We've been in Lindi (south/east) for just over a week now. The trip here was quite the adventure, 8 hour bus ride which I don't usually mind. Except for 2 hour fo the jo
urney, the "roads" were more like trails through the middle of forests. Roads so bumpy that you could even open your water bottle to take a sip. I got thrown out of my seat quite a few times and my rear end was definately not so happy :P I was in the back of the bus with 4 people squished in a 3 person seat as well. Not the g
reatest, but I guest it's efficient in terms of fitting people on the bus.
It's been a combination of work and play, so far more play than work but no one's complaining. The facilities here are better than I expected, although the first
couple days we were without power for majorityof the time, it really makes you realize how much you take simple things for granted. Many of us were a bit frustrated because of our phones and MP3 Players running out of battery power. The town of Lindi is about 60,000 people and has 2 internet cafes. But no power= no internet, we went a
couple times but no luck before.. until now.
Part of me feels very distant from the rest of the world. I have no idea what the world issues currently are or even how much snow there is. Christmas has crept up very quickly for us, and it honestly doesn't feel like the festive season. No lights? No chessy Christmas music? No crazy lineups at malls? No candycanes?
As for the workcamp in Lindi... We here with 12 other volunteers from around the world, Belgium, Finland, Hong Kong, South Korea, Japan, Italy, Germany, US, and Canada. I never realized the number of workcamps that Uvikuita puts on and the reach of them. Many of these individuals have taken time off from their real-life jobs to volunteer for an organization which they have never met. They travel completely on their own and just meet people along the way. I'm not quite sure if I personally would do such a thing, I think I need more formal planning... I guess that's why it made more sense for me to do CWY, instead of going on my own.
I'm loving Lindi right now, its a small place reminding me of my lil hometown in Malaysia (Semerah). Not to mention our accomodations are right on top of a hill, so
we have a clear view of the Indian Ocean. It's amazing. You have this great breeze that cools you down from the grueling sun and not to mention a BEACH! Some people mentioned the other day that the beach was 15-20 min walk away. So on one of the first days we got dressed in our beach gear with flip flops and all and began our journey to the BEACH! Well.. the 15 min walk was no 15 minutes.... it was more like AN HOUR! in the grueling sun... actually that day it wasnt even that sunny, it was cloudy but we were still melting in the sun... but to say the least. The beach was awesome... not sure if its worth the hour long walk... but we had fun and felt refreshed after and I got to collect a bunch of seashells :)
Last weekend, we went to see the Kilwa Ruins (UNESCO World 
Heritage Site) we saw the acient ruins of the mosque which was once ruled by the Omanies. The site was also home to main slave trading aread of its time. It was really impressive.. and interesting. The day after we went to the beach again and then some of us went snorkling, I saw some neat corals and little fishes that look like Nemos!! and also some zebra looking fishies. We each had our own room with electricity and our own double bed and shower. We all thought it was luxury after where we had stayed for the past week, Makes you realized how the little things you always tak
e for granted in Canada.
urney, the "roads" were more like trails through the middle of forests. Roads so bumpy that you could even open your water bottle to take a sip. I got thrown out of my seat quite a few times and my rear end was definately not so happy :P I was in the back of the bus with 4 people squished in a 3 person seat as well. Not the g
reatest, but I guest it's efficient in terms of fitting people on the bus.It's been a combination of work and play, so far more play than work but no one's complaining. The facilities here are better than I expected, although the first
couple days we were without power for majorityof the time, it really makes you realize how much you take simple things for granted. Many of us were a bit frustrated because of our phones and MP3 Players running out of battery power. The town of Lindi is about 60,000 people and has 2 internet cafes. But no power= no internet, we went a
couple times but no luck before.. until now.Part of me feels very distant from the rest of the world. I have no idea what the world issues currently are or even how much snow there is. Christmas has crept up very quickly for us, and it honestly doesn't feel like the festive season. No lights? No chessy Christmas music? No crazy lineups at malls? No candycanes?
As for the workcamp in Lindi... We here with 12 other volunteers from around the world, Belgium, Finland, Hong Kong, South Korea, Japan, Italy, Germany, US, and Canada. I never realized the number of workcamps that Uvikuita puts on and the reach of them. Many of these individuals have taken time off from their real-life jobs to volunteer for an organization which they have never met. They travel completely on their own and just meet people along the way. I'm not quite sure if I personally would do such a thing, I think I need more formal planning... I guess that's why it made more sense for me to do CWY, instead of going on my own.
I'm loving Lindi right now, its a small place reminding me of my lil hometown in Malaysia (Semerah). Not to mention our accomodations are right on top of a hill, so
we have a clear view of the Indian Ocean. It's amazing. You have this great breeze that cools you down from the grueling sun and not to mention a BEACH! Some people mentioned the other day that the beach was 15-20 min walk away. So on one of the first days we got dressed in our beach gear with flip flops and all and began our journey to the BEACH! Well.. the 15 min walk was no 15 minutes.... it was more like AN HOUR! in the grueling sun... actually that day it wasnt even that sunny, it was cloudy but we were still melting in the sun... but to say the least. The beach was awesome... not sure if its worth the hour long walk... but we had fun and felt refreshed after and I got to collect a bunch of seashells :)
Last weekend, we went to see the Kilwa Ruins (UNESCO World 
Heritage Site) we saw the acient ruins of the mosque which was once ruled by the Omanies. The site was also home to main slave trading aread of its time. It was really impressive.. and interesting. The day after we went to the beach again and then some of us went snorkling, I saw some neat corals and little fishes that look like Nemos!! and also some zebra looking fishies. We each had our own room with electricity and our own double bed and shower. We all thought it was luxury after where we had stayed for the past week, Makes you realized how the little things you always tak
e for granted in Canada.At first I thought I would be bored, since I often felt that way in Canada, but I had other options to keep myself occupied. I can honestly say I'm enjoying the time off of just relaxing... well sorta... I forgot to mention about the actual work that we're doing. Usually we're all exausted after work, so the lounging around on our concrete decks are a relief. As for building the school, we're the first group here so we're literally digging into the ground in order to set the foundation. The red dirt stains our clothes.. which we have to hand wash.. so as much as you scrub the stains never really come out. The digging isn't so bad except for the heat, I got through about 4L of water in a matter of 3 hours ishy. It's definately physically demanding using the pick axes, back hoes and shovels. My body will be in good shape after the new year. 
In the afternoons, we've been walking to the nearby village to teach the kids sports and activities. I sorta expected to have just simply 30 kids... there's atleast 30 kids in each age group. Kids range from ~5 to 20 years old. I debated over which range of children I should work with... even through I have most of my experience with kids/youth between the ages of 10-18. I decided to pick an age that I've never worked with, I find 7-10 year olds a bit.... frust
rating to work with sometimes.. so I chose the little little ones. I'm working with the 5 year olds. They are absolutely adorable. so cute that you really can't get mad at them. They don't speak any English at all, that paired with their lack of attention span makes explaining activities pretty difficult. But they are just sooo cute. They can't quite say our names so instead of calling us by our actually names.. they call us by vegetables or fruits... they call them tikitimaji (watermelon) or pilipili hoho (green pepper) It's pretty hilarious when they call them it. I've learned more Swahilli words in the past week than before since I'm constantly repeating the same words. Even though the kids don't understand me, facial expressions are universal... so when a little kid kicks another kid... they know the glare that I give them means no.. hehe... definately have some mischevious little boys in the class. I'm not suppose to pick favorites in the class, but the littlest of them all appeal to me. I just feel bad for the little guys when they get trampled on by the bigger kids... they don't complain just sorta weee themselves through the crowd. We play some different variations of games from back home, similar to duck duck goose, what time is it mister wolf and keep up with the balloons. I'd say of all the games, they LOVE planning with balloons. As soon as you start to blow one up, they go crazy and their eyes widen are glued to you. It's definately tiring keeping up with them, but so much fun.
As for Christmas.... It really doesn't feel much like it. We're having some community games with the kids in the afternoon, then possible having a goat dinner in the evening. Some of us plan on going to te beach... then we can say we spent Christmas on the beach :)
In my journal, I've been keeping track on how many days we have been here and remaining.. It's about 80 still remaining....I somehow feel as if we've been here for a while. I miss the simple luxuries of home. My pillow, shower, mmmm candy, and even just having cold milk instead of warm... Part of me does feel home sick...
Deep inside, I'm nervous though about what to do when I get back... should I be applying for jobs while I'm here? :S
We have just another week in Lindi, then back to Dar for the remaining 2 months of the program. Hopefully we'll have more internet time.. but it's hard to say...
In the afternoons, we've been walking to the nearby village to teach the kids sports and activities. I sorta expected to have just simply 30 kids... there's atleast 30 kids in each age group. Kids range from ~5 to 20 years old. I debated over which range of children I should work with... even through I have most of my experience with kids/youth between the ages of 10-18. I decided to pick an age that I've never worked with, I find 7-10 year olds a bit.... frust
rating to work with sometimes.. so I chose the little little ones. I'm working with the 5 year olds. They are absolutely adorable. so cute that you really can't get mad at them. They don't speak any English at all, that paired with their lack of attention span makes explaining activities pretty difficult. But they are just sooo cute. They can't quite say our names so instead of calling us by our actually names.. they call us by vegetables or fruits... they call them tikitimaji (watermelon) or pilipili hoho (green pepper) It's pretty hilarious when they call them it. I've learned more Swahilli words in the past week than before since I'm constantly repeating the same words. Even though the kids don't understand me, facial expressions are universal... so when a little kid kicks another kid... they know the glare that I give them means no.. hehe... definately have some mischevious little boys in the class. I'm not suppose to pick favorites in the class, but the littlest of them all appeal to me. I just feel bad for the little guys when they get trampled on by the bigger kids... they don't complain just sorta weee themselves through the crowd. We play some different variations of games from back home, similar to duck duck goose, what time is it mister wolf and keep up with the balloons. I'd say of all the games, they LOVE planning with balloons. As soon as you start to blow one up, they go crazy and their eyes widen are glued to you. It's definately tiring keeping up with them, but so much fun.As for Christmas.... It really doesn't feel much like it. We're having some community games with the kids in the afternoon, then possible having a goat dinner in the evening. Some of us plan on going to te beach... then we can say we spent Christmas on the beach :)
In my journal, I've been keeping track on how many days we have been here and remaining.. It's about 80 still remaining....I somehow feel as if we've been here for a while. I miss the simple luxuries of home. My pillow, shower, mmmm candy, and even just having cold milk instead of warm... Part of me does feel home sick...
Deep inside, I'm nervous though about what to do when I get back... should I be applying for jobs while I'm here? :S
We have just another week in Lindi, then back to Dar for the remaining 2 months of the program. Hopefully we'll have more internet time.. but it's hard to say...
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