It's a BLOG!

Hello... This is for all those people out there who have been asking for a Blog update.

I am just writting a random stream of information and hope you all can make sense of it.  pardon the grammer and spell errors!

So my life in village is coming along- Big NEWS
I went to church last Sunday and plan to go back again tomorrow! I made friends with two sisters in their 20's who go every week.  They are wonderful and even helped me do my laundry on Thursday.  Handwashing is not so much fun... But I do enjoy removing corn kernals from the cob so while Hellena was washing my clothing I took over on corn duty. 

I have a garden- with okra, sweet potatoe greens, tomatoes, cassava, papya and spinich (the chickens ate that thou) plan on replanting this week not that I have a good fence.

I just got a huge package from my family and am super thankfull for everything in the giant box!  The bucket with water nozzel is awesome and the beef jerkey was gone in 10min.  I cant wait to use the chocolate-peanut butter spread on chapati (local flat bread) - I may save this for my b-day ; )

The other box - "The Johnston box" got charged custom fees... Not sure how I'm going to get around it but a friend said he would help next week- so for now the markers and silly bands will sit at the post office.

It makes me so happy to know that so may people care to hear how I'm doing... and want me to write! 

I will be back next weekend to write!

GO YANKEES!

Im a PCV!

Welcome to PC Tanzania... I just started the toughest job I'll ever love!
The Swearing In Ceremony at the Ambassador's home was impressive. Dan and Rebeca knocked it out of the park with a speech the both English and Kiswahili. Toni rocked the Mic with Logan and Lauren~ and the dancers =Alli + Nicole and others got down with their bad selves. The food was great - and for some reason the cutting of the cake was like a wedding ceremony? (thanks for the show Nicole and Justin~ way to feed each other) After the ceremony was went to the CD's house for a delicious dinner. I felt at home with her delightful family. I purchased solar light that I can use to charge my cell phone and now I'm ready to serve!
Tomorrow I'll meet my VEO (Village Executive Officer) and Village Chairman at the DEDs Office (District Executive Director) I'm so excited to move into my house + get settled in and give Mama Fatuma a big hug!  The pictures from the big day are to slow to load so I'll post next time I get to a faster location. Here I go... wish me luck!

Michelle Obama AKA Sugga Mama

For those of you who requested a picture ~ Happy Birthday Sammy!

Chilling at MATI! Me, Rebecca and Alli~ ENJOY

We got into Dar last night (about an eight hour bus ride from Mwanga)  Heading back to Kilulu tomorrow. We spent the day at the Peace Corps Office- opening bank accounts, reviewing medical paperwork and enjoying lectures from John Bhutto. Several PCTs ventured down to city center to explore after our sessions.  Everyone spent their living allowance on fun stuff except me... I'm saving up to furnish my safi crib (clean house) in the coming weeks.  One of the Dar taxi drivers nicknamed me Michelle Obama (because I'm from US?) and Rebecca was calling my Sugga Mama since I have saved the most money in our group. We had eight PCT's in a taxi heading back to the hostel for the night... but the driver pulled over in an alley mid ride and said, "Get OUT, Your KILLING my car!" Good times had by all~

This weekend we will have our farewell party in Kilulu.  I'm sad to leave but happy to only be moving a few hours up the road. Rebecca and Dan went to Lushoto for shadow and shared that its heaven on earth! The excitement is building!

<3 SJ

Site Announcements + Phone number... Done and Done!

Happy Belated Birthday Chris!!! 

I got a Phone  ----------->  (+255) 0788819269

Yesterday we got our site announcements ...I'm headed to a village outside of Lushoto to work in a clinic. Its in Tanga Region - same region where I have been training- (heres some copied and pasted info)


Lushoto (German: Wilhelmstal, "William's Valley" named after Emperor Wilhelm II) is one of the seven districts of the Tanga Region of Tanzania. It is bordered to the northeast by Kenya, to the east by the Muheza District, to the northwest by the Kilimanjaro Region and to the south by the Korogwe District. During the German colonial period from the 1890s to 1918 the area was popular with settlers, hence the German place name of Wilhelmstal. Large farms and plantations were created, and the district was valued for its pleasant mountain climate. Numerous Church missions were, and remain, active. Between 1893 and 1911 the German Ostafrikanische Eisenbahngesellschaft (East African Railway Cooperation), constructed an important railway line starting at Tanga on the coast and passing along the Usambara Mountains with a station established at Mombo, about 20 kilometers from Wilhelmstal, to "New" Moshi at Kilamanjaro. The initial plan of the Usambarabahn was to connect the port of Tanga with Lake Victoria by passing south of the Usambara Mountains. This was in direct competition with parallel British efforts in colonial Kenya. From 4th of June 1912 to 12th of May 1913 the line was renamed Nordbahn (Northern Railway) for a short period.

Safi Sana!  I don't have too much info about my village yet but Nassoro (APCD) said I have an awesome Mama named Fatuma ready to take me under her wing.

This weekend ten of us traveled to Moshi. I ate an outstanding cheeseburger today... still drooling about it~ maybe I'll have to go back for another. Tomorrow (Sunday) we will break up into groups of two and three to shadow current PCV's at their sites.  I will be spending a few days in Mwanga with Brandon and Nat before heading back to Dar on Wednesday. Brandon (PCV) commissioned me to make some art at his site- he requested a mural.   (I'll try to update with pics while in Dar)

I recieved my first package yesterday.  It was like Christmas...I shared the starbursts with my fellow PCT's + PCV's of the week, Language Facilitators and the children in my village-  Everyone loved them -  I love getting mail... Hint hint.  Thanks Mom and Evans Family! My Brothers and Sisters at home stay love the cartoon cards.  If you see one with Scoobie Doo be sure to send it. +Way to go Alli~ Percussion!  Yeaaaa I'm so proud of you!

Home stay is almost over... Life is Calling & getting very real... Send your LOVE ~ I need it!

Mkoma Bay~ weekend away

VACATIONING @ Mkoma Bay!
Pictures are better than words...

Much needed rest and relaxation happening!

Here are some updates on home stay. The permagarden is up and running at Kilulu primary school~ The students helped us dig, plant and water. We had so much fun and hope this will be a model for next years CBT's to follow.

Rockin the Jembe! 

Water time~

This is the area before we started. 

I LOVE YOU ALL! Enjoy~

Kilulu Ju! Kilulu Ju! Kilulu Safi!

Greetings from Kilulu a small village outside of Muheza (Tanga Region). I have been staying with the Mkumbo family for almost a month and I love them! I feel so blessed to be here... where else would I be???

Dada Hawa (Sister Hawa) went back to school last week and won't come home again until December. I hope the family and I can plan a trip to see her before I move to my post. (I need to hear her say "How you Doin'?" like Wendy Williams just one more time!) Kaka Ally (Brother Ally) wears a Scooby Doo T-shirt and I love saying "Scooby Doobie Doo!" to him. The whole family gets in on it... but then it turns into "Roobie roobie zoo!"

Most of my fellow PCT's purchased phones last week. I'm waiting to find a solar charged phone and hope to get one tomorrow. I look forward to being able to say hello to my friends and family in the US.

My Kiswahili midterm is coming up on Friday. I have a lot to prepare for the oral and written exam. After the exam the whole group will travel to the beach for our first weekend off- much needed R & R!

This Tuesday my small group (Rebecca, Paul, Cameron, Steven and myself) in Kilulu will plant a permagarden at the primary school. We hope to have the childern from the school help us and take ownership of the garden as a income generating activity. I can't wait to practice using my Jembe(a local tool used to hoe) Everyone in town gets a kick out of me swinging my Jembe... well they laugh at everything I do.

I LOVE lost in translation moments! Last week someone yelled out from a passing an orange truck, "External people, How are you?!" I could laugh about this for weeks.

Jina langu ni Sarah! (my name is Sarah)

God Bless Peace Corps Tanzania! I have learned more in the past three days than in the past 28 years of my life.  I have been in Dar es Salaam since Wednesday evening (6.16.10) and I love it here.  The food is delicious.  This is a typical lunch here at the hostel.   

We spend a lot of time eating! 

I have my own room with a private toilet and shower.  My room is nice and very clean.

I must say the flights from America were INSANELY long but well worth it. 

Tanzanians are very friendly and very funny! My language and culture training started yesterday.  It is intense but I have the best teacher, Vivian! He explained that many people think Vivian is a womans name, but this is not true. He also told us that his AKA is “Big Boy.”  Some of the lessons include spelling words while he dictates… Unfortunately, my lack of spelling skills have transferred to Kiswahili and this is my weakest skill.  Everything else is NZURI SANA! (very good)

We all will learn how to grow and maintain our own permagardens while we are with our host families in Muheza.  I found out today that I will be in the village of Kilulu for home stay, this area is predominantly Muslim. There are four other PCT’s staying in Kilulu. I learned my family has a cell phone but I will need to ask them permission to give it out.  We travel to home stay families as a group on Wednesday, June 23, 2010.  I am very excited!

(Map of all the villages around Muheza)

I miss everyone very much but I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else in the world. I have not read any of the letters that my mom collected yet but I did tear up when I looked through the bag.  I was overwhelmed with LOVE when I saw how many people are supporting me. I will waiting until I need some extra encouragement, right now I am Nzuri Sana.  *This is ALWAYS the Tanzania’s answer.

(Alli with here Malaria prophylaxis.)

I may have left an Alli and Anna in Livonia but I gained two more-> Alli and Anna PCTs! & many other new friends!  Shots, Shots, Shots I am no longer afraid of needles.  We have one American and one Tanzanian doctor, together they make an outstanding team!

Check out the beautiful Katanga I bought at the store with in the hostel compound. (TZ COLORS!)  Some things never change --> I'm shopping for clothing…Shocking. Appearance is very important in Tanzanian culture.  I have to be well dressed and clean to be accepted. I am looking forward to going to the tailor to make this fabric into a dress!

This beautiful stool represents the three steps to success: Observe, Do, Teach.

 (Asante Peter – I love visual examples!)

 Kwaheri! (good bye)

 I’m off to dinner and rest.

Oh PS I will need to give art lesson to John AKA" THE MAN"- This is the flip day 1.

It's Raining Mail~ Hallelujah!

Male Call! ...  Mail Call --------> 

Dear friends and family please keep in touch.
I look forward to reading handwritten letters. Get ready to get your snail mail on.

My training address will be valid until 8.18.10 (This is my official Swearing in Day)
I will travel to my post site on 8.19.10 & update my new address.

 Helpful hints:

-Make sure you're using Airmail
-Number letters so I know if one gets lost

       (Mail can delivery can be sporadic)

-Use padded envelopes over boxes

         (It is expensive to clear packages through customs)

-Write "educational materials" when sending packages in writing that looks official

The information below came from:  

“The Insider’s Guide to the Peace Corps”  by Dillon Banerjee:

“There are a few things you can do to help hasten and secure the passage and delivery of your mail. Have anyone sending you a care package scribble religious symbols and biblical quotes all over the outside of the box. This sounds silly, but it works. Though many of the countries in which the Peace Corps serves are largely animist in religion, superstition runs high and even corrupt postal workers are wary of intercepting religious parcels. Along every step of the way, your mail will be subject to the whims of postal officials, customs officers, and delivery personnel who often take the liberty of rummaging through care packages in search of goodies from the U.S. If you mail is embellished with religious symbols, the odds of keeping it intact are improved. You may even want to ask the sender to write “Sister” or “Brother” before your name, to heighten the effect. Another trick is to have your mail addressed to you in red ink. I’ve been told red ink is somewhat sacrosanct in many third world societies and is reserved for only the most official of letters and correspondences. Though I’m unsure about this explanation’s validity, I can vouch for the trick’s effectiveness, having seen several packages addressed in red ink delivered safely and expeditiously.”

It's Raining Mail! Amen!

Life is calling. How far will I go?

7,900 miles...

Back to basics… some copied and pasted info

A Proud History

The legacy of Peace Corps traces its roots and mission to 1960, when then Senator John F. Kennedy challenged students at the University of Michigan to serve their country in the cause of peace by living and working in developing countries. From that inspiration grew an agency of the federal government devoted to world peace and friendship.

Since its inception in 1961, the Peace Corps’s goal has been to promote world peace and friendship by:

• Helping the people of interested countries in meeting their need for trained men and women

• Helping promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the people served

• Helping promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans




Health Education Program in Tanzania

The idea for the Health Education project came from Peace Corps Volunteer secondary school teachers who were observing many HIV/AIDS-related problems at their schools and the culture of silence which surrounded the issue. Volunteers saw great needs and opportunities to get involved in HIV/AIDS prevention education. At the same time, the Ministry of Education and Culture (MOEC) has started to address HIV/AIDS, having developed Guidelines for HIV/AIDS Prevention in 1996. The idea for the project was welcomed by the MOEC, and the project plan was developed jointly by the MOEC and Peace Corps in 2000.

By 2004, experience had shown that it was difficult to work effectively as a teacher and as a health educator at the same time. The duties and responsibilities of teaching were too demanding, leaving little time for health education. In 2004, the project was redesigned so that health education volunteers could work solely as health educators. In this new project, health education volunteers work in multiple settings reaching primary school and secondary school students as well as their teachers, health service providers and their clients at health centers and with community groups such as mamas’ and youth groups. In provision of health education Volunteers focus on HIV/AIDS and Life Skills. Tanzania has a variety of structures embedded in communities to help in combating the pandemic of HIV/AIDS. Such structure include HIV/AIDS committees, committees for the elderly and Associations for People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHAs). HIV/AIDS prevention education has expanded beyond the biology of HIV/AIDS to include nutrition for Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVCs, PLWHAs and those taking ARVs.

In 2008, the Project began another review and is being shaped to address other important health needs in addition to HIV/AIDS prevention. Health Education Volunteers now also help to support their communities to combat tuberculosis, diarrheal diseases, malaria, and malnutrition (commonly addressed as Primary Health Care- PHC) as well as encouraging income-generating projects for people affected by HIV and AIDS, including Orphans and Vulnerable Children.