July in a nutshell

July was a busy month!

We had our Mid-Service Conference (MSC) in Dar followed by a week long Permaculture seminar. Then, after less than a week back at site we had some trainees from the new group come to our sites for a shadow visit.

The MSC was mostly just a medical check-up however, we did have a few sessions discussing the first year of service and suggestions for the new group. In the evenings we had the opportunity to enjoy Dar es Salaam and the many 'western' attractions it has to offer. There is a movie theater, small water park, good food, and even a Subway (sandwich shop not public transport). The public transport is small buses that they fill way beyond capacity. We spent the weekend at a beach called Kipepeo just outside of Dar.

The next week we had a seminar on bio-intensive gardening. It was extremely interesting and useful. We spent the first two days at the U.S. Embassy learning the techniques in one of the conference rooms and then spent two days starting a small garden and fixing some water issues at an orphanage near Dar.

This past week we had some shadowers come to our site to see how a volunteer lives. I think they were pleasantly surprised that life as a volunteer is much more than living in a mud hut with a straw roof and eating nothing but rice and beans. We cooked burritos, thai peanut sauce, grilled cheese, we listened to music, had a bonfire, and answered many many questions. They were all very excited to get done with training and get to their villages.

On top of all that I turned 24 this month. My Birthday was great with the exception of one small complication. While I was in Dar I had some villagers install my sit-down toilet. I returned home to find the toilet completely in the ground up to the rim. They just didn't understand the concept of sitting and figured I wanted to be able to squat.
All for now. Talk to you soon