The One With All The Kili Pictures (1/10/2013)

We'll post more about the hike later but for now here are some pictures.

Day 2 on the way up!

Zebra Rock

Day Three - mountain in the distance (over Dad's left shoulder)

5 star accommodations - day 3

Day 3 - getting closer!

There it is!

Keep in mind we are wearing 5 layers each... we aren't really that big

Sunrise from crater rim at the top

Canon rim on the way down - shockingly cold even with the sun shining

Sunrise from the top

Dad with our assistant guide, Lammech 

Leaving the mountain on wobbly legs

After our first shower in 5 days with the rest of kili team

Another sunrise shot over Kenya - it was incredible!

Glaciers near the top

The whole team made it!

Crater rim on the way down

The One With The View From The Top (1/8/2013)

Kili kicked our butts, but we made it anyway.  It was a long hard climb and we are barely moving now but we reached the summit! Stories and more pictures to come, for now we are headed to bed and tomorrow we are off to Zanzibar.  

The One Where Dad Is On His Way! (1/2/2013)

After a few weeks of relaxing days at the beach, eating great food, and hours spent trying to find a job for next year I have left Zanzibar and am now back in Dar Es Salaam.  In just a few hours now my Dad will be flying in and tomorrow morning we head out for Kilimanjaro!  The hike begins on Friday! I can’t wait!!  

The One With More Pictures (12/29/2012)

Here are a few random pictures that I have been meaning to upload for awhile now.

Elizabeth, her two daughters, one of their friends and I cooking Vibama

Learning to carry firewood on my head

Grace and I blowing out our birthday candle 

The One With All The Catching Up (12/18/2012)

The last two days have been spent in sessions, catching up with other volunteers, swapping war stories, and encouraging each other that we can make it through one more semester.  It has been so fun to hear everyone’s stories and to be reminded that we are not in this alone over here.  The conference ended yesterday and we all went for a celebratory sunset swim.  Some people are gone already and some are sticking around so it looks like I am going to have a low key few days just hanging out going to the beach and eating amazing food until my dad gets here.   

The One With The “Conference” (12/15/2012)

Today was the first day of the WorldTeach “conference”.   So we all met on the beach at 11 and piled into a boat that took us out to a sand bank in the middle of the ocean.  We spent the day on the beach swimming, eating, and playing Frisbee.  Work here can be tough sometimes!  

For dinner I got to eat some amazing Ethiopian food and catch up with some more of the volunteers.  Another great day in Zanzibar! 

The One With The Dolphins And The Monkeys (12/15/2012)

Yesterday morning began for me at 5:45 which seems to be the norm these days.  I got ready for the day and headed out with 3 other volunteers who were here early for the conference.  We walked a ways to a tour company office where we got into a cab and headed over to the other side of the island.  From there we got onto a boat and took to the sea.  After driving around for a little while we finally spotted what we came to see, a school of dolphins! We raced over to them (as fast as our 5 horse power engine would take us).  As we got close we put on our goggles and flippers and then jumped in! That’s right, I got to actually swim with the dolphins! It was amazing! We were about am arm’s length away from some of them!  After a few hours of searching for dolphins, getting in and out of the boat every 10 minutes or so and swimming around we were taken over to another part of the island where we got to snorkel.  I felt like I was in an aquarium! There were so many fish swimming around and the coral was stunning!

Finally we got out of the water and into the cab again and headed over to Jozani National Forest where we took a tour of the jungle and got to see the Zanzibar Red Colobus Monkeys!  They are totally wild but really comfortable around people so we were able to get super close to them which, for those of you who know about my love for monkeys, was a dream come true. 

Finally we left the forest and headed home.  After some walking through the beautiful streets of Stone Town for a while a bunch of volunteers and I met up at a local fish market.  Fishermen all come to sell the fish that they caught that day.  They cook it all right there for you and there are great homemade breads too.  I tried the king fish and the barracuda… both amazing! It is hard to believe that I am still in Tanzania sometimes!