Dear Families,
Right now everyone is standing around, yelling "jambo's" and "habari's" (hello's and how-are-you's) and sending their love! We write from Lushoto, a small mountain town in the Usambara mountain range in northern Tanzania. It's been a fantastic journey so far...including a spectacular lookout point, a waterfall hike, and delicious lunch at Irente Farms where they served local bread, cheeses, jam and fruits.
Since our last update we've been very busy working on our project, celebrating a birthday (happy 17th Chelsie!), learning local crafts, doing home stays in the village, and hiking to waterfalls and lookout points that everyone agrees are "the best hikes ever!"
Last Sunday afternoon we joined the Il'Kidinga Cultural Tourism Project to explore the beautiful slopes of Mt. Meru and visit a nearby waterfall. We surprised the students with dinner out at our favorite Indian restaurant in Arusha. It was delicious.
Then on Monday, it was back to work, and a busy and productive week it was. We completed painting one classroom and began work on another. We continue to plaster the new teacher housing and are making steady progress on the roof.
On Thursday, the students had a very unique opportunity to live and learn from village families during a daylong home stay. We handed off groups of three to their families after breakfast and welcomed back smiling faces for late night pizza back at our home. The students milked cows, worked on the farms, helped prepare chai and chapati, and made wonderful friends throughout the day.
Friday morning we had an early start and worked hard at the worksite before loading up on the bus and heading out of town for our weekend in Lushoto.
We look forward to another week in Mlangarini!
Best,
Jessie and John
