I'm here! And I'm online! Huzzah!
My travels yesterday - well, actually the day before that, too - went just fine. Portland to Detroit to Amsterdam to Kilimanjaro. Then we took a van to Moshi where we are staying at a nice bed and breakfast. There is electricity and running water (though not very hot) and, most importantly, there was coffee at breakfast.
It was so unbelievably dark flying into Kilimanjaro. As we were descending in the plane, I could not see ANY lights. All of a sudden, we hit the ground. It was one of the more shocking experiences of my life. Apparently, there was a big ol' gust of wind as we were landing that blew us off course, so we landed right next to the runway. Yeah. Adventurous!
The town of Moshi is hot and bustling. Apparently everyone is home for the holiday season. There are so many things to look at. My eyes are full, but my camera is not yet! There are some very pushy gentlemen trying to sell us things on the street. Children, too. It is hard, because the stuff they have is actually quite beautiful, but I'm not buying anything until I have seen more. One girl in our group had this one guy selling batiks follow her for almost an hour. Crazy.
There will be 11 people total in our group, but only 6 of us are here so far. My classmate, Rebecca, and I are the oldest - everyone else is pre-med. Haha! It's like we are wise sages or something. Not really, but...
We are celebrating the new year with a dinner tonight. I hope everyone else is planning on having some fun, too. Drink a glass of champagne for me, everyone (except Ari).
I don't think I'll always have internet access, but keep checking! I'll post when I can. And when I get home... pictures!!
Swahili lesson:
Jambo = hello
Asante = thank you
Asante san = thank you very much
Hapano = No thank you
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!
Dec 31, 2005
Dec 28, 2005
The Big Trip
I was really planning on doing a lot more posting before my trip, but that obviously didn't happen. You know how things manage to pile up and before you know it, you find yourself up until the middle of the night just tying together those little details? Well, I don't think I'll be up all night. I'm actually pretty well packed now. But I'm sure I'm forgetting something. I was on a roll this afternoon until the power went out. (Thank goodness it was only out for an hour!)
So, as promised, here is my itinerary (it is a bit messy, but I'm too tired to try to fix it much):
I don't really know much about any of the places on the itinerary. I can't wait to learn all about them!
Everyone keeps asking me if I am excited. Am I? Of course I am, sillies! At this point, I'm still worried that I'm forgetting something major. But in, oh about twelve or so hours, I'll be horribly excited - that's when my flight leave. (Of course, the first flight is to Detroit, so maybe I should wait until my second flight, for Amsterdam, leaves...)
FYI Tanzania is 11 hours ahead of Oregon, 8 hours ahead of North Carolina.
And now, I'll sign off. I don't expect that I'll have the opportunity to get online while I'm there, but if I do, I will surely update here. Take care everyone, and stay safe until I get home. Stay safe after that, too, of course... All the time, really....
So, as promised, here is my itinerary (it is a bit messy, but I'm too tired to try to fix it much):
FRIDAY 30th December, 2005
Students Arrivals JRO / DAR
B/B MOSHI
LION HOTEL/DAR
SATURDAY 31st December , 2005
Hiking day for JRO arrivals. Travel day to Moshi for Dar arrivals. New years Dinner at Sal Salnero Hotel /Optional..
B/B Moshi
SUNDAY 1st January, 2006
Worship/rest/get organized; Program orientation at B/B House
B/B House
MONDAY 2nd January, 2006
Travel day to Bumbuli. Stop over at Soni Falls
BUMBULI G/HOUSE
TUESDAY 3rd January, 2006
Village Triage day One
BUMBULI G/HOUSE
WEDNESDAY 4th January, 2006
Village Clinic
BUMBULI G/HOUSE
THURSDAY 5th January, 2006
Village Triage Day Two
BUMBULI G/HOUSE
FRIDAY 6th January, 2006
Half Day Village Clinic, Late afternoon Travel to IRENTE
IRENTE CLIFF LODGE
SATURDAY 7th January, 2006
Travel to Moshi
B/B HOUSE SHANTY TOWN MOSHI
SUNDAY 9th January, 2006
Worship / travel Day to Rombo/Stop over at Marangu Waterfalls.
ROMBO LUTHERAN HOSTEL
MONDAY 9th January, 2006
Village Triage Full day
UHURU HOSTEL ROMBO
TUESDAY 10th January, 2006
Village triage Full Day
UHURU HOSTEL ROMBO
WEDNESDAY 11th January, 2006
Clinic Day at Church Dispensary
UHURU HOSTEL ROMBO
THURSDAY 12th January, 2006
Travel Day to Moshi
Evening to Faraja
FARAJA DIACONIC CENTRE
FRIDAY 13th January, 2006
Maasai Vilage
Triage full day
FARAJA DIACONIC CENTRE
SATURDAY 14th January, 2006
Masai Clinic at the Local Lutheran Church.
Full day/ Return To Moshi
B/B House Shanty Town Moshi
SUNDAY 15th January, 2006
Safari Day one Lake Manyara National Park, Game Drive. at Lake Manyara N/Park
TWIGA LODGE
MONDAY 16th January, 2006
Safari Day Two (Travel to Ngorongoro Crater for Crater Tour
KARATU LUTHERAN HOSTEL
TUESDAY 17th January, 2006
Safari Day Three Return back to Moshi- Masai shopping Centers On the way.
B/B HOUSE SHANTY TOWN MOSHI
WEDNESDAY 18th January, 2006
Travel Day to Dar es Salaam
LION HOTEL/OPTIONAL
19th January, 2006
Flights To U.S.A. BRITISH AIRWAY/KLM.
I don't really know much about any of the places on the itinerary. I can't wait to learn all about them!
Everyone keeps asking me if I am excited. Am I? Of course I am, sillies! At this point, I'm still worried that I'm forgetting something major. But in, oh about twelve or so hours, I'll be horribly excited - that's when my flight leave. (Of course, the first flight is to Detroit, so maybe I should wait until my second flight, for Amsterdam, leaves...)
FYI Tanzania is 11 hours ahead of Oregon, 8 hours ahead of North Carolina.
And now, I'll sign off. I don't expect that I'll have the opportunity to get online while I'm there, but if I do, I will surely update here. Take care everyone, and stay safe until I get home. Stay safe after that, too, of course... All the time, really....
Dec 21, 2005
Not Dead... Just....
...Boring.
Seriously. I've gotten to the point of vacation where I need a vacation from my vacation. And on that vacation vacation, I'd have lots of responsibilities and duties and I'd have to do lots of thinking and get stressed out. In other words: I'm ready for vacation to be over. I need a meaning in life!
For those of you counting: that's about 6 weeks of sitting around doing absolutely nothing before it gets mind-numbingly boring. I'm actually surprised that I lasted that long! If you factor in a month of traveling for interviews, I guess I didn't really sit around doing nothing for six full weeks. In fact, it has only been two weeks since my last interview. So. Two weeks of absolutely no responsibility is enough for me.
BUT! Now. NOW things begin. Oh, yes. Tomorrow morning, my mother and my youngest sister and I are going to be in the studio audience of a local morning talk show. We're hoping that they give free stuff to the audience. And then Friday... well, I might bake or something. Then Saturday is all Christmas Eve and stuff. And Sunday is Christmas! And Monday is day-after-Christmas shopping (though I'm actually almost _bored_ of shopping). And Tuesday and Wednesday are prep days for Thursday when I LEAVE FOR AFRICA.
I recently got my itinerary - I shall post it here before I go, so you all can be jeal... I mean, so you can see what I'm up to.
Last week I got a manicure, and ended up with Barbie Doll pink nail polish on (it was called "First Class"). I didn't remove it until today. That's how bored/boring I've been.
But no more!
I have a travel pack, and a day pack, and a compression sack, patty whack, give the dog a bone!!
If anyone has any advice as far as what I should pack for three weeks in Tanzania, I would be oh-so-happy for the tips.
Here is a tip from Brenna:
Scan your passport into a file and e-mail it to yourself as well as carrying along extra copies of it on your person.
Seriously. I've gotten to the point of vacation where I need a vacation from my vacation. And on that vacation vacation, I'd have lots of responsibilities and duties and I'd have to do lots of thinking and get stressed out. In other words: I'm ready for vacation to be over. I need a meaning in life!
For those of you counting: that's about 6 weeks of sitting around doing absolutely nothing before it gets mind-numbingly boring. I'm actually surprised that I lasted that long! If you factor in a month of traveling for interviews, I guess I didn't really sit around doing nothing for six full weeks. In fact, it has only been two weeks since my last interview. So. Two weeks of absolutely no responsibility is enough for me.
BUT! Now. NOW things begin. Oh, yes. Tomorrow morning, my mother and my youngest sister and I are going to be in the studio audience of a local morning talk show. We're hoping that they give free stuff to the audience. And then Friday... well, I might bake or something. Then Saturday is all Christmas Eve and stuff. And Sunday is Christmas! And Monday is day-after-Christmas shopping (though I'm actually almost _bored_ of shopping). And Tuesday and Wednesday are prep days for Thursday when I LEAVE FOR AFRICA.
I recently got my itinerary - I shall post it here before I go, so you all can be jeal... I mean, so you can see what I'm up to.
Last week I got a manicure, and ended up with Barbie Doll pink nail polish on (it was called "First Class"). I didn't remove it until today. That's how bored/boring I've been.
But no more!
I have a travel pack, and a day pack, and a compression sack, patty whack, give the dog a bone!!
If anyone has any advice as far as what I should pack for three weeks in Tanzania, I would be oh-so-happy for the tips.
Here is a tip from Brenna:
Scan your passport into a file and e-mail it to yourself as well as carrying along extra copies of it on your person.
Dec 14, 2005
Iron Chef Brenna?
For the past month or so, we have had several pomegranates sitting on our counter. Have you ever had a pomegranate? They're really quite good. They're also freaking hard to eat, which I think is part of the reason (if not the main reason) that they've been sitting peacefully on the kitchen counter.
I enjoy eating pomegranates by themselves, but I kept seeing cook-y type people on TV morning shows (did I mention that I'm on vacation...? With very little to do?) talk about how good pomegranates were to cook with.
Well, me being me, and not willing to let sitting pomegranates lie, I decided that I needed to cook something... pomegranate-y.
(The word pomegranate sounds funny after you say it five or so times in a row. Pomegranate, pomegranate, pomegranate...)
I told my mom that I would cook dinner today so that she could have one day off from feeding us hungry masses, and I did some internet searches for 'pomegranate recipe.' I looked for a long time. Not being what one would call a 'cook' normally, I don't really know what constitutes a 'good' recipe. A recipe could include 'arsenic' and I'd be, like, 'I wonder what aisle the arsenic is in at the grocery store?'
Finally I settled on "Roasted Pomegranate Chicken," which looked relatively easy-ish. Then I had a whole huge debate - mostly in my head, with the occasional verbal exclamation - about what sides to have with Roasted Pomegranate Chicken. Potatoes? Cous cous? Corn?
Somehow, I setted on salad, wild rice, and (another recipe!) "Green Beans Amandine."
I was... less than confident in my actual ability to cook, so I gave myself lots of time to get things organized. Then I was all mincing garlic, and juicing pomegranates and lemons (hard, hard, hard) and... boiling water and stuff.
And, in the end, after about two hours of work... it was all edible! Good, even! I think the recipes I picked were pretty fool-proof, so that was good. I am pleased to know that I can cook. And that I don't hate it! I wouldn't say that I love it (no Iron Chef Brenna), but there is a certain sense of accomplishment in preparing a whole menu.
I would rather stick to knitting and crocheting, though, in terms of the domestic arts. They're more portable!
Brenna's Menu:
Mixed Green Salad with dried cranberries, sliced almonds and Raspberry Vinaigrette
Roasted Pomegranate Chicken
Wild Rice
Green Beans Amandine
(I didn't do dessert - that was beyond my mad organizational cooking skillz.)
I enjoy eating pomegranates by themselves, but I kept seeing cook-y type people on TV morning shows (did I mention that I'm on vacation...? With very little to do?) talk about how good pomegranates were to cook with.
Well, me being me, and not willing to let sitting pomegranates lie, I decided that I needed to cook something... pomegranate-y.
(The word pomegranate sounds funny after you say it five or so times in a row. Pomegranate, pomegranate, pomegranate...)
I told my mom that I would cook dinner today so that she could have one day off from feeding us hungry masses, and I did some internet searches for 'pomegranate recipe.' I looked for a long time. Not being what one would call a 'cook' normally, I don't really know what constitutes a 'good' recipe. A recipe could include 'arsenic' and I'd be, like, 'I wonder what aisle the arsenic is in at the grocery store?'
Finally I settled on "Roasted Pomegranate Chicken," which looked relatively easy-ish. Then I had a whole huge debate - mostly in my head, with the occasional verbal exclamation - about what sides to have with Roasted Pomegranate Chicken. Potatoes? Cous cous? Corn?
Somehow, I setted on salad, wild rice, and (another recipe!) "Green Beans Amandine."
I was... less than confident in my actual ability to cook, so I gave myself lots of time to get things organized. Then I was all mincing garlic, and juicing pomegranates and lemons (hard, hard, hard) and... boiling water and stuff.
And, in the end, after about two hours of work... it was all edible! Good, even! I think the recipes I picked were pretty fool-proof, so that was good. I am pleased to know that I can cook. And that I don't hate it! I wouldn't say that I love it (no Iron Chef Brenna), but there is a certain sense of accomplishment in preparing a whole menu.
I would rather stick to knitting and crocheting, though, in terms of the domestic arts. They're more portable!
Brenna's Menu:
Mixed Green Salad with dried cranberries, sliced almonds and Raspberry Vinaigrette
Roasted Pomegranate Chicken
Wild Rice
Green Beans Amandine
(I didn't do dessert - that was beyond my mad organizational cooking skillz.)
Dec 8, 2005
Ding-Dang
Done!
No, not with Christmas shopping (thanks for reminding me of that... geez!) NO! I am done - D. O. N. E. - with the freaking residency interviews. I had my seventh, and last, interview on Tuesday. I feel like I should maybe interview at more. But then I also feel that seven is a nice, biblical number so I should just leave it at that. So I'm gonna.
Highlights of the whole process:
- Getting nine of my ten interview offers before the dean's letter went out
- Seeing Dirty Rotten Scoundrels on Broadway the night before one interview because they didn't have the obligatory evening before (though I guess not obligatory, since they didn't have it) 'meet and greet' with the residents
- Feeling like an honorary "Man in Black" as I toured many facilities with like-dressed applicants. All with our clicky shoes
- Having a hard time suppressing my laughter every time our footsteps became synchronized during those tours (we'd go Clickety-clicket-click-Click-CLICK-CLICK)
- Finding three "I'd love to go there" programs, three "I think that would be sorta fun" to go there programs and one "I only really need to rank six programs, right?" program.
- Getting up at 4:45 am, driving two hours, dropping off rental car, catching shuttle to airport, waiting at gate, boarding plane, hearing 'this plane is broken,' de-boarding plane, waiting two hours for new plane, boarding new plane, watching two grown men almost come to fisticuffs while stowing luggage ('you think you can take me, fatso!?'), flying, riding train 1 hour home, leaving again sixty-two hours later
- Fresno newspaper headline: "Fresno Cow Count Rising"
- Chatty Sacramento shuttle driver who got lost and found the street with the MOST SPEED-BUMPS EVER CREATED
- And, finally, coming home to a Christmas-filled house, knowing that I have a full three plus weeks to recover.
And, by the by... I have an announcement (no, I'm not pregnant. Or engaged.):
I'm a-goin' to Africa!
Seriously! Real-life Africa - not Animal Kingdom or the zoo
or a really realistic non-fiction/fiction book that takes me there in my imagination. Actual Africa with the actual Lions and Witches and... no, wait. With actual Lions and Tigers and... no, that's not it either. Well, there will be lions anyway. And other animals. Deadly animals. And deadly mosquitoes (for which I've been armed with gajillions of shots and pills).
I'm going with a group called The Center for International Service Learning. I'm so terribly excited! I am going with a classmate - though we won't actually see each other again until we meet up in Amsterdam! We'll be doing some sort of rural triage clinic. What that entails, I'm not quite certain. I leave in three weeks!! Which means that I will be in Africa for New Year's. How awesome is that? For the rest of my life, I will not have to worry about making New Year's a big occasion, because no matter what I end up doing, nothing will beat being in Africa when the year changes.
Unless, maybe some year I'm on the moon...
No, not with Christmas shopping (thanks for reminding me of that... geez!) NO! I am done - D. O. N. E. - with the freaking residency interviews. I had my seventh, and last, interview on Tuesday. I feel like I should maybe interview at more. But then I also feel that seven is a nice, biblical number so I should just leave it at that. So I'm gonna.
Highlights of the whole process:
- Getting nine of my ten interview offers before the dean's letter went out
- Seeing Dirty Rotten Scoundrels on Broadway the night before one interview because they didn't have the obligatory evening before (though I guess not obligatory, since they didn't have it) 'meet and greet' with the residents
- Feeling like an honorary "Man in Black" as I toured many facilities with like-dressed applicants. All with our clicky shoes
- Having a hard time suppressing my laughter every time our footsteps became synchronized during those tours (we'd go Clickety-clicket-click-Click-CLICK-CLICK)
- Finding three "I'd love to go there" programs, three "I think that would be sorta fun" to go there programs and one "I only really need to rank six programs, right?" program.
- Getting up at 4:45 am, driving two hours, dropping off rental car, catching shuttle to airport, waiting at gate, boarding plane, hearing 'this plane is broken,' de-boarding plane, waiting two hours for new plane, boarding new plane, watching two grown men almost come to fisticuffs while stowing luggage ('you think you can take me, fatso!?'), flying, riding train 1 hour home, leaving again sixty-two hours later
- Fresno newspaper headline: "Fresno Cow Count Rising"
- Chatty Sacramento shuttle driver who got lost and found the street with the MOST SPEED-BUMPS EVER CREATED
- And, finally, coming home to a Christmas-filled house, knowing that I have a full three plus weeks to recover.
And, by the by... I have an announcement (no, I'm not pregnant. Or engaged.):
I'm a-goin' to Africa!
Seriously! Real-life Africa - not Animal Kingdom or the zoo
or a really realistic non-fiction/fiction book that takes me there in my imagination. Actual Africa with the actual Lions and Witches and... no, wait. With actual Lions and Tigers and... no, that's not it either. Well, there will be lions anyway. And other animals. Deadly animals. And deadly mosquitoes (for which I've been armed with gajillions of shots and pills).
I'm going with a group called The Center for International Service Learning. I'm so terribly excited! I am going with a classmate - though we won't actually see each other again until we meet up in Amsterdam! We'll be doing some sort of rural triage clinic. What that entails, I'm not quite certain. I leave in three weeks!! Which means that I will be in Africa for New Year's. How awesome is that? For the rest of my life, I will not have to worry about making New Year's a big occasion, because no matter what I end up doing, nothing will beat being in Africa when the year changes.
Unless, maybe some year I'm on the moon...
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