"making plans to change the world, while the world is changing us"

Sooooo many things have happened I don't know where to begin. I guess I'll just start rambling and see if I manage to get everything down. First off, if you haven't already, please read Ains' post "Arrested Under Development" ( http://www.ainsmonster.blogspot.com ) to get an idea of what happened. I have to admit, the first 2 hours of our capture was actually quite funny, and we kept in good spirits for the most part. The remaining time was super frustrating, as they kept making stops in bf nowhere and wouldn't let us out of the truck. At one point, we are positive that they went into a house, had lunch, and then came back out. In the meantime, Ainsley and took a small nap and thank goodness Ainsley was able to keep her composure because after I woke up I was in a completely sour mood. We figure, as long as one of us is staying positive, we'll be okay!!

Our time in the interrogation room was also pretty funny- in hindsight of course. We were told that we'd have to give statements about what had happened- and what they meant was, they would write a statement for us, and we'd have to sign on the dotted lined that read "signature of the suspect"....SUSPECT OF WHAT?!?!?! !@#$#@$@

My statement started like this: "My name is Andrianna Tsentouros, and I was born on November 30th 1986. My father and mother are both Christians. Today, I was taken by 3 immigration officers for not having my passport...."

...Ummm...excuse me....YOU HAVE MY PASSPORT!!!

Further conversation went as such:
Officer: Why are you here.?
Anna: I have no idea.
Officer: Where is your passport?
Anna: At the immigration office.
Officer: How did it get here?
Anna: I brought it here yesterday.
Officer: Where did you bring it?
Anna: To the desk.
Officer: Did you bring it to an officer, or did you bring it to a building?
...
Officer: Why are you here?
Anna: Because you have my passport.
Officer: You were arrested because you did not have your passport. Where is it?
Anna: You guys have it.
Officer: Why are you here?
Anna....Seriously?!?!?!?!?

Hours later, we were 'released'- not without a giant lecture of not having our passports. After all was said and done, they asked us to return the next day to retrieve our passports. Let's never talk about the corruption that is the Tanzanian government, again. Let's hope that next time immigration comes around, Ainsley and I manage to hide.

Okay- the real reason why we're here: The kids!!

Teaching here has been the most absolute frustrating thing ever. I find myself wishing I was back at MMH, with my well behaved 20 monkeys in Grade 1D. It's become difficult to stay positive as we learn more and more about life in Lukobe. There are roughly 600 kids at the school, approx. 80 in the class and surprise, surprise- they barely speak a word of English. That being said, it's easy to keep their attention/ keep them motivated for about an hour and 15 minutes, and then it becomes super super painful. The teachers (all 6 of them) disappear once a Mzungu (white person) comes to teach, so Ains and I walk into our classrooms and we are the only adults on the premise. They don't follow the time table, and expect us to do everything and it's frustrating. We are racking our brains trying to think of meaningful things to do, and we have good ideas, but with all the extra baggage that comes along it becomes frustrating:

-no supplies- the chalk crumbles, no texts, noooothing.
-some kids don't have paper- we're suppose to kick them out of they don't come prepared...but kick them out to where??
-no windows- papers blow everywhere- DUST DUST it's always SO dusty.
-corporal punishment- enough said, and NOT happening.
-no support. This one's tough because there are always 2 sides to an argument. The government pays absolute shit to teachers here. One year, the teachers didn't get paid AT ALL. Of course they're not going to show up and do their job properly. I'm sure that they've just been worn thin of caring, and are tired of the politics. At the same time though, that's 600 kids who deserve all the chances in the world, and will most likely not get to take them.

Here in Tanzania, (and most of Africa), the mentality is survival- and that is to the end of the day. It's hard for them to change that mindset and to get them to think long term/ the future. If they have food today- they're satisfied and when tomorrow comes that's when they'll worry about getting food. It's hard not to be ethnocentric. and it's hard to know what the best thing for Ains' and I are to do with our remaining time here. I'm blabbering, I know.

Here are some awesome, positive things!!
-the orphanage- the 23 kids we get to hang out with everyday are hilarious. Their English is good, and they love teaching us things too. Ainsley and I are polishing our good Mzungu wife skills by keeping the house tidy, feeding Scott (our housemate), doing our laundry by hand (I apparently suck at this), and fetching water. Ainsley tucks me in every night (since the first night I woke up because there was a lizard crawling up my thigh and Ainsley rocked me back to sleep), and I make sure Ainsley takes her Malaria medication everyday. Ainsley also makes sure I get my daily dose of rice and beans (1 of 3 things we eat everyday) as she is concerned about my protein levels. Together, we are an unstoppable team!!

Yesterday, we trekked across the city (soooooo long, soooo boring) and made our way to a trendy hotel on the beach. Ainsley and I led a yoga class for about 8 volunteers (all from different proejcts) and we all "namasted" and watched the sunset. PS- Ainsley and I are not yoga teachers, so after we did a few moves and sun salutations, it turned into a 'what would you bring to a circus' talent show. I sat back and beamed at my good Mzungo wife Ainsley, as she won with her amazing karate talent.

I think I've rambled on enough...Hopefully you've made it this far!!

xoxox
Anna

"We are all one people"

Uganda is gorgeous!!! So green, so lush. Tons of bougainvillea trees down every road- that part reminds me of Greece. We are back at the backpackers hostel so I'm trying to take advantage of all the free internet I can get before we start our teaching stretch. Ainsley and I have yet another 17 hour bus ride ahead of us, so hopefully we can get some planning done then. We tried to "princess" our way out of it and book a flight, but we couldn't justify paying half the cost of a safari just to fly for an hour. Yes, that's right. What is a 1 hour flight is a 17 hour bus ride- bruuuuutal.

Just call me Cleopatra! We spent two days hanging out by the Nile, drinking tea and reading novels. We survived our Class 5 rafting experience like pros- except now I feel the need to burn the clothes/ bathing suits we wore in the river. They smell absolutely rancid, and I definitely will never be wearing them again. Oh well, at least there were no crocs. And, Ainsley survived her bungee experience!!

Today we took a mini trip to the Mengo Hospital in Kampala, which is apparently one of the oldest hospitals in Uganda. It is a private, non profit hospital and seemed a million times better than a public government one. The main pediatrician there gave us a tour of the peds unit and the 3 girls who are leaving today gave out toys to the kids on the ward. Ainsley and I just walked around and chatted with the kids and the parents. It was absolutely heartbreaking. Many of the patients were there because their children hadn't been immunized- measles, malaria, yellow fever, etc. We got to take a look at the premature babies and it was really emotionally overwhelming. It's comforting to know that that they're getting the best care, but just a sad experience overall.

The rest of the day was spent bartering down prices for buses and piki pikis. Once again, Ainsley and I said our Hail Marys, and hung on for dear life. I'm so ready to get out of the stinky city, and get back to the orphanage. I'm ready to carry the day's water on my head, wash my clothes, shower under the Mango tree, and hopefully never step foot on another bus until the day we leave.

xoxo

PS- we accidentally locked Jack in our dorm room for 40 minutes this morning, as we didn't think there was anyone in there. Sorry Jack!! Good thing you had that water bottle hey?!?

What's another 7 hours on a bus?

With all of the travel time under our belts, Ains and I have figured out that we have been in 5 different countries in the last 6 days. My passport is a beautiful collage of stickers and stamps! Our first 2 days in Lukobe have been overwhelming, but awesome at the same time. We toured around Mwanza and spent some time at the orphanage as well. We are brainstorming what kind of project we want to implement while we are here besides just teaching in the classroom. Besides the 23 children who live in the orphanage, we will be teaching one grade level (standard 1 to 6) that has approx. 80 kids in one class...can you say CHAOS?!?! Needless to say our classroom management skills will be put to the test.

Since a lot of this project is very self- lead, we were thinking of devising some type of plan/ schedule for other volunteers (particularly teachers) to use/ carry on after we've left. Like many things in Africa, things are a little disorganized when it comes to government funded projects. There are 7 teachers who work at the school of 600 kids. When they heard that 2 actual teachers were coming to volunteer, they took an extra long coffee break and played hooky for the rest of the day. Ains and I are still holding out strong, and so far nobody has lost the bet of 'who is going to weep like a baby and need to be held' first. 5 bucks says Ainsley breaks in the next 2 days.

One of the best things at the volunteer house is the outdoor shower that Scott (our volunteer/ house mate) built outside right underneath a mango tree. The first time I got to lather/ rinse/ repeat was glorious!!!

Last night we hopped the night ferry (which was a comfy, bunk bed third class Titanic style room) and traveled to the other side of Lake Victoria. Then we did another 7 hours on a stinky bus where I kept my eyes closed and face in my shirt for most of the ride to avoid inhaling large amounts of red dust. Right now we are at a backpack friendly hostel, waiting to get picked up for our 2 night white water rafting adventure down the Nile. Ainsley has developed an anxiety about this after watching her younger sister's video when she did the same trip. Personally, it's not the rafting that scares me but the BUNGEE JUMPING that causes me to lose sleep. (don't worry Mom, I am NOT taking part of this!!) To me, the worst thing that can happen is some water up your nose, where as bungee jumping has the potential for way more problems. I am not the kind of person who is going to hurl herself off a cliff- No thanks!!

We've got a few more hours in the dala dala (mini bus) ahead of us tonight. Time to get some rest

xoxo

Hey Ains, remember when the bus almost tipped over??

We are out of Nairobi!! I truly feel that Nairobi is the kind of city that I never need to return to. It was a great city, filled with lots of friendly people, but Mwanza is a million times better, and it feels good to be in Tanzania.

Our 13 hour bus ride ended up being 17 hours. It included a praying mantis, a marriage proposal, a 2 hour stop over in bf nowhere, the scariest bathroom break of my life, and a total of about 13 minutes of sleep. The stops were really random and crossing the border from Kenya to Tanzania seemed to take forever. Ainsley and I seemed to be the only passengers who required food, water, and pee breaks. There was one stop in particular where it seemed way to dangerous to get off the bus, so as Ainsley and I were contemplating making a funnel to properly pee in our water bottle. Thankfully, a local woman took us under her arm and guided us to the worlds worst smelling bathroom. We drove on the highway through one part of the Serengeti, and saw zebras, wildabeast, and a baboob!!! We were also the only ones on the bus excited for this.

There is a plethora of men who believe that Ainsley and I would be excellant canditates for wives. We do our best to assure them that due to our lack of cooking, cleaning, and zero child bearing experience we would be infact be terrible housewives. All in all, we were overjoyed when it was time to get off and when we finally met up with Dawn, the volutneer coordinator for the school/ orphanage where we will be working.

The village is awesome!! The kids stop and stare, laugh, and the woman like to touch our hair. We ride 'piggy piggys' (scooters) to and from, and do our best to remember words in Swahili. There are 3 other girls (who are leaving in the next few days), and 1 other guy (who will be with us the entire time) staying in the house. Ainsley and I are brainstorming what kind of project we want to implement while we are here, while getting in as much teaching as we can. Despite the fact that we've just started, there seems to be so much to do in so little time.

Here are some things I have discovered:
-Ainsley and I are HUGE WIMPS- We carried our first buckets of water on our heads from the watering hole to our house, and complained the entire way. I thought my neck was going to break and my arms were going to fall off. Nevermind the 5 year olds who were running full speed ahead and didnt even use a finger.
-A scorpian in the house! So sick.
-Every country I've visted has proved to have even worse drivers than the last
-Everyone calls us 'Sister'
-We will constantly be covered in dust
-People love to let you hold their babies
-No one thinks twice about strapping a 3 month old to the back of a 7 year old

Swahili 101
Piggy Piggy- motorbike
Doli- bus
Jamobo- hello
Poli Poli- slow down
Asanta Sana- thank you very much
Nani- Name


xoxo
Anna

First few days....

Well, after the 4am road trip to Winnipeg with my dad, the 2 hour flight to Toronto + 4 hour delay, the 6 hour flight to Amsterdam followed by the Olympic Sprint to make our connecting 8 hour flight to Nairobi, Ainsley and I made it safe and sound only to discover that Ainsley's backpack did not. Many thoughts were running through my mind as we sat at the airport for another 2 hours waiting to deal with Baggage claim. Amoung them were- I'm hungry- I'm tired- I need to call my Mom and let her know we're safe- I'm so glad it's not my backpack (sorry Ains!) - It stinks in Kenya... No wait, that's me- I'm hungry- I'm tired- this hotel man is definitely making a killing off of us. When you're this exhausted, you really don't care about overpaying or bargaining.

Ainsley is in surprisingly good spirits considering she only has the clothes on her back. I am convinced that her bag will turn up somewhere, and in the meantime supremely jealous that she isn't lugging her's around like I am mine.

Turns out we lucked out at the Mariposa Hotel as the staff is super friendly and sat with us to enjoy our first African beer- Tusker (pronoucned Tuska). After a glorious 5 hour sleep, we got up before the sun did and walked with our first friend to the local bus station only to discover that the bus doesn't leave for another 14 hours. Awesome. So now we've become 'those' people at the hotel, who loiter and stick around for as long as possible. Thank goodness the staff likes us!

After the first 4 hours of sitting at the hotel Ains and I decided we we were going to out and brave the streets. The staff looked at us like we are crazy and insisted that we beware of pick pocketers and loaded us up with business cards incase we get lost. Overall, the streets are busy- very much like Bangkok but there really aren't any other backpackers or tourists around. I fit in like a glove (thanks to my weeks of carefully thought out tanning) however Ainsley's blond locks often cause people to stop and stare. We still have about 8 hours left but I'll be happy to get out of the city, and on our way to Mwanza, Tanzania.

Did you know that pay phones don't exist in Kenya? We sure didn't.

Being the foreigners here, Ainsley and I have discussed that although we're fortunate to both be bilingual, it is completely useless here since she speaks Spanish and I speak Greek. Therefore, in any type of 'fight or flight' situation, we'd both be screwed. We will spend the majority of our 10000 hour bus trip trying to teach other important phrases like "Run like hell" or "hit the deck".

Check out Ainsley's blog too: ainsmonster.blogspot.com

Will post more soon!

xoxo All my lovin'
Anna

Can't sleep!

Thought I'd give the old blog some attention. It's been a long long LONG time!!

It's the day before the big trip, and Ainsley and I are running around our cities doing last minute things. After going through a bit of a hassel with getting the right medication (apparently I'm the only one in Kenora who needs Anti Malaria pills) I think I've finally got everything I need and if not, I'll just have to find it over there!

Preparing for this trip has been unlike any other backpacking trip I've done before. Usually it's beach wear and tube tops, so finding appropriate length skirts was difficult. Here's to hoping that the 20+ hour flight time and the 13 hour bus ride (barf!) doesn't put us in cranky moods for our first few days in Africa.

We are spending our time at the Lukobe village, which is near Lake Victoria in Tanzania. The school / orphanage there has about 30 students ranging from K to 8. We've already been advised that Lake Victoria is NOT like the lakes we're used to. Apparently we're almost guaranteed to have a parasite swim up somewhere that you probably wouldn't want a parasite to be if you go swimming.

Top 3 things I'm most excited for right now:
-meeting the kids at the orphanage and getting a group to teach
-our safari through the Serengeti. Hellllloooooo wild giraffes!!
- learning more about the culture and (for the short period of time that we're there) living it!


AHHH AINS WE ARE GOING TO AFRICA!!!!!