8/3/2015
All students have arrived and are ready for their program!
8/4/2015
Mambo zenu? Today we woke up to a breakfast of doughnuts, fresh fruit, and eggs. Then, we exchanged money and learned that $500 can turn you into a millionaire in Tanzania. We went to two markets and purchased fabric to give to the seamstress to make into clothes for us later on. We practiced using our Swahili with the locals and met some cute kids. After we had lunch, a local professor came in to teach us about the history, cultures, and government of Tanzania. We played games such as “teapot” and “the wind blows for…” and hung out a bit before dinner. After dinner, we watched a Ted talk about stereotypes and assumptions and then played charades until we went to bed after another wonderful day in this beautiful country.
-Caroline and Zyler
8/6/2015
Today’s our fourth day in GLA and we headed to school firstly to see the staff and students. It took us long to reach the school and the trip here was obviously worthy. There are 25 teachers, mainly women. Everyone’s excited because the local welcomed us when we gave self-introduction. In addition, we went around the school and saw what the former GLA students did for the local school: they repaired classrooms, planted trees, and built fences for thee students. Since the students had examination, we paused our visit for the school and prepared to teach them later when they possess time. We can do great job later since the former GLA students did so well in teaching and building better study situation for them.
After we went to the school we returned to home base to have lunch consisting of beans, guacamole, some deep fried bread, and some other side foods. At the conclusion of lunch we got back on the bus to visit some more shops. These were more angled towards tourist than the other shops we had previously visited. These shops offered small carvings and unique pictures that were meant to catch the eyes of tourists. At these shops many of us were able to try our skills at bartering with the Tanzanian shop keepers. This was quite enjoyable and many of us came back boasting how low we were able to get our prices.
After the shops we went to Tanzanian super-market to buy packaged foods for our upcoming safari weekend. It was interesting to compare the differences between the stores many of us are used to at home. As we finished shopping we were corralled across the street to the internet café where many of the students got their first connection to internet in 4 days. After almost 2 hours at the cafe, many of the students had fulfilled their social networking needs and so we came back to home base where Mama D cooked a delicious meal for those who hadn’t already eaten.
– Jaxson and Hongrui
8/16/2015
All students have departed and are on their way home!
