Play time

This is a toy that a child was playing with when I arrived.
They were playing soccer with it.
Having a great time.

Ema having fun in the laundry basket.
He jumped right into it.  
He loves being dragged around in it.

Lucia
Jump roping in Rec. Hall

Neema playing in the sand near the swings.

December Birthdays

HAPPY BIRTHDAY
Faraja, Micha, and Gabriella

          On Saturday night we celebrated the kids birthdays of December.  There were actually three birthdays celebrated in Mikumi.  Neema (KLR), Faraja, Micha, and Gabriella.  Each kid received a personalized cake.  We sang all of them Happy Birthday.  It was a mouth full when it came to the part of saying "...happy birthday to..."  It was a lot of fun seeing them all open their gifts.  The three girls each received their own barbie of The Princess and the Frog.  Micha go a big truck that makes noise and lights up.  They all went right to their rooms and started to play with their new toys.

Faraja showing off
her new toys.

Ally, Elibaraka, and Micha playing with

Micha's new toy.

Princess Gabriella 

Slumber Party

       As kind of a tradition at the village a volunteer that is leaving may choose to do something with their house before they leave.  It could be either a dance party or have a sleep over.  Last night I decided to have a sleep over just for my house.

     So after dinner I returned to the house to prepare.  We took all of the mattresses off of the kids beds and put them on the floor in the common room.  All of the children got comfortable on the mattresses or chairs then we put in a movie, Flubber and had some popcorn.  Ashley and I stayed up with the children till around 9:30ish.  Then Ashley retired to her bed and I stayed out in the common room to sleep with the  children.  During the night it was difficult to get comfortable.  I eventually fell asleep in-between  of Faraja and Gabriella.  Then in the early morning I was woken up and moved to the end of a mattress to lay with Lucia.
      The kids arose this morning around 6:10.  At this time I had them return their mattress back to their bed.  Then they got ready for the day and I returned to my room to sleep some more.
  

Weekend 11/20-11/21

     This weekend it will be quiet around the village.  Maddy, Mogda, and Christy are away for the weekend.  They are going Christmas shopping and hanging at a hotel.


November 20th
     Today Jeff left for the weekend to meet up with the others to see the Christmas shopping.  So, it is just Ana and I here at the village for the rest of the weekend. It was really weird just having the two of us around.  Play time was actually not that hard with the two of us.  It was weird not having everyone around at dinner time.  After dinner we decided to go star gazing. We took some blankets and music and climbed the water tower.  It was a lot of fun.  Even though it was not that clear out, we still enjoyed each others company.  


November 21st
        Yay it is SUNDAY!!! Today Ana and I have decided to go to Gibbs Farm for our day off.  At Gibbs Farm we went on a 2 1/2 hour walk and did some sight seeing.  The walk consisted of two different destinations.  The first stop was at the Elephant's Cave.  The second stop was at the waterfall.  Elephant's Cave is a neat spot.

Elephant's Cave is actually
formed by the elephants.

The scratches that are seen on this cave wall are made 

by elephants scraping their tusks on the wall.

"O Christmas Tree"

     On Wednesday during the time between Uji and lunch I supervised the Mikumi kids while they decorated the house for Christmas.  Each house has a little fake evergreen tree that the kids in the house decorates with personalized ornaments and other festive decorations.  After we finished decorating the tree I gathered all of the kids in my house to try to get a nice group photo in front of the tree.  This did not work out to my liking.  We took three pictures and each one something went wrong.  When I cropped some of the photos I did end up getting a few cute shots of some kids.
     Ana made each house a December calendar to put up in their house.  This calendar is meant to act as a advent calendar.  The kids are so eager for Christmas.  They ask almost everyday.  So having the calendar the kids can see for themselves if it is Christmas yet.

Maria and Faraja in front
of the Christmas Tree 

This is all of Mikumi House

     On Christmas Eve each child receives a new pair of pajamas.  The pajamas are given to them rolled up nicely with a ribbon around them.  Then on Christmas Day the kids get a little something in their personal stocking.  After stockings all of the kids gather in the rec. hall to receive their presents.  Then at some point during the day the kids have a Christmas pageant. This pageant is like a talent show.  The kids sing carols that they have been practicing.

Tarangire Safari

    On Sunday I went on another safari.  The safari that I went on was Tarangire.  I liked this one SO much better then the Crater.  It just had more to see. There were so many animals out.  They were all active.  It was a site to see!

Family of Elephants 

Mommy and Baby Monkey 

Add caption

Baby monkey going for a ride

Family of Ostreges

  

Questions from 3S

Today I re-read my letters from 3S.  Here are the answers to a few of your questions:

Q:  How many children are in the orphanage?
A:  There are 94 children who use the village.  Out of the 94 there are 25 children who use the village for needs. These kids are a group of KLR (Kids Living with Relatives).  The individuals who are KLR are kids who have someone who they live with outside of the children's village.  These kids are just at the village when school is out and on weekends.  These kids receive meals and clothing from the village.  The kids in this program stay here at the village until dinner time then they go back to their homes to sleep.  For the other 69 kids, the village is their home.  They grow up in the village and return here when they are out of school.  To them, the village is their family.

Q: Do you think that Tanzania and the orphanage will be even more cool then you expected?
A:  My experience at the village is not what I expected.  It is so much better.  It is such a loving place.  Everyone is so very kind.  It is one big family.  In reality this place is 100 times better than what I expected.

Q:  What are some things different between the orphanage and here?
A:   One difference is the toys that the children play with.  They can pick up almost anything and find some way to play with it.  Ema, a 2 year old, takes a building block and puts it up to his ear to pretend that it is a phone.  He goes around putting it up to peoples ears and saying "here".  The kids here of any young age (3-6 yrs)  put things in their mouth.  They just pick up something from the ground outside and it ends up in their mouth.  They don't get treats like candy. They also don't have free range of getting food for a snack.  They have two planned out snack times during the day, at 10:30am and 4:30pm.  Another difference between American kids and Tanzanian kids is that kids here don't have cable.  They do have TVs but they only get to watch a movie once a day.  These kids are used to what they have and are very happy in general.

3S~  Thank you so much for taking the time to write to me.  I absolutely loved reading your letters.  They put a big smile on my face.  Thank you for all of your support.  I cant wait to show you guys all of my pictures and share my experience.  Have a nice week.  Love, Julie

The Final Countdown

      I cant believe that I only have two weeks left of being in Tanzania.  I am having a GREAT time!  Today there are only two volunteers here at the village.  There is myself and Ana.  Jeff and Maddy are in Arusha.  Maddy is there doing stuff for her new job with RVCV.  Jeff is there to enjoy the Christmas festival with Monda.
     So far today has gone very smoothly.  I have been outside at the swings playing with the kids while Ana was doing Spanish lessons in the library.  This afternoon I am planing on working on the Christmas cards with the kids.  There are only two full houses that need to get done and like ten other kids.  I hope that it does not take that long.

December 2nd
        The week is almost over.  A new volunteer has arrived.  Her name is Jody.  She is 40 years old and lives in Washington DC.  She is really nice.  Tomorrow at 3:00 Ashley is going to arrive.  Ashley is a new volunteer that is going to be staying in Mikumi.  I will be showing her the ropes of the house.  She will be staying here for a YEAR.  I am starting to get a little sad about leaving. I really love this place and it has been GREAT.

Gabriel: The Child Whisper

     Gabriel is a student who is going for his teaching degree at a university in Arusha.  He is presently on break until January 2nd.  While he is here he is staying in Mikumi.  Once he finishes his schooling in May he will be coming back to the village and planing on being a teacher at the primary school near the village.
     To the village staff Gabriel is known as the child whisper.  After seeing him with interact with the children, I can see why the staff has given him this name.  When ever he is around outside a swarm of children are gathered around him. If he is on the move there is almost always a child on his heals.  Yesterday afternoon I was wondering why there were no Mikumi kids outside playing.  I went in to Mikumi to see if they were in there.   They were all in the boys room sitting nicely on the floor.  I looked in to see what they were doing there and sure enough there was Gabriel on the bed talking to them.  The kids looked like they were memorized in what he was saying.  So, if you notice that the playground is quite, then search for Gabriel and you will most likely find the kids with him.  :)