Here are some pictures of my new abode in Tanzania.  They aren't that great but I can't get too far from the house and still see it because of the walls around it.  The first picture is of the house from the front, it's hard to see but the gatekeeper keeps a beautiful garden out front.  There are banana trees in the back, one of which has a large clump of bananas that I need to figure out when to have the gatekeeper chop down.  The second is of the "theft deterrent system" which consists of a lot of broken glass on top of the wall.  The third shows my neighborhood, and that there are lots of corn fields around :).

I had a good first week of orientation last week and am continuing this week.  Tomorrow I am going to Arusha (about an hour away) and will go around with the street educator there visiting street kids.  That should be very interesting to see but challenging to take in because the conditions for those kids are really bad.

I had a successful weekend, especially on Saturday when I managed to go to the market and get all the things on my list without being charged the mzungu (white person) price for any of them.  I am loving the fresh fruit here - mangoes, oranges, and papayas are all good and very cheap.  I also saw pineapples at the market but did not get one, I might this week.  On my way home I was able to see the peak of Kilimanjaro for the first time - they are having an unusually rainy period here and it has been covered by clouds.  I'm enjoying the cool weather while it lasts though because soon it will be very hot and dusty. 

A short update from Moshi.  I am starting a two week orientation with Amani, which has so far been quite the adventure.  I am supposed to work in every department, which will give me a good idea of how it runs.  Yesterday I was cooking and today I went out with a group to check on some of the kids who had been reunited with their families or were attending primary/secondary school sponsored by Amani.  We went out into the countryside and onto this huge coffee plantation.  It was very muddy.  Next time I go with these guys on a visit I will know to wear boots ;).

So far I am enjoying things here, although it is a much slower pace of life than what I have been used to.  Many of the other workers at Amani live very close to me (one next door) so that is good since I will be living by myself until the end of August and the surly guard is, well, surly.  One teacher here who is also a special ed teacher from Boston has really bonded with me.  She took it upon herself to show me around town and how to use the dalla dalla (local minibuses which are a hair-raising form of transport).  She also took me to market where we got all kinds of fresh fruit and veg for about 1/5 of what it would cost at home.  

Speaking of which, I seem to be through no effort  of my own on the Africa weight loss plan (thank God not the amoebic dysentery weight loss plan, or the tape worm weight loss plan).  It's much easier to go buy fresh food at the market and cook for myself than to go into town and buy expensive junk food.  As far as I can tell I have lost all the weight that I put on during the Alaska cruise, and I have only been here a week.  So that is pretty exciting :).

The staff and kids at Amani are great like I knew they would be and I have started Swahili lessons, so hopefully my communication will get better.  I was able to carry a conversation for 3 turns rather than 1 today, so that is a start :).

Here are a couple of pics from Alaska! I will put the rest on shutterfly as soon as I can (which may not be very soon since the internet connection is slow, slow, slow. Anyhow, I am now in Tanzania which is a very different climate :). Watching the glacier calve was awesome, and we also saw many many humpbacks although I didn't get a picture of any of them.