St Jude's testing - Aug 2010 (Arusha, Tanzania)

Every year from Aug through to December, St Jude's school open's it's gates every Friday to the children of Arusha to sit exams for their chance to gain entry to the school. St Jude's promotes the opportunity on local radio stations and of course its a very very popular and busy day at the school.

Local families who get the opportunity to send one of their children to the school will be very lucky as this will be a great help to not only the child's job prospects but also the income that they can bring in to support the family - it's different in Africa to Western countries - the family unit works together to put food on the table, pay for bills and family occassions like weddings, births and deaths.

So I was very excited to be a part of one of the Friday entrance testing days at St Jude's. There's alot to be organised amongst not only the admin staff but our security, teachers and gardeners who help chaperone and translate on the day. Buses need to be moved off site, security stepped up and processes organised. On the day I was to do primarily the photography of the day unfolding and then once things quietened to help monitor the children sitting their exams to help with questions, prevent cheating and accompany children to the toilet.

At around 12.30pm I went to the main gate and the crowd of mothers and children was already 200 strong at least! The parents waiting area in the main driveway was roped off and only children were allowed through to the waiting area. The gardeners and security staff did a great job chaperoning the children who obviously get restless, need water, toilets and often have a little cry as they want their mum's. All children are told to bring their own pencil so we check that before they enter they have a sharp pencil to complete their exam with. It might sound crazy that we cant supply pencils, but you must realise we have a few hundred children every Friday between August and December which would equate to too much money that the school as a charity cannot afford. Often we find ourselves sharpening pencils for the children who must press down on those things real hard!

It was a mass of colour outside the school gates. The children patiently sitting in the shade waving their pencils in the air and occassionally at their hopeful mum's in the crowd beside them. The mama's are beautiful - many in their best clothes and their children too as this is a big event for them and if their child is accepted today there will be great celebrations. The variety of kanga prints (African material that the women wear with bold African patterns) is amazing and eye candy for me. I absolutely adore the women who wrap the kanga around their heads - they look so elegant.

As th children start to move in lines with the hand on the shoulder of the person in front of them its just adorable, mums are waving and I imagine saying good luck, some of the children are proud and you can tell they are not sure what exactly all the fuss is about but they have their mum's attention and in a big family that's what counts. Some children see me - the only "muzungu" outside at that point and use it as their opportunity to practise their English. There is one little boy in particular with a gorgeous smile and I can see he is determined to talk to me, he's in his best clothes and only a tiny frame of maybe 8 years and with a huge smile as he walks in his line past me he says "Good morning madam, how are you today?" I can tell he's been practising this phrase and he decides since he did so well the first time why not say it a few more times to me since I'm smiling back at him and asking how he is. He melted my heart but I must continue with the photos and not show any preference by talking with them.

Some of the children are just too young to do the exam, let alone the reading test which is part one of the day. One girl was so cute and maybe 3 years - how was she going to read?? We tell the parents the minimum age, but they ignore trying their luck, so we give them the chance since they have travelled all the way but this little girl just stares at the paper and sweetly smiles at the testing teacher - she melts our heart and I take her photo as she is too cute. One little boy is in his probably only suit - it's beige and linen and makes us all smile.

Not only was it a fashion parade of kanga's that day with the mothers, but the other eye candy was the fantastic hair-do's on the children. I find myself going crazy taking photo after photo of these amazing hair-do's - I never imagine hair braids could have so many variations, I wonder if they have a menu card at the salon or does everyone know the name of each style?!

Most of the children are in the gate and still more pour through. Parents are outside now and can only see the sea of heads that contains their little one. We continue to keep the children in lines and based on height our gardeners place the children in lines according to approximate class levels. All the children have short attention spans and within moments of being in perfect lines they are in awe of the children's playground and the huge grounds of the school and the lines go astray along with children wanting to play. We all have a giggle as we try to keep them in lines and get them to focus on what they are here to do - but it's so adorable as they are in a zombie-like state looking at this playground equipment the majority have probably never seen.

Further ahead in the lines one by one the children are given a passage written in swahili and asked to read it to the teacher - this helps us do a fast cull as the children must be able to read Swahili to be considered for the exam. We would love to take all the children, but the fact is that each child needs several sponsors to be able to afford to attend the school and have their education paid for - and since this is a big investment of both money and resources, the school needs to be sure that the child has some promise of being able to apply themselves to their studies successfully.

The written exam which for obvious reasons I cant detail here, but I will say its very basic and things that children should know at the ages we are testing. Again it was interesting to observe the children in these conditions, because we and their parents understand how critical this exam is for their future - if they get through they have a very promising future ahead of them. But the number of children who sit there in a daze staring out to the playground or at just a fly going past was amazing and my heart sank that they were not focused. I found myself tapping on their papers to get their attention, smiling and pointing to parts of the exam to encourage them to keep going. Some children would get stuck on one part and they would just sit there staring at it, so I would encourage them to move onto other parts and come back at the end.

Of course some children are cheating and trying to copy off the person next to them - this is obviously not permitted and they will loose their opportunity straight away so we try to avoid temptation and keep them apart. Once they complete this exam in the allocated time frame we take and mark the papers and double check them. Those children who are not successful are sent out with a thank you note and welcoming them to try again next week and those that are successful are gathered together and brought outside doing a little song and dance celebration for the parents to join in!

Unfortunately though, the process is not over and these children and their families are now subject to house checks to ensure that the children really are in need and deserving of a free education as we have found many people who can afford to pay for tuition trying to send their children to the exam to get entry to the school. Again I cant detail exactly how we worm these families out but we do thankfully and provide a seat in class for a child in much need.

Being apart of the testing is absolutely amazing, I realised yet again just how important St Jude's is to the future of these children. One of my colleagues fought back tears as she had to accompany the children who were not successful and it was breaking her heart - it was breaking all our hearts but we knew why we had to say no and we knew that some of these children would be a yes.

If you have been reading my blogs and thinking about sponsoring a child I hope this has helped you consider or even action it. As you can hear there are alot of people involved behind the scenes at St Jude's and without sponsorship funds we would have to close the school, which means closing the futures of 1300+ children and the loss of incomes for 300+ local Tanzanian staff. Please consider sponsoring a child, teacher, bus or boarding room today and make a world of difference to not just one child but their community and the future of their country. Thanks for reading x

St Jude's sponsor child home visit - July 2010

Back in around 2009 through my dance school – World Fusion Dance Company – we started sponsoring a student and teacher at the School of St Jude in Tanzania. We held a fundraiser concert to raise money for the sponsorship and I have continued it since travelling. I always dream like my World Vision sponsor that I could one day visit my sponsor child and see how the money was helping her education (if at all – which we all fear right?!).

So as soon as I arrived at the school to commence my volunteer placement, I enquired about a home visit. By the time I actually went out to meet her and her family, I had already been working at the school for 2 weeks and had actually even been taking photos in her class – so I saw and knew who she was, but she never knew that I was her sponsor.

The day finally came to get the school bus on a Saturday morning and we were to pick her and her mother up from a designated stop on the normal school bus route so they could direct us to their home. We drove down a dirt main road around 20 minutes from our school and there stood my very timid sponsor child with her mum who was dressed elegantly in a yellow and black African Kanga outfit including the African style turbans. They guided us just around the corner to their home which was typical for the poorer areas of Arusha with 1 bedroom mud with homes in adjoining clusters of 3-4.

Inside was one room with no adjoining kitchen or bathroom – one room which mum dad and 2 kids sleep, eat and live within. It was very tidy and appeared to have everything they really needed. Inside she has a kerosene burner which is the norm for cooking inside or a wood/charcol fuelled fire outside. I didn’t take notice if they had electricity there but I am guessing not as it’s not very common for most poorer areas of Arusha.

Through my interpreter from the school I was able to ask questions to the mother and vice versa. She actually could speak a little English so we were very happy to communicate and especially when we realized she was only a year younger than me with 2 kids! She asked about my family history and I asked about their’s. I learnt that she has been doing a tailor course so that she can start sewing as a means to bring money in because currently only the father works as a truck driver in Arusha.

Slowly my sponsor child came out of her shell. She pulled out all her report cards and some of her exercise books with homework for me to see and promised to keep studying hard. We have realized that these children look at their sponsors as people who at any moment could end their education. They know that they are sponsored which pays for their education so they think if we see they have bad marks (below 80%) that we may not continue to sponsor them!

They took me for a walk around their neighbourhood. As they don’t have any taps with running water in their house or within the group of houses, they go to a mosque next door that has a well which they purchase a small bucket of water for approx 80 shilling. One thing I found frustrating was the stream at the back of the neighbourhood which many people take the water to wash their clothes and some to boil and drink – it was full of rubbish – people just dumping it in as well as the endless breeding ground for malaria. I watch everyday as people throw rubbish onto the roads, into gardens, around their homes, into creeks and even whilst I was in a boat in Zanzibar a fisherman threw plastic bottles into the ocean. It really kills me to watch a nation choke themselves and their environment on rubbish and create preventable situations that arise to disease. Im hoping that slowly the next generation that we see coming out of the likes of St Jude’s are educated and responsible to understand the damage they are doing. I’ve often joked about doing a “Clean up Arusha Day” just like we have in Australia and we all agreed it’s never going to happen. There are no apparent rubbish collections in the neighbourhoods, so people do the best they can and burn the rubbish, leaving the charcol and bit left over for the local chickens and goats to sift through.

Sorry got off track – so it was a great insight into the way many of the locals in Arusha are living – I must say that even though my sponsor child and her family did not have a lot of belongings, their home was immaculate and everything decorated with doilies, plastic flowers or tributes to god. Her mother took great pride in what they have and this is often reflected when we step into many of the sponsor childrens homes and even the boarding rooms at the school, where the children have carefully decorated their beds and walls with cards and pictures.

I walked away that day not depressed but happy to know that the money I’m using to sponsor her is going where it is supposed to and it really is giving her and the rest of her family a chance for a healthier and more opportunistic future.

Next blog….. Zanzibar!

Lake Manyara Safari with the St Judes kids

So week one flew by with lots of photos to be taken of the kids in assembly, in class and on their way home. Now it was time for the super fun stuff... SAFARI! Arusha is known as the major drop-in point for tourists from around the world who come to Tanzania to experience the safari parks such as Serengeti, Lake Manyara, Ngorogoro & Tarengeri national park - and safari's are pretty much visited by tourists only, so you can imagine the expense!

I was super lucky that my first Saturday in Tanzania, needed me to go on safari with the kids to do some photography of their outing - we actually took the St Jude's buses into the Lake Manyara national park! Mostly tourists go with the drivers from their lodges or organised tours - so you see an abundance of them in open top landcruisers. We had 3 or 4 bus loads of St Jude's students who were super excited and only around 6 teachers to look after them all. I had prepared myself that this is a school excursion, so expect the headaches etc.

Not the case at all! You have never seen such well behaved children - ever! I'm talking that it got to the point that I had to look behind me to check that the kids were still in the bus. The teacher started the trip with a stern lecture on being quiet during the trip and once in the park so as not to scare the animals. When we drove past the airport, all the children lost their mind (quietly though) and were all staring in amazement at the aircraft - it was very cute.

We stopped just before arriving at the national park for some African ginger tea and these triangular donut spongey breads for morning tea. The funniest scene ever - the buses pulled up in some vacant land on the side of the road for morning tea, but as the drive had taken us more than 2 hours to get there, plus most of the kids had been waiting at the side of the road since 6am for pick-ups - they were busting for the toilet. So you just saw this mass of boys run and surround this poor tree and start peeing and then the girl decided they too couldnt wait and there was like 40+ girls running for trees at the back of the land and squatting shyly. Some girls got so excited that they ran over on of their friends and there she lay face into the ground like she had been run over by a steam roller. I ran over to peel her off the ground and wipe away her tears - of course then her friends apologise profousley. After killing the grass here we decided it was time to finally take them to the national park.

We pulled up outside and are greeted by our guides. The female teachers and I who had not been able to join the tree and squat made a made dash for the toilets. Just as we were so close there is a male cleaner in front of us walking so sloooowwwwly up the ramp, that I couldnt take it anymore and started saying at the top of my voice "emergency, emergency" that made him move - it also made him start laughing too!

It was only $30USD for us to actually have access to the national park since we had our own transport. Outside the park there were already baboons and some other type of monkeys roaming around, so the kids were starting to get excited. Once we passed security and drove into the safari park - it was just us and the animals. You should have seen the kids with their eyes peeled looking for the most popular animal of all in this park - the tree sleeping simba (lions). We lucked out this day and didnt see any, but everytime we drove past another tour group they would say they had just seen some around the bend - of course by the time we got there Simba was gone - but Im wondering if they were just saying it to keep the tourists happy!

We saw endless giraffee and impala's. The kids swear they saw hippos but Im still convinced they were rocks in the water. We saw zebras and flamingo's and a heard of elephants were right next to our bus.

You can actually camp in the national park grounds but I just think thats down right crazy!!! Lions prowling around, hyenas!!! You can even do guided walks with an armed ranger through the park, but Im not a fan of animals getting shot just because I need some adventure.

Whenever we saw animals the kids were so well behaved and they like me were hanging to see the lions but never game up hope. We had a short break at the hot springs - the water was really really hot and I forget this and nearly burned my face!!!

Lunch was beside the lake near the flamingo's - it was everyone's favourite pilau and rice that we had in massive plastic bins that were on the bus. Yes sounds glamarous, hence why I didnt want the meat as I thought it would be cold - I tried one piece and it was fine so gobbled it up with the kids who were amused that I sat eating with them and not the teachers.

As we were leaving the park we saw endless families of baboons and even one that was the since of a 4-5 year old child - I havent had my rabies shot so my window stayed closed!!

The drive home took us past some beautiful and typical African scenery with the round mud huts with their stick thatched roofs, too many Masai's and their goats grazing, quiet a few Masai women in traditional gear off to the water holes.

The kids were angels right until the very end. It had been an extremly long day on the road and in the bus for everyone - by the time we needed to refuel and drop off the last few children who must have been famished so I was feeding them arrowroot biscuits - everyone was exhausted but we had some amazing photos to show for it!!

Again this safari was enable by the generous St Jude supporters - if it were not for the donations these children may never afford to go on safari in their own hometown in their lifetime.

Next Blog... First weekend and not only do I go on Safari but the next day I'm visiting a Masai village and bargaining at the Masai Sunday markets!

St Jude's first week experience.....

So I was finally here - pinching myself to check it's real and it so was. My first night in the apartment and I slept like a baby. The rooms are on the Moshono campus and there are around 30 or so volunteers who live here (maybe less). Some live off site as they have local Tanzanian partners and choose to live with them as we cannot have anyone stay on campus with us.

To accomodate for the volunteers and visitors who stay at the school we have 3 or so kitchens - I managed to get lost on day one on my way to breakfast. Thanks to the generosity of many visitors and donors who as what we need, we appear to have an endless supply of Vegemite, so all us Aussies are well cared for in the home sickness department :)

The majority of the volunteers are from Australia - we have one American and an Irish guy. Most people are between 23 right up to 50 something. We have a husband and wife from Australia who have been living here for 2.5 years and working at the school. Gemma the school founder also lives on campus with a residence for her and her family (Hubbie & 2 kids).

My building overlooks the playground, so 7.45am becomes a mass noise of screaming kids on swings and playing football - but I love coming out my room and watching them play from the balcony. Every morning they make me smile and remind me why I am here and I smile because I'm so happy that these children have a bright future ahead of them.

My week day in the office and I already have a pc set-up and some jobs to photograph teachers in their classes, student profile shots for the sponsor updates, bus photos of kids going home on the buses and me hopping off to capture them as they get off and run home.

This is so far my favourite part of this job - I get the bus from the Moshono campus to the Usa campus at 2pm (45min drive) along the way at random points we pick up and drop of local Tanzanian staff who are either finishing or starting work for the day. I'm befriended by one of the older "mamma's" who oversee's the night boarding at Usa campus. She starts giving me Kiswahili lessons and I start practising with everyone who gets on:
"Mambo"
"Poa"
"Viipi"
"Safi"
"Habari"
"Mizuri"

Once I arrive at the Usa campus I wait until the students finish school and board one of the many buses leaving at 3.30pm, we then head off along the bumpy, dusty, dirt roads towards their villages for the various drop off's. One area that there are lots of children and teachers living is call Ugali Limited and it's quiet poor. I'm shocked at first when I see just how poor - they are true slums and as I will later learn - most people dont have electricity in their homes and use neighbourhood taps (about 80cents for a large bucket of water). The scene before me is mud homes or old rotting timber, dust, dust and more dust - little kids running around everywhere - along with the chickens and goats that always seem to be everywhere also!

Endless fields of maize (their corn) and if its not in fields then its drying on massive sheets in the sun. Loads of banana plantations, which explains why most meals incorporate banana as though it was potatoe! I see the most dense jungle with beautiful creeks and mini waterfalls running under bridges - I see families doing their washing in the river, kids bathing and the most beautiful towering tall trees I've ever seen lining the road up a hill with the most perfect sunset trying to cut through the dust trail left behind the truck that just overtook our bus and is overloaded with workers standing in the back.

Everytime I do these drives I find myself mesmerised by the jungle scene with the river and in particular these tall trees. Something really draws me.

I have one photo I posted on facebook of one of these scenes and I mention how everytime I see them I think of the trillion African war books I've read and can see the scenes of the refugees walking these roads out of places like Congo, Rawanda and Burundi to get to the borders of safety. I recall stories of the Rawandan genocide and how children were hiding in banana plantations and the thick forest to hide from the rebel armies capturing young boys as new recruits. These are mobid thoughts, but then I look infront of me and I see this beautiful land and wonder what things these tree's have seen - there is something special along these roads and I cant place it, but every single time I'm on the bus and we pass those 2 (jungle rivers & lines of towering trees) I smile and feel at peace, like I belong here, like I'm so humbled to be here alongside them.

I dont know much compared to some about African history, but I do know that I am sensitive about the whole white vs black people here. What I'm saying is I often see congregations of white's and make a point to attempt to fit in with the locals -if I could only speak their language life would be so much easier. One Irish volunteer that just left was a Kiswahili language teacher back home, so we would go out somewhere and I would sit fascinated as she's joking with the locals and having fluent conversations. I can see the respect they have for her as a white woman who really is embracing her surroundings. I've gone and bought the traditional "Kanga" material that is worn as a sarong by the women here over long black pants - I wore this for the first time the other day and I noticed straight away the gratitude and respect they showed me for my interest and respect in their culture.

I'm really frustrated by the language - I want to be fluent now! We have one guard here who walks around campus and we pass each other maybe 10-12 times in a day and each time all I can say is Mambo and each time he is saying something new to me and it's driving me nuts as I can see he's trying to teach me and have a conversation but I cant get past one word! There is talk that Kiswahili lessons will start in the next couple of weeks, which I'm obviously keen to attend.

As a first time visitor to the school everyone who attends the Thursday assembly in Usa or the Primary and Secondary assemblies in Moshono gets a traditonal welcome with living African drumming by the children, and you are to walk up on stage and introduce yourself. I had to do this at all 3 assemblies!!! The drumming is brilliant and the kids scream a huge "Welcome" after all the visitors have been introduce.

At the start of every assembly the children say a prayer to St Jude - the patron saint of the school, at the end of prayer all the children madly wave their arms around to get hold of the microphone to say who they would like to pray for! Some pray for their teachers and this morning one girl said "I would like to pray for myself" I nearly burst out laughing but then saw the serious look on the teachers faces and controlled myself. Then it's the Tanzanian national anthem which you must be still for (I've only learnt the chorus so far - but that's better than some Australian's knowing their own national anthem right?!) then it's onto the school song "The school of St Jude is a very beautiful school... the school of St Jude I love you so much" and of course there's a whole dance routine to go with it and all the staff do it too. Secondary school has their own school song and dance routine which the kids made up since its a fairly new campus.

I got a tour of the boarding rooms in both Usa and Moshono and WOW! There are usually 6-10 students of the same sex per room and you have never seen such tidy rooms! Every morning they make their own beds - and I need a lesson from them!!! Then they take great pride in decorating the room with cards and letters from their sponsors - both individual sponsors and sponsors of the actual boarding room they stay in. As many of the students live too far for the bus to pick them up each day they board Monday - Friday. We also have many students who live in orphanages, so they board with us during the week then go to the orphanage on the weekend. Friday afternoon is a major nightmare at 3.30pm as all boarders, students and teachers are going home, so the poor bus drivers loose their mind having to do drop off's that take even longer than usual.

The bus drivers are another invaluable resource to the school - most of them are just learning english and you will never see men who are better with kids than Africans. It's amazing - just like some women have a knack as a mother, it's like these guys were born to father lots of children - they are very gentle with the kids and the kids adore their bus drivers.

Everyday hot and nutricious meals are served to the students, teachers, admin staff, gardeners, bus drivers - everyone involved within the school. At Usa that is 400+ meals per lunch - so you can imagine the size of the huge pots they cook in and the number of kitchen staff! For many children and perhaps even staff, this is the healthiest or even only meal of the day that they get if they do not live on campus! Each day has a set meal - I'm still learning them all, but so far I can remember the following:

Mon - cant remember....
Tue - Pilau with mutton
Wed - Ugali (like white playdough), green spinach stuff and ocra
Thur - beans and rice (as Im at Usa campus every thur)
Fri - beans and rice (lucky me I get beans and rice 2 days in a row)

Many of the long term volunteers here are over eating the same meals, so you often see them in the kitchen making western food. Since India my diet and eating has changed so much that Im just happy to have a) a nutricious meal b)free meal c)dont have to cook!

Outside the main gate there is a bar called the "Waterhole" which backs onto a little "store" (a room with bars so you pay through a window) to get mobile phone credit or order "chipsey & omelette" - havent tried this yet but I'll get there. I watched a couple of world cup matches in the Waterhole with our guards - looking at a big old tv that is locked into a cage.

I've been obsessively taking photos at the assemblies and of students in class. I cant beleive they have a maths quiz in assembly every week and they are sooooo excited about it - not to mention that I sit there trying to answer the questions myself and I cant get even an idea of what the answer should be. Everytime I walk into their classrooms, everyone stands and in a robotic voice they yell out "Good afternoon visitor" and before I even get a chance to say hi and ask how they are, they are telling me "we are fine thank you visitor" I then tell them to sit down and keep listening to their teacher and they say "thank you visitor" it cracks me up everytime! Now they are recognising me and they get as far as "Good afternoon Miss....." then I say Katina and they want to start from the beginning!

I love the kids they really are gorgeous and I cant even imagine where the children, staff and teachers would be if it wasnt for the School of St Jude. I've supported alot of charities in my short life and this is the first one that I have seen actually put the donated money and items where it is supposed to go!

Next blog.... Weekend 1 and I'm on safari!!

St Jude's or St Judie's as the locals say -Tanzania

You know sometimes you have this feeling you are just meant to be somewhere - Im not sure if everyone gets this, but as lame as it sounds I've had that feeling about both Africa and India for a very long time. I dont know what started it - maybe its the millions of true stories I obsessivley read about these regions, maybe its the fact that these places are so poor and as a little girl I was fascinated by Mother Theresa's life and those that she helped. Now dont worry I'm not about to repent and become a nun - ha ha I can imagine my mum laughing right now! I often claim to be an angel but we all know Im lying :)

So back to the point.... Since reading Gemma Sisia's book about her mission to set up School of St Jude, I decided to add this as a charity of my choice and used my dance school to raise funds. I dreamt of going to Tanzania and helping in anyway that I could.... I just never dreamt that this would be through photography - which is such a bonus as its my favourite me time hobby!

It was April this year after galavanting around India that I saw the photographer job come up at St Judes - I looked through all my pics from my travels and thought it's time to take this "creativity" somewhere - heck if I can make dancing work for me, I can get photography moving too! So I applied and after waiting for 2 months with no news, I lost hope and figured I wasn't going. Well destiny had other ideas and as I was relaxing in the Canary islands and making plans to explore Spain, Portugal and Lebanon for the rest of the European summer, I receive an email asking me to get to Tanzania asap! At first I didnt take it seriously then as Im booking my ticket the very next day, I realised what was going on - kind of and got very excited!

So after my 3 or so hours sleep at the Kenya Comfort Hotel in Nairobi, I headed down stairs at 6am with my meal voucher for breakfast - ok so that wasnt so exciting but the news about the World Cup was just exciting - I was in Africa while this was happening & today was the rememberance day for Rawanda's genocide tragedies - news that dosent really filter back to Australia.

I was packing my things and looking out the window as it was daylight and a hive of activity - I was told my shuttle bus to Arusha leaves from across the street - I could see a side street lined with shuttle buses and as Lonely Planet warns, lots of touts hanging around. Just then my phone rang and reception told me that the bus driver was there to collect me - ha ha we dont even get such service in Australia if you get a shuttle! So I rushed down with my bags and the lovely door boy with his huge black trench coat, black army boots, cargo pants and black beanie (strange site) wheels my bag over and makes sure that I am getting on the right bus. It wasnt as chaotic as I was bracing myself for but once I handed over my ticket to the guy with the clipboard, he said I could sit inside... but I've learnt from India - never assume they your big bag will make it onto the bus alone. So I politely declined and said I was happy to stretch while I could since it was a long drive and stood outside in the cold with the smokers whilst keeping an eye on my backpack. I could see that they intended to throw it up on the roof of the bus - which eventually did happen and they even cover it with a tarpoline.

Meanwhile I started to get stalked by the 5 or so African guys roaming the crowds with their beaded necklaces, bangles and assortment of wooden stuff that you can buy from the $2 stores in Australia. One man was quiet insistent with his copper bracelets and we started to have a competition between us to see who would cave first - ha ha little did he know who he was messing with! It didnt end nasty but I thought it was hilarious that he kept saying in a true African accent "So you wont let me have a taste of your money" I told him if he was hungry he should take an early morning tea break ha ha - I know I crack me up too!

So eventually we all pile into the mini bus - I scored a window seat - much needed as its a 5 hour bus ride. I have read everywhere and all I keep getting reminded is "T.I.A" - "This is Africa" I think Im screen printing a shirt if I cant find one with this on it as I would later learn this is the motto for this continent and one that you need to regularly repeat to keep your sanity :) The bus wasnt too squashy and there was a good mix of locals and tourists - there was even a mum with her two teenage kids from Brisbane on their way to Arusha for a wedding that weekend - that tripped me out, but again I would later meet so many QLDers that I realised they should screen state of origin here!!

The start of the journey was smooth and even on our way out to the airport to pick up some passengers we look to our right and there is a herd of giraffes alongside the highway??!! I was loving what I saw! Our ride was a little over 5 hours and no toilet stop until around 3.5 hours into it just before we stopped at the border of Kenya and Tanzania to get our visas. I befriended the "muzungu" old lady on the bus that spoke fluent Kiswahili and clearly was a missionary with a huge cross aroudn her neck. I found myself extremly jealous of what she was doing here - she had a little African girl called Esther with her, whom she had just taken to the hospital in Nairobi as she needs a heart operation. Turns out this lady runs a charity in Arusha, Tanzania and has lived here for the last 27 years working for both other charity organisations and her own. The one she is now running is called "Help for the Masai" and as the name suggests she works with the Masai communities around Tanzania and helps provide education, clean water and refuge for the poor.

At the border the bus was swamped with touts and locals selling everything from water, snacks, more copper bracelets etc. There was one extremly old Masai lady who came up to my window asking for food and water - after India I have realised Im a little detached from beggars now and have somehow managed to not hear them. So the same happens with this lady and it wasnt until the Muzungu lady from the Masai charity calls her around to her window and gives her fruit and sandwhiches and some money. She talks fluently to the old Masai lady and jokes with her. I felt really bad that I had zoned out and not realised how old this lady was and that she was not pimped out as the kids are in India - she really needed food and money for her family. She as well looked after by our Masai lover though so that was great.

Getting the visa side of things was alot easier than I expected... You get a departure stamp in your passport on the Kenyan side then you walk across a gate like 100m into the Tanzania Visa office - hand your passport and money over to some guy behind the glass window and wait for 10 min till your name is called out and your passport handed back. There's signs up everywhere saying that you must pay in USD and that you notes must be dated after 2006- moment of panic as I thought it was post 2003 - lucky I fluked that and had a $50USD note in the right timeline.

Finally after the worst roads on earth - granted they are building the highways, but my butt wished they were already done as we bumped along heavily pot holled dirt tracks! As we rolled through Arusha town, I asked the girl next to me if this was it and she said yes. In all honesty I was really shocked in what I saw - I hadnt prepared well at all! I guess I just thought things would be cleaner, concrete roads, proper shopfronts. Nope! It was just really dusty, dirty and poor - ok yes what did I expect -something on par with India I guess, not further behind.

We pulled into a dusty parking lot - basically a vacant piece of land and there's a few touts and taxi drivers waiting to bombard us as we get off the bus. Im looking for the St Jude's bus but not sure if Im meant to get off here or somewhere else. I hope off to talk to the driver while trying not to smack the persistent taxi drivers in the head with my daypack. Finally I see the St Judes bus pull in and our HR manager waving from the front seat. I yelled out to the guy on the roof of the bus hurling bags off the roof and got him to chuck me mine. I jumped into the back of the St Judes van and was introduced to our driver. The HR manager briefs me on what I should buy on the way back to the school and advises that I go to the ATM - so we do some grocery shopping, visit the ATM and stop at a corner fruit stall so I can stock up for the week ahead.

I arrived at the school late afternoon on a Monday so had a grand tour and was introduced to a few teachers - I was shocked how big and new the school was. I knew it was big but I just didnt imagine that they had that much support! 300+ teachers, chefs, drivers, guards, gardeners, admin staff - its insane!!! But you can really see the sponsorship money at work here and I liked that fact immediately.

I was really shocked when I was taken to my own apartment - I was half expecting to have to share plus Im one of the lucky one's who gets a room in the new volunteer house called "Bondi". Quality was so not what I was expecting but their partnership with Rotary Australia has ensured that accomodation for volunteers and visitors are safe and comfortable and I guess rightly so for the volunteers who are giving up their family and friends to live here 1 year + to support the school.

I like the fact that there are 24 hour security guards on the door and 2 german shepards roaming the grounds. The guards are mostly Masai and walk around at night with bow and arrows which is hysterical and big sticks during the day. The number of buses on campus is amazing and I later realise the importance of the buses in transporting both the students and teachers - who if it were not for the sponsorship of the buses would have to either walk several hours per day or hop on a few dala dalas (public minivans) to get here.

Straight away I was taken under the wing of one of the volunteers staying a couple of doors down from my room - drinks at the "Water Hole" on the first nite and dinner in the kitchen with everyone. We have a "kitty kitchen" we all pay 15,000 shilling into every week (less than $15 a week) and a roster for whose cooking for 13-15 people who are part of this kitchen. Ive been here two weeks so far and havent cooked - its brilliant!!

The bedroom has a double bed with 4 posts to support the mosquito net - I love it! I lucked out on hot water for the first week as they are still working things out for this new building but I was excited to unpack my bag for the first time since April!!!

Next blog.... Settling into St Jude's way of life