Vacation was amazing. I beached, I ate, I danced, I explored. And now I'm headed back to the village for only FIVE days until our In-Service Training in Iringa. Because my bus leaves soon and I have a stye in my eye so large I can hardly see the computer screen, I'll break down the trip by its highlights:

Places visited:
1. Njombe for Christmas
2. Morogoro town
3. Dar es Salaam
4. Kipepeo Beach

Transportation Totals:
1. Bus-22 hours
2. Taxi-2 hours
3. Dala-Dalas-2 hours
4. Ferry-30 minutes
5-Feet-?

Food and Beverages:
1. Hamburgers-3
2. Chicken Nuggets-8
3. Spring Rolls-6
4. Pizza-2
5. All-inclusive champagne breakfast-1
6. Beers-40?
7. Bottle of Tanzanian Gin-1

Recreation:
1. Bouncing in the waves
2. Dancing at a Bollywood disco
3. Parousing the fish market
4. Skinny dipping in the Indian Ocean
5. Staring at items in the grocery store (choosing anything to buy would have been too overwhelming)
6. Reading O magazine
7. Air-Conditioning
8. Hitch-hiking with foreign embassy cars in Dar
9. Staring unabashedly at white people
10. Going to the MALL!

Vacation was a smashing success. I enjoyed a lot of R&R, explored more of the country, and had amazing food. I am now a proud devotee of Indian cuisine! WHAT?

Village highlight:
Returning home from a day in Njombe I was talking to my bus driver and told him that in America I knew how to drive. He, like everyone else, thought that was pretty funny and of course didn't believe me. I told him one day, I would drive his bus. The conversation changed and I thought nothing of it.

When we had arrived at the village neighboring mine and most people had unloaded, he stopped the car and told me it was my turn! I took a deep breath, got behind the wheel and proceded to offroad in the village bus for about 10 minutes! It was AWESOME. I did learn that the brakes were almost non-existent, something I probably would have rather been blissfully ignorant to. I tried to tell some village friends about my adventure, but no one believed me! Oh well.

Headed back home in about 1 hour. Sunday, however, begins a two-week long conference in Iringa town (about 3 hours from Njombe) that will kick off my official job. I'm bringing a counterpart from my village and we'll be learning about implementing AIDS education, permaculture (google it-it's an awesome concept), and grant writing. After the meeting finishes on January 24, I'll be absolutely ready and charged to start projects and begin turning the wheels of change. Woohoo.

Have a great week everyone and remember, I'm only a skype away!

#- +255-0787788683

Katie