The last blog post

Saturday, I am back home. Everything worked out great on the trip home. Thank you for sharing my experience by reading the blog.

Photos from Amsterdam

Am I at Disneyworld? No, but at the airport in Amsterdam you can sit in a teacup or a teapot and enjoy a snack.

You can also sit at a table shaped like a giant tulip flowerpot.

the plane that will fly me back home

Friday, to Amsterdam

Today was spent packing and visiting. S. Elise and I went downtown on local transportation to buy a suitcase. Dar es Salaam is a huge city with people moving everywhere. It was a successful journey. Traffic was fairly light coming to the airport and now I'm sitting at the gate ready to board. I'll get to Amsterdam at 7:20 a.m. (12:20 a.m. Central Time). More from Amsterdam when I arrive there.

It is hard saying goodbye to wonderful friends and to this amazing country.

Thursday in Buyuni

Today we drove to the school that the Sisters are building in a nearby town called Buyuni. Building this school has been a dream of the Sisters for a long time, and they hope to open the school in January. They have regional government approval and are waiting for the Tanzanian government to finalize their paperwork. 

The people in the town call often to register their children, and the town of Buyuni is growing up around the school. There are also many applications from teachers hoping to work there. People trust the school since it will be run by the Salvatorian Sisters. S. Mechthildis has worked tirelessly for 13 years to make this happen, and S. Elise will be the lead teacher when they open. It is very inspiring to see this dream close to coming true.

S. Mechthildis and S. Elise at the entrance to the school

S. Elise in classroom with desks for small children

stairway

the courtyard from the second floor

assembly room with waxed floor

classroom with desks

A quiet Wednesday

A quiet rest day here at the mission. I read and rested and drank lots of water after yesterday's long journey. Some great conversations as we share stories and understandings of life here and in the US. The purpose of the visit here in Tanzania is to teach English, but the friendships and the sharing of cultures is invaluable.

the guest house and kindergarten at the Uponga Mission

S. Mechthildes and S. Elise sharing an email on their cell phone

Dar es Salaam

A short message today, just to let you know that I am safely at Uponga Mission in Dar es Salaam. It's a long journey--11 hours on the bus and, due to traffic, 2 more hours to get to the Sisters' mission. The bus was comfortable and there were some beautiful sites as we drove north to Dar es Salaam. I particularly love the baobab trees. Must be my love of the book, The Little Prince. Tanzania is an amazing country. The changing scenery and the chance to see the variety of housing kept me busy during the long bus ride.

the amazing baobab tree

Somewhere I read that the baobab tree
looks like it is planted upside down--the
branches look like roots.

Metal roofs mean more time for other work,
since you don't have to replace them every year.
There are more metal roofs each year.

Many adventures and goodbyes

My last day in Masasi was full of adventures and goodbyes. We went to Nangose. Nangose is a large piece of land with cashew trees, many crops, and some pigs and chickens. The Sisters care for the groves and it can be a source of income for them. There were many goodbyes as I said goodbye to students and friends. 

Then later this afternoon the Encounter group arrived. They will stay here a few days before they head further west. It was a treat to be able to greet them and welcome them to this place that I have grown to love!

On our journey to Nangose
I met some pigs.

The Sisters own quite a bit of land
and a large cashew grove in Nangose.

S. Maxsensia and S. Yasinta were pleased
with the blossoms on
the cashew trees

harvesting a type of peas
on our journey

The Encounter group has arrived in Masasi.