Masai Sunday - markets & village

So it was still my first weekend in Tanzania and at lunchtime on Sunday, I managed to pinch a seat in one of the St Jude buses that was taking a visiting tour group out to the markets and our head guard Lukmai's masai village.

We all piled on the bus and made our way out past Arusha airport for the 45min or so drive to the markets. We arrive to a massive dirt field covered in blankets on the ground with locals selling fruit, veges, 2nd hand clothes, traditional Tanzania fabrics, beaded masasi bracelets and household items like soap etc.

To the right of our bus in the football field their was a tiny goat market taking place - although by the time we had arrived most had been sold and only a couple were left. As St Jude's occassionally visit's Lukmia's family we take out a gift of a live goat to his family. So off he went to bargain with the sellers to get our goat... more about him later.

So this particular market is really only for locals, so it is quiet funny that a whole busload of "muzungus" pulls up and hop out. The majority of visitors in this group were older in their 50-70's. As soon as we got off I made a dash to leave the group and get in amongst the excitement - my skin colour is bad enough here without needing to standing in a pack of glowing white tourists ;) Also on this particular day there was a local mobile phone company with their green truck and promo dancers breaking some moves on their makeshift dance floor - a small crowd had gathered of young and old locals wanting to catch a glimpse of the excitement so I decided that's exactly where I wanted to be and walked right on over to the centre of the group with my small digital camera in hand.

I made the decision before I hopped off the bus that I would infact not pull out the huge Canon SLR I'm lugging around as it just dosent seem to rate to high in the popularity stakes here and totally ruins every photo opportunity as people get very camera shy when they see the lens pop out.

So there was me standing in the middle of a local only crowd who were bopping away in their masai blankets and sticks with massive earlobes that have been over-stretched from beaded earrings. Once people started to notice me I attracted my own crowd and an old Masai man in his 70's came over with a huge smile and several missing teeth to shake my hand and welcome me. He was very cute and I wanted to get a photo but know that just starts the roll of "support my family give me money" or paying for every photo.

The photo opportunities for the Canon just kept rolling by and it killed me as I kept seeing everything as photos but even with my small digital I knew its not appropriate to just walk up and take their photos!

I hadn't planned on shopping but knew that you dont pay more than 6,000 TSH for a Masai blanket so walked around asking prices and got everything from 25,000 down to 15,000. The blankets are ok - but I really love the Tanzanian Kanga and Kitenge material. The Kanga is about the size of a sarong and worn over pants like a long sarong, only you tie it above your bellybutton as only the "cheap" girls wear things on their hips I have been told. The Kitengei is like 6 metres of material that you buy to have dresses etc made and also has beautiful patterns. So I came across this one girl who decoratively placed all her fabrics in cones on her tarpoline and I absolutely loved her outfit - a black and yellow polka dot dress.

We started to bargain for one kitenge and I got her down to 6,000 - then I say to her - give me two for 10,000 and you have a good sale. She laughed at me but caved after 5min of me laughing back - thank you! Then I saw a heap of the other ladies from our bus so pushed them her direction and told her to remember my face as I will come shopping again and want special prices for bringing her so much business he he yes it's the European blood shining through!

I managed to take some sneaky shots of masai women in their blankets and adorned in their beaded jewels resting. I was wondering through the vege section and was again befriended by an elder - this time an old lady sitting on the floor selling her fruits. I greeted here with "Shikamoo" reserved for elders and she responded with "Marhaba". Then in the most impressive sales tactic she held my hand, touched my face and showered me with what I can only imagine compliments (I hope) and wouldnt let go of my hand as she started to ask me to buy from her, motioning she needed food for her family, every story under the sun - of course I couldnt work out exactly what she was saying.

Anyways I managed to free myself and headed towards the bus - not before buying a 2nd hand GAP business shirt for less than $3 and a black business shirt - these have proven to be my best and an invaluable buy as they go with everything are perfect for the conservative surrounds I'm in. As I'm waiting for our bus to load up our guard brings around a plate of cooked goat which was delicious even if a tadd fatty. Most people polietly tried one but didnt like it - I was there with the driver and guards feasting with oily fingers - such a lady! Then came the funny part - Mr Billy Goat gets loaded into our bus with us with a small rope around his neck - we tie him to the railing on the steps of the bus and he wasnt scared in the slightest. I didnt want to know what fate awaited him but he seemed happy to be getting all the attention.

We headed off on a bumpy dirt road towards Lukmai's village and approached a area of round mud huts with thatched roofs. The roads got so bad that at one point we had to unload half the passangers so we could get over a hump and then they hopped back on. Suddenly Lukmia is telling our driver Joseph something in Kiswahili and we realise that MR Billygoat is about to meet his new family as on of the boys from his tribe is walking towards us with a heard of goats. We untie him and open the bus door - he jumps out, bleats and heads off with his 40 or so new friends - it was very cool!

Arriving at the village there was a group of maybe 6 huts and lots of kids raggedly dressed come running towards us. Our visitor co-ordinator has the cookie bucket and hands out packets of biscuits and they go wild. I find a quiet place under the tree to start snapping - this time with my big camera and the kids happily pose - gotta love kids!!! Next thing I know they are all interested in my necklace, earrings and bracelets - only the earrings and necklace are silver so nothing too expensive but they decided they want them. I manage to keep my earrings and necklace, then one little girl takes off her masai bracelet and offers it to me in exchange for one of mine. So the swapping begins and I end up giving up my evil eye leather strap from Istanbul and get our driver to explain to the girls the purpose of the evil eye since they are also supersticious. Just before leaving one of the older girls abruptly instructs me to give back all their bracelets and gave me my Thailand one back - it was hilarious - deal off!

Whilst I was absorbed in the kids the others went off to meet Lukmia's two - yes two wifes - its very common here for Masai to have two and even some none masai give it a go Im told.

We had a brilliant day and lots of photos to show for it. Cant wait to go back and get more fabrics from my commission owing :)

Next blog... Cradle of Love Orphanage, Arusha

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!!

Athens to Nairobi....July 4th, 2010

After a rather last minute trip to the Greek isles, it was Monday morning and time to pack my bags AGAIN - I've lost count and dont bother anymore. My very sweet cousin insisted on walking me to the platform to get the train to Athens airport and I find myself daydreaming on the train wondering where this next adventure will take me and what doors of opportunity it will further open.

I booked my flights through a new website I've never tried before but now use it as my first go to when Im trying to work out how to get between airports and get a selection of airlines with ok prices. rumbo.com if you want to check it out. So I booked return flights between Athens & Nairobi via Istanbul as it was cheaper and flying with Turkish Air. It was exciting to have food included in the bill for a change :)

I arrived 11.30am into Istanbul airport exhausted from the long weekend layzing by the sea :) I had to kill time until my flight left for Nairobi (or Nairobbery as they call it) at 6.30pm that night, so I visited every store, surfed the web and paced the airport for several hours. At one point I sat on the floor in the quiet end of the airport upstairs outside the club lounges working out how much I need to convert into USD etc for the trip. I was so tired that I wasnt really concentrating, got up and went to the other end of the airport to change money. When I got there I couldnt find my money belt in my bag, so I unpacked it twice - still nothing. I checked out the toilets and went into a nearby lounged I had been sitting next to, to see if anyone had handed anything in.

As I was walking into the second lounge to ask the same question, it hit me what I was saying.... I had lost my Australian passport, travellers cheq, credit card, key cards and all my cash - I only had my greek passport on me!!! I could feel tears start to well as I panicked and as Im walking into the 3rd lounge hoping for a miracle, a cleaner comes running up to me with my money belt! He is asking that I check that everything is inside and then off he runs! It turns out that when I had gotten up to go to the toilet I had left it on the floor!!!!! Usually I wear my money belt religiously but as I had come from Greece where I am a little relaxed about security I didnt have my belt on as I planned to wear it on the plane before I arrived in Nairobi - lesson learnt!

So finally I was on the plane to Nairobi - my flight had a mix of both Africans and Caucasians - yes I was observing. We landed at 1.20AM and Im all ready to look mean in downtown Nai-robbery but silently praying the driver we arranged had waited for me. After changing money and realising they ripped me only to then realise I was thinking in Tanzanian shilling and this is Kenya so he was giving me Kenya shilling - Doh!

Thankfully my driver was waiting outside and off we went on our 30min drive to the hotel that I would be spending a whole 5 hours at! By the time we got moving it was well after 2am and the roads were empty, my driver was fantastic. We spoke about the World Cup the whole way - he was so lovely it was such a pleasent releif to what I was expecting. We arrived at the Kenya Comfort Hotel where I was staying in Nairobi - from outside it looked like an old Australian corner pub - 2 young security guards all rugged up and carrying batons come over to help me with my bags. We got into reception which still looked like an old pub and there are the two girls behind the desk, asleep with their head on the counter. My driver bangs his hand on the counter and they both jump about 10 feet!

We all giggle including them and they shyly apologise. The coolest reggae music is playing and I at 2.30am after flying for 6.5 hours and finding that Im dancing along to the music!!
One of the girls takes me up to my room at the end of a long corridor and with a simple push button lock on the back of the door. My room is all windows as it is on the corner overlooking the street below. It looks yellow but welcoming and I am immediately at ease feeling safer than I thought I would. I climb into bed with the lamest smile.... the real adventure has begun... why do I love travelling to such hard countries? Because the reward for your effort is greatest there!

Next blog.... Nairobi to Arusha

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

Barcelona

Last time I was in Barcelona was my first trip to Europe as part of one of those bad rep Contiki tours (which I quiet enjoyed!). At the time I was 19 and when I set foot in Barcelona then it was love at first sight and along with the girl I befriended on my tour from Newcastle, we looked at each other and said "I want to live here". A few minutes later we found ourself in a African music store in the middle of Barcelona talking to the owner whose son owned an apartment that was up for rent - needless to say we were all talk and chickened out when it came to going to see the apartment.

But I felt it then and when I arrived back in Barcelona to meet my cousin before heading off to the Canary islands - I felt it again AND still even moreso when I got back from the Canary islands to catch up with some friends from Australia.

I think I have actually met a person who claims that Barcelona was the worst place on earth for her, but it seems that its a city everyone falls in love with. For me its not just the amazing architecture but the beach right in the city, the brilliant food (of course), the language, the people, the awesome fashion and mostly the fact that the Spanards seem to embrace multiculturalism in Barcelona with food from around the world and huge interest in international travel and music. Maybe Im looking for excuses to love it, but thats really how I feel.

So in the first few days there I did the tourist thing on those huge embarressing buses, but I really think its a great way to orietate yourself. We paid a fortune to eat and watch the world cup which had just started when I arrived. Coming back from Canary Islands I was lucky enough to have two friends in town that I stayed with. One couple from Australia who rented an apartment in the Gotic part of town - right near my favourite church St Anna and of course the St Caterina food markets cant be forgotten, more local and less touristy with delicious food.

Gelato became a daily affair in Barcelona (evident by the weight appearing around my belly) and thanks to the good looking guy serving us who embarrisngly recognised us as regulars! One night we watched Ghana vs USA in a bar which was packed and we werent too sure just who they were supporting until the USA scored and of course it was all of them and 3 of us supporting Ghana. We did a little bootie dance to celebrate Ghana's victory as we watched the most silent American crowd I have ever witnessed depart the bar >:)

Las Rambalas - some people hate it being so touristy but I think its the heart of Barcelona - its where people from around the world converge and you can feel the electric charge in the air from the eateries, bars and stores as tourists buzz realising they are in Barcelona. Not to mention the number of Zara stores within a 1km radius and my newly discovered Fnac store AND my favourite - Mango.

Day 2 on my second visit I decided I needed sun and quick, so walked down to Port Vell with my ipod on David Guettas tunes and was psyched for a brilliant swim. The beach at Barcelonitas is definately touristy but its the beach I cant complain and again I was loving the buzz. There's a guy whom Im told has been there for years walking along the beach with a board on his head and donuts piled high in a pyramid and when he arrives you hear him before you see him - he plays a trianlge and sings to the crowd encouraging people to buy the donuts. He's a young blond French guy by the look of it - some people are obviously too embarressed to buy from him, whilst the heavily curvacious Spanish women lying next to me abruptly order him over to devour his treats. The Indians walking along the beach selling beer, soda and if you look like the right kind of customer - marijana.

The chinese and Thai ladies walking along the beach saying - "massage madam" and the Africans selling beaded necklaces, bracelets and offering to do hair braids. The bars that line the beach - totally overpriced but perfect to enjoy a cool beer whilst watching Spain qualify for the World Cup semi-finals! I realise quickly that this beach is exactly what I think Miami beach might be like - there's even rollerbladers and rollerskaters all along the boulevard.

The other thing I love about Barcelona is the bikeways - bikes are a huge way to get around and I manage to score my friends Bicycle card which allows locals to unlock a bike from one point and ride it to another within the hour. So easy to get around.

One observation that my girlfriend and I notice is that all the shoe stores in central Barcelona sell leather flats mainly and for good reason.. you walk so damn much in this city it just wouldnt be practical to where anything but!

One night there's a Michael Jackson memorial vigil taking place in Placa Catalunya and the next day there is a festival with huge puppets walking down the street - this town knows how to party! And lets not forget the afternoon siestas that help you party the night away.

My other girlfriend whom I used to African dance in Brisbane with has returned to Barcelona to start a family after previously living there for 8 years. So Im very lucky to have such a great host to show me around town. We travel one afternoon to a beautiful beach that is a 20 min train ride from De Sants main train station. It's nearly empty this beach and again its calm and beautiful!!!

We do the compulsary waterfall visit which suprisingly I think to be quiet romantic - if you ignore the few thousand tourists around you. Im not one for water fountains, but the lights, the music and the fact its Barcelona - Im sucked in.

We visit a friend one night who is renting an apartment downtown and climb around 6 flights of stairs to her tiny apartment that has the most brilliant rooftop terrace thats privately her's - im hooked!

I definately love Barcelona and will be back hopefully soon!

Next Blog.... Andros Greece

Andros Island -Greece

So plans are meant for breaking and the last few days that I had in the Canary islands proved this when I suddenly found out I had the photography gig that I had applied for in Tanzania - with the catch that I must start asap. So there went my Spain, Portugal and Lebanon plans but for a very good cause. I was able to book some cheap flights with Turkish Air to Nairobi departing from Athens so that I could dump my things at my cousins home.

So arriving on a Friday afternoon into Athens, my cousin decided its time I explore the Greek Islands since I always seem to visit Zakynthos and Athens only. So 5am Saturday morning we are up in the car on our way to Rafina port to catch the ferry that takes 2 hours to get to Andros - part of the Cyclades group of islands. We had the most beautiful sunrise from deck and I found myself enjoying the fresh air on deck listening to some of my soul soothing Bollywood tunes - it was perfect!

We arrived in Andros before lunch and was greeted by my cousins friend who has a home on the island. We piled into the 4wd and drove through the hilly seaside towns - picture perfect! Little white homes built into the hillside and of course what would an island be without tavernas, gorgeous beach coves and boat ports.

We stopped to buy some fresh fish (which thankfully I didnt have to gut) and had a delicious lunch at the friends home. Then it was down to serious business and off to an isloated beach. Europe is plagued with sunbed and umbrella mafia who you have to pay anywhere between 3 - 20 Euro to enjoy the decent part of the beach. It seemed we were in luck and scored a mafia free beach with the beds and umbrellas free! So we spread out and it took us seconds to strip off and get into the flat crystal clear water and caves - water tempurature was perfect and with the snorkels on I saw great fish and huge sea cliffs dropping off into the depths of the ocean.

Paddle ball is all the rage in Greece - as it is with the South Americans on the beaches of Sydney. You ended up fighting for sand and if you are not playing then you learn the emergency brace position to duck from flying balls. We enjoyed delicious souvlakia and beer on the beach mmmmmmmmm meat! One little bit of trivia that I would like to complain about.... in Greece souvlakia is either chicken or pork - mostly the latter. In Australia, the Greeks use lamb, which is just delicious, so I raised this point with my cousins and they all shrugged and said no we prefer pork - crazy!!!

That nite we watched the football - Spain progressing further of course and to watch the game we took the tv outside under the tree where we drank and enjoyed the cool summer breeze. Feeling exhausted that night I retreated to bed whilst the others went to a paniyiri (festival) in the village which we could hear just over the mountain. It seems that huge amounts of tsipuro were consumed that night as I heard one of the boys be violently ill from the top bunk onto the tile floor, trapping one of the other guys onto his bed - it was hilarious - well for me at least.

The next day we decide its time to go to another beach and end up in this amazing cove where you can walk out in waist length water for a few hundred meters. Everyone is starting to drink again but Im here to worship the sun and sea so disappear way out at sea and end up swimming around the corner to a group of rocks beneath a cliff. One rock seemed to be like a sun bed half emerged in water so I climbed up and lay there listening to the water lap and enjoying the amazing sun that dosent burn like in Australia. Before I know it I fall fast asleep and awake to the sounds of my cousins friends calling out my name as they apparently begin to get concerned they have lost me. Lying on that rock was brilliant, there was something special there or maybe I just needed a good day chilling out by the sea - I could have happily stayed there forever.

We had a massive feast that nite - pork again! But this time pork steaks that remind me of brontosaurs from The Flinstones! We have just enough time to pack up and clean the house before heading down for the 9pm ferry. Whilst waiting to leave I find some amazing sweet and bakery stores and now spew that I didnt buy anything after devouring some of the sweets my cousin made. Thats the funny thing about Greece (and perhaps in other European countries)each group of islands has their own special sweet or cheese that you can only buy there, so you are forever seeing Greeks with kilos of cheese and sweets going home.

My first Cyclades island and I love it! Andros down and a few more hundred islands to go!

Next stop Istanbul to Nairobi and onwards to Arusha, Tanzania......