go

One Week To Go

                We cleaned the school on Saturday.  It wasn’t what I expected, there were no mops, so we used an old sweater soaked in water and disinfectant but it worked like magic. The water that we used to clean everything came out of the school’s water tank, so we tried to use each bucket as much as we could. After a while, the water would be really dirty and we would have to go change it out and use the new bucket as much as possible. Scrubbing the walls was one of the hardest jobs because the mud on the wall was as hard as a rock. Sawyer and I scrubbed for what seemed like hours, and probably was. At the end of the day, I was so tired, but it was definitely worth it. It was funny because one of the teachers said that her room was so clean that she didn’t want to go into it. The cleaning staff was really thankful, and at the end, I had a good feeling inside of me because I knew that I did something good.  I knew that we had made a difference at the school.

                Yesterday we went to an orphanage that was out of the city. When we were driving out to the orphanage, I saw the incredible African countryside, and it is one of the most beautiful things ever. It’s full of green and at some places looks like it’s been untouched. It reminded me of home because of the mountains and how amazing it looks.

When we got to the orphanage, the kids were ranging in age from 3 years old to 19 years old. At first, the kids were very shy, but they warmed up really quick. We went to the field out back and played soccer for a long time, and then we played a whole bunch of other games and threw a Frisbee around. I am way better at Frisbee than at soccer so I played with the Frisbee way longer than playing soccer. There was one boy who was around 10 or 11 years old and he was like an acrobat. He could do flips starting from just standing on the ground and climb up his friend so that it looked like they were a totem pole. I stood there and thought for a second that I could flip right there off the ground. I gave it a second thought and realized that if I tried it would not end well. At the orphanage we found the cutest puppy ever named Ziggy. He belonged to the orphanage, but they didn’t have a lot of food or medicine for him, so he was very skinny and sick. The orphanage was amazing and I wish I had the chance to go there again on this trip. It filled me with joy when I saw the kids, with huge smiles, showing off all their tricks to us.

                Today, I taught in the 4^th grade class. It is very different from the prep class, but it’s still very exciting. The kids are older and more mature, but they still have a lot of energy and are very funny. There is one boy in my class named William, and he was showing me his notebook that was full of drawings that he drew. They were amazing; it looked like they were done by a professional. It was funny at first because he was really shy about showing them to me, but I kept telling him that they were great. When I said that, he had a huge smile on his face, which then made me have a huge smile on my face. I tried drawing a picture, but his was better by far. I was super happy at the end of class because I knew that I had just made that kid’s day, and he walked out of class with a huge smile on his face.

                It’s crazy to think that we only have a week left in Africa. It has gone by so fast, and I don’t want the day to come when I have to say goodbye to all the sweet, huge smiles of the kids at the school. Time flies when you’re having fun!

Happiness

Happiness

                I have felt a lot of happiness over the past couple of days, and it’s a feeling I love. I have tried teaching the kids a lot of new games, and some of them are a great success, while others fail miserably. In a lot of our games, the kids hold hands and get in a circle, so when I tried to teach them “Red Rover,” they would hold hands, but keep getting in a circle, so that did not work. Soccer is the main sport, so I had no trouble setting up a soccer game. The teachers are really strict on the students, so when I tried playing “Simon Says” they wouldn’t get the concept of not do what I said when I didn’t say “Simon Says.” Then I got a lot of questions about the game like “Who’s Simon?” After that, I started laughing, and then the kids started laughing at me, and I couldn’t stop laughing, so the entire class laughed for about a full two minutes. I was in a good mood the rest of the day. Back in the states if something like that happen people wouldn’t be laughing they would be like oh wow what an idiot.

                In class I do a lot of jobs for the teachers; I grade papers, teach lessons, write on the blackboard, erase the blackboard, and play with the kids. One of the hardest and most over-looked jobs is sharpening pencils with a blade. The first time I tried, I didn’t get it even close to being sharp and everyone laughed at me, but today I can sharpen the pencils like a master.

                I started talking to a kid named Bazil, and he is so adorable that I just want to pack him up and bring him home with me. Bazil is really good at soccer; I was playing soccer with him and he could just run circles around me. He said that he has two older brothers and one younger brother, but none of them play soccer. I asked him how he got so good and he replied by saying that he plays at school or with rocks with his friends when they’re not at school. When he scores on me when we play soccer, he will look back and have a huge smile on his face like he is the happiest kid in the world.

                Today was sports day at the school and the only sport that they play is soccer, so we played a lot of it. I have never played soccer before so when we played, I got a foul for using my hands probably about five times, but when I did everyone laughed, so it was all a good time. After a while, I started getting the hang of it, but the kids were still way better than me. I was having a lot of fun, and I felt like I was getting way better, but by then it was the end of the day and the principal called it a day, and we had to go home.

                Everyone walked away happy today, and I feel like everyone should do that every day. 

Kimaro

 

Kimaro

                Over the past two days, I have taught in the Prep Class. Yesterday I was really nervous to teach because I was still getting used to the kids and settling in with the teachers. Today when I taught and I looked back at the class the expression on the kids’ faces was priceless. The kids were looking at me in amazement; they always had huge smiles on their faces and seemed like they never blinked. Today teaching was a lot easier because I knew most of the kids’ names and I was comfortable in the classroom and with the teachers. I love the kids they are all I look forward for tomorrow because I love smiling at them, and having them smile back is one of the best feelings ever.

                I gave the Prep Class a huge jar of hand sanitizer and the teacher, Happy, read all the directions and rules. She made all the kids who were younger than six years old stand up and say that they can’t use it because it was against the rules. She also said that if it got in their eyes they would die but she said it in a joking manner. At first I thought the teacher was being serious but then everyone started laughing, so I started laughing, too, realizing how cool the teacher’s and the student’s relationship is. Even after the teacher would slap a kid in the hand they would always say goodbye at the end of the day with a smile on their face.

                Shame: if a kid doesn’t do well on a problem or messes up a lot they get shamed. That is when all the kids and the teachers throw their hands up in the air and yell “shame, shame, shame” and then a song that I don’t understand. It is very weird to watch because the kids who are getting “shamed” don’t do anything they just stand there and take it. I was very confused the first time it happen because I thought the kid would start crying or would actually get hurt. I know now that this is part of their culture and is accepted everywhere. One of my favorite kids is Godwin. He has the cutest face and has the funniest laugh, but he is a huge trouble-maker so he gets shamed a lot.

                Kevin, Nicole, Mrs. Gutmann, and I went to a house visit today. We went to Mr. Kimaro’s house. He is a teacher at the school and has one son who goes to the school. The visit today has definitely changed my outlook on everything. He is an amazing man. When I got back from his house I was speechless. Mr. Kimaro lives in a house that was the size of a college dorm room, with his family of five. I admire him so much because he took so much pride in everything he owned. There is a bed that already takes up half of the main living room, and then there is a couch with two chairs and a coffee table in the middle with just enough for walking room. The room connected to it is even smaller and is even more packed. There is another bed, a stove, and jugs of water all over. In the corner are all their clothes stacked up in suitcases. Mr. Kimaro is a teacher at LOAMO and is a student at the University of Dar es Salaam studying computer technology. I really feel for Mr. Kimaro and his family. He borrows money for everything and then when he gets his paycheck he has to pay back all his debt. Mr. Kimaro was so open about everything and is one of the most amazing people I have ever met. Visiting the Kimaro’s house today has definitely changed my life and I am grateful that I had the chance to do meet this family.

The Excitment

The Excitment

Tanzania has completely fulfilled and exceeded my expectations.

To start, the driving is one of the craziest things ever here.  They drive on the other side of the road and I always have to second glace because I think that we are driving at the oncoming traffic, and I feel like we’re going to crash. When we walked on the side of the road people would stare at us with wonder in their eyes like they have never seen a white person before. When we smiled at them they would half smile at you and still stare at you with amazement. The market is another crazy place. We went there with Rasta Jon who is now one of the funniest people I know.  I would walk into a store and right away the owner would come up and try to sell me a million things at once. Then the second I stepped out of the store people would be grabbing my arm pulling me into their store trying to sell me more things. After a while of going in and out of stores I just started making the excuse that I had no money and had to catch up with my group.

                The kids absolutely love us. We got to the school and were introduced to all the students and they were all so excited to see us. I know this because when I walked into prep class the kids ran up screaming and gave me a huge hug.  Once they sat down they kept looking back at me with huge smiles on their face. I probably had the most fun ever grading papers today. The kids who are around 6 years old would come up with their book and not even look if I’m marking their problems right or wrong- they would just stare at me. When it was time to play the kids would be all over me grabbing my shirt and watch; there was a kid holding my hand constantly. When I sat down outside the kids would run their hands through my hair and call it butter but I don’t think my hair looks or feels like butter. The kids are amazing and they could find anything and make a game out of it. They would sing and clap and had a smile on their face like it’s the most exciting moment of their life. One of the girls that I loved was Angel. She is one of the cutest girls ever. She could come to the back of the class and just stand there and look at me while I was grading papers; it was so cute. Whenever we went out of the class she would be there holding my hand. She would look at me and smile, and it was so cute that no matter what, I always had to smile back. The prep teachers are Diana and Happiness. They were very nice unless a kid got out of hand or got a problem more than twice, if the kid did than the teacher would either smack their hand with a ruler or hit them across the face with pencil. It was really hard to watch sometimes especially if the kid was already crying.

                Our residence is really awesome. The backyard is huge, full of luscious, green plants, and is one of the most beautiful things I have seen. So far Tanzania is amazing.

African Slave Trade and The Holocaust

African Slave Trade and the Holocaust

                The African slave trade existed too many many centuries and it still continues today which is sad to think about that people still are that cruel to sell slaves. People that were enslaved were not treated and we think that they were. Some slaves were given certain rights but they were really restricting. When that Atlantic and Arab slave trade started the Africans had to change their way because now they were shipping slaves across the world. In Africa there was many different types of slaves and they all had different rights. There was debt slavery where you could work to pay off your debts, there was war slaves and that’s the slaves that were captured in war and worked until they died or until the master set them free. There was criminal slavery when if you committed a crime you work could it off as a slave. In some parts of Africa slaves would be used as human sacrifice which is pretty disgusting that they believed that killing someone would bring them good luck. Slaves master owned slaves like they were a piece of property which is pretty unfair to the slaves because they would get sold traded or killed without any say in anything. If I child was born into slavery then it would become the masters property and he could do anting he wanted with it without consent of the mother. I think that this is horrible because the mother might never get to see her child be raised, it would jus tube taken from her and no one would tell her what’s happening to her child. 90% of slaves were captured by African then sold to Europeans then traded across the world. When I read this I thought that if I was an African slave capturer I would feel ashamed because you are capturing your own people and selling them, people I think would consider you a trader. Most of the African slave owner knew what awaited to slaves in the new world but they still had no problem selling them. I think that the slave owner had something wrong with them if they could do something like that. Some slaves knew what awaited them so brutal consequences where given to them if they refused to do something. Europeans didn’t try to stop slave trade until the late 18^th century and early 19^th century. France was the first to take action and abolish it in 1794 but napoleon didn’t agree and let slavery be legal in 1802 and then it was finally done with in 1848. Researchers have estimated that between the year 600 and 1900 about 20 million slaves were sent around the world. Around 1/3 of the slaves died in labor work. Thinking about this is horrible to know that humans can be so cruel do pretty much kidnap millions people and just sell them away like nothing.

                The holocaust was the mass murder or genocide of approximately six million Jews during World War II headed by Adolf Hitler who was the leader of Nazi Germany. I believe that Hitler was one of the most awful people to ever live on earth and that he had something wrong in his head. During the holocaust over 1 million Jewish children were killed, about 2 million Jewish women, and 3 million Jewish men. It’s crazy that Hitler wanted to wipe out an entire race of people. Hitler killed even more people like the Soviet prisoners of war, polish and soviet citizens, and homosexuals. Most of all the prisoners were killed in gas chambers or shot. When people entered a concentration camp they couldn’t bring anything at all, and once they go inside the aged, women, children, and infants were killed as quickly as possible. I think that concentration camps were one of the stupidest ideas ever. If anyone was more than 25% Jewish then they were to be killed with no exceptions. I hate thinking about this because you might now have even been converted to the Jewish religion but if your parents or grandparents were then you would die anyway. The big concentration camps were at Auschwitz, Balzec, Chelemno, Jasenovac, Majaneck, Maly Trostenets, Sobibor, and Treblinka. A doctor named Dr. Mengele experimented on the prisoners like putting them in pressure chambers, testing drugs on them, freezing them, trying to change eye color and various amputations. This doctor is also one of the messed up people ever to live. I researcher one of his experiments and he took 2 four year old twin girls for 3 days and when he brought the girls back he sewn their backs together like Siamese twins. You can’t even start to think about what was going through this man’s head when he was doing it, the only think I can think of is that this guy was going to burn in hell for what he did to people. In 1922 Hitler said “Once I really am in power, my first and foremost task will be the annihilation of the Jews. As soon as I have power to do so, I will have gallows built in rows at the Marienplatz in Munich .Then the Jews will be hanged indiscriminately and they will hanging until they stink; they will hang there as long as the principles of hygiene permit. As soon as they have been untied, the next batch will be strung up and so on down the line until the last Jew in Munich has been exterminated. Other cities will follow until every Jew in Germany has been completely cleansed of Jews”. This just shows more of how Hitler was the most evil person on earth. What I think is crazy is that citizens didn’t know what was happening to the Jews once they left until April 7^th, 1944 when Rudolf Vrba escaped from Auschwitz and he finally brought the first credible news to the world of the mass murder that was happening. The Holocaust was one of the most horrible thing ever to happen in the history of the earth.

                The holocaust and the Slave Trade were a lot alike. In both people were captured and forced to somewhere where they didn’t want to go. Also in both it was with a huge amount of people, and a huge amount of those people died or was murdered.

                I hate what Hitler and the slave trade did to people no person should ever have to go through something like that ever. If don’t even know the words to describe how I feel about this except that I feel bad that humans can be this cruel to people. I can’t compare this to my life because throughout my entire life I have been loved and I have never felt the hate that they have and I have never endured the pain and suffering that they have. I’m glad that imp going to Tanzania to help these orphans because their lives are better than slaves but their lives are still sad. I’m glad I’m going to change their lives. I am once again thankful for the life I live and didn’t have to go through what some people did.

Massi Tribe

The Maasai Tribe.

 

            For my trip to Tanzania I am researching the Maasai tribe that lives there and I found a lot of interesting facts about them.

Maasai's unique culture, dress style and territory of the wild and wildlife in Kenya and Tanzania have made them one of Africa's most famous tourist attractions. The Maasai make decorative beaded jewelry including necklaces, earrings, headbands, and wrist and ankle bracelets. These seems to be really cool designs. The Maasai also create interesting wood carvings. A lot of these art pieces are sold to tourist. You can find the beautiful Maasai art all over the world.

            Another interesting fact that I found is that most Maasai men stand over 6 feet tall and are warriors. Their very important god is the rain god Ngai. When the children are young they sing and dance for it to rain. Also when boys turn 14 they traditionally spend up to 8 years looking after livestock far from the village. When they come back they are to get married. The two facts that stood out to me the most was that traditionally to become a man you would have to kill a lion but today killing a lion is illegal and if you do you will go to jail. The other fact is that warriors drink cow’s blood because they believe it makes them stronger.

            The Maasai women are very important in the society. The women make the homes, milk cows, and collect water, cook, and look after the children. But women are considered a minority in society also and are usually represented by their father or husband. A question I would a Maasai women is “If you could, would you change your style of living?”

            Learning about the Maasai tribe is very interesting and I hope that when I go to Tanzania I will learn more about the tribe.

People who inspire me/ animal I would be

People who inspire me

My Uncle Richie inspires me a lot.  I like his personality and I like how he lives on the beach.  He’s athletic and stays in shape.  He can be funny and serious at the same time, which I like. This inspires me because I want to live like my uncle on the beach.  I want to be fit and I want to surf in my free time.

 Another person who inspires me is my mom’s friend, Kevin Kemp.  I admire how Kevin is in the military and how he travels all around the world keeping the USA safe.  Even though I have only met him a couple of times he inspires me a lot.  He inspires me because when I get older I want to travel the world helping people and go to all the places he has been.  I respect all people who are or have been in the military and I’m going to respect them the rest of my life.

The third person who inspires is my cousin Eddie Stewart.  He inspires me because he graduated from college and now has a good job. I want to go to college and then get a job that will support me.  I am inspired by Eddie because he seems really happy in his life and his job. 

                An animal I thought represents me is a wolf. I think I would be a good wolf because wolves travel in packs and always protect their pack. I am a loyal friend and would always protect them. Wolves are untamed and move as they want. They are feared and respected. They are strong.  I like all of these characteristics. 

Fears, difficult things and changes.

Happy New Year everyone. I hope it was an excellent one!  Since my last blog post I have received my passport and have raised more than half the money I need. Thank you to everyone for their donations, it really means a lot and has given me such a boost to my goal of $3000.

            As I start thinking about my trip there are things that scare me. My biggest fear going into this experience is that I will get lost and separated from the group and won’t be able to find my way back. Also that I will get homesick and not feel good or be in a bad mood and not be able to do the job. I am a little nervous about the trip still, but not as much as I used to be. I have never left the country before so this is going to be a big step for me being away from home.

 I think that the most difficult thing during this trip will be the constant working every day and running out of energy to do the work. I haven’t done a lot of hard work for a long time before, so I hope that I will be able to do this without any difficulties. Another difficult thing will be the language barrier, and the confusion that comes with that. I am just starting to learn the language of Tanzania, Swahili, which is a fun language to learn but sometimes hard to pronounce. I have never learned another language before so this is difficult for me.

The way that I think I will change is that I will see how good we live and see how spoiled we are. When I come back I want to see how great of a life I have and cherish it.  Everyone I’ve talked to who came back from a CGA trip has changed for the better. When I come back I believe I will be a harder worker and be more appreciative of my life.  

 

Thanks for reading my blog and stay tuned for my next one.

Tate.