It's coming to an end...

I can't believe my 15 weeks here in Africa is coming to an end. It has gone so quickly, but at the same time it seems like ages ago that I left NYC. I'm really sad to leave, but really looking forward to coming home and seeing family and friends as well. I have had such an incredible time here and it's been an experience I will always treasure. When I came to Africa I was thinking of what help I was going to be to people here and what I would be able to teach them - it turned out it wasn't me that taught them, it was them that taught me. Thanks to all of you for your love, prayers and support. I will defintiely still be posting more - I have a lot to fill you in on and loads of photos still to share! Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend. I'm hoping the rain will go away and they sun will come out for the last day in Swaziland! xx Jamie

Photos from Swaziland

This may be the longest I have gone without a post. The days are just going so quickly - only a couple of weeks left! I have loved everywhere I have been, but there is something about Swaziland that makes it special. The people, the landscape, the history, the tradition - it's all quite unbelievable.

Now to catch you up....

The first week we were here we drove up to Kruger National Park in South Africa. We spent four nights camping and were on drives during the days looking for animals. Even with the fact that the area is suffering from a drought and all the water holes are dried up we managed to see a good deal.

We saw the big 5!

The elephant...


The rhino...


The leopard (we saw a leopard three times and twice right next to the vehicle - extremely lucky)...


The lion (you have to look closely)...


The water buffalo (somehow, this was the one we had the most difficult finding)...

Some of my other favourites - the giraffe and zebra...


We also got to go for a walk and saw zebra, water buffalo and rhino - but all from a good distance. If anything tried to attack I was ready ;)...


Once we got back from Kruger we started our community work. The first couple of days we were making bricks with earth and water. Extremely harder than I thought it would be - it took five of us just to work the machine. I don't have any photos of us working just yet - the last day we were suppose to go we had rain - and probably most of the brick we made washed away. I do though have photos of the children that live around there - they are the ones we are building the house for.



Thursday we were at one of the NCP Centers (Neighborhood Care Point). The NCP is set up for orphan and vulnerable children in the area that can't afford to go to school. It gives them a place to go to play, learn and made sure they receive breakfast and lunch. We had a craft day with them and had such a great time. Such amazing children with such big smiles on their faces.



During the weekends and evenings we are able to explore beautiful Swaziland - this is me on a quad bike...


Well, it's time to get out and enjoy this beautiful Sunday morning - I have been sitting at the laptop looking out at a stunning landscape. This is the most incredible view from a laptop - I'll try and post a photo of it soon. I'm hoping it won't take as long for the next post.

Loving Swaziland!

I am loving it here and having such an incredible time! Just wanted to do a quick post to let you know what I have been up to - sorry no pictures. I plan on making a post this week that will have more info.

We arrived last Monday and had one night here in Swaziland. We then spent four nights camping in Kruger and saw loads of animals. We then drove back to Swaziland and have been enjoying the weekend. This weekend was the 40/40 festival - 40 years of Independence and the 40th birthday for the King - so you can imagine there was a lot going on. Today we went on a tour in the valley and saw lots of the country side and visited a few homesteads. Tomorrow we have orientation and then will begin projects on Tuesday. As I said I will fill you in on the details later this week - and will hopefully have photos!

Hope all are well!

First Day of Spring

As summer is coming to an end back home it is the first day of spring here!

The Last Week - Photos!

Hope everyone is having a wonderful Labor Day Weekend. I seem to be spending the holiday weekends traveling. When I traveled to Moshi it was during 4th of July and now Labor Day. And from the blog you may remember that I stayed the night in a hotel while I was in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on the 4th. Well, this time they told me the hotel was not covered by them. When I asked why the last time it was their reply was "probably a mistake". Luckily, I had my sleeping bag - sleeping in the airport was actually not that bad. Now I'm back in Johannesburg - last night I had the best sleep I have had in long time and a nice hot shower. And I have FAST and FREE internet!! and I have time! ...which means photos and stories.

I don't even know where to begin. It was an incredible last week.

Here are some photos from dinner last Sunday at Alfred's (our taxi driver)...


In class the past couple of weeks we have made masks, the Tanzanian flag, pasta necklaces, and balloons with sugar in them as noise makers. We also took a class photo on my last day. I will miss the children - all their smiling faces and hugs!



For my last week with my women's group I stopped teaching English and they started teaching me their needlework! Then on Friday I went early and had another lunch with them - they also invited my friend Nadia who I teach with. Again, it was incredible. I'm really going to miss them. I have truly enjoyed working with the children, but I think working with the women has been the most rewarding for me - I have learned so much from them. After lunch they gave me gifts; a certificate they had put together, a pillow case they had made me with a zebra on it (this is so when I sleep with it I will dream of them and Moshi) and also a bag with a zebra. I then spent the rest of the evening with a couple of the women from my class. I got to meet some of their family, visit their homes and get to know them better - what truly strong and amazing women.


Saturday I said my goodbyes to friends. I have really met some incredible people on this trip. These are just random photos with friends.

Our wine and cheese night - not quite the same as it is back in NYC, but it was definitely a fun night.


These lovely girls from Liverpool have been my fantastic roommates for the past couple of weeks - they are dead fun!

Our Maasai watch guards at the house.


This is one from the plane - Goodbye Kili!


This afternoon I will be on a plane (again) this time heading to Swaziland. I am refreshed and ready to begin the next adventure!

Monday, 25 August 2008

This is my last week here in Moshi! I can't believe it's been almost eight weeks since I arrived here. It's all been so incredible and I will be sad to leave. As you can probably tell I didn't have as much time as I would have wished on Saturday to post updates and photos, but I wanted to share as much as I could - there are so many photos and it's so hard to choose just a few to share. When I am back to NYC I will spend some time uploading the photos so you will be able to see most of them - you wouldn't want to see all (there is over a thousand now and I still have a month to go)!

Yesterday I went to the orphanage again. This time Mama Lucy gave us a tour - she is the one that runs the orphanage. She is such an amazing woman and it was great to be able to spend some time with her. After the orphanage our taxi driver here had invited a group of us for dinner at his house and to meet his family. It was his way of thanking us for the business. It was great to be able to go into someones home and be able to spend time with their family. People are so incredible here.

I imagine this week is going to be incredibly busy and I probably won't have another chance to post. Saturday I will board the plane and begin my next journey! Not sure how much internet access I will have in the next month, but will post as soon as I can.

I also want to send many thanks to those that have helped contribute to the benches, desks and sponsoring. It's a tremendous help and going to such a good cause.

Hope everyone is enjoying the last bit of summer!

Sunday, 23 August 2008

Last Friday was Sarah's (the girl I was teaching with) lasts day. We decided to do hand prints with the kids. It went really great and the kids had a fantastic time.




Last weekend was laundry day for me - Gloria helped me out...


Last Sunday we went to the orphanage again - the kids are adorable. I wish I could bring them all home with me!



On Monday I had lunch with my women's group. It was by far one of the most incredible experiences I have had here. I learned some cooking tips and tried a real Tanzanian meal!