This is one of the 6 lions we saw sleeping under a tree. I was a bit nervous when he woke up that I would be lunch but he didnt even seem to notice us so close to him!

The pictures of the cheetah is my favorite picture I took I thinki! She walked right infront of our safari jeep and streched right there!! It was soo cool!

This is the fam and I in Maasai Mara Game reserve in Kenya. Please note our safari hats which we wore everyday!!!

First day on the J-O-B

So I have offically moved in to my new home and have learned my way around Arusha a little bit (as we all know I am directionally challenged) My host family is seriously the best thing that could have happened! They are so sweet and one of the sisters made me a necklace the other day out of nowhere. I was so touched I got choked up and they all started laughing. I have also tried to conquer walking with a basket full of potatoes on my head without using my hands. This also turned into the whole family laughing as I could walk no faster than a snail! But besides all of this- things are going really well at home. Mama's Birthday is tomorrow and we are buying her Giness (as she calls it!)

Today was my first day as a teacher!!! It was alot more work than I thought for sure, but the kids were so cute!! I actually have a blister from sharpening all the pencils before the test bc they were all so bad:( I took the dalla dalla (bus) to the school and it is about an hour away. Even though the commute is far I think the placement should be great and well worth the trip. I helped out with Math (another one of my specialities) and then some English lessons as well. I took the bus home with the students afterwards. They all grab your hand bc they are so amazed at how white I am. They think it is funny to cover their legs in dirt to see how white they can make themselves and compare to me! They also stroke my hair bc they said it was soft-- very strange to me but I have come to be used to it a bit. I am now known as "Teacher Jacqueline"

Funny story-- I was so busy sharpened pencils today and I was on about my 30th pencil so my fingers were getting tired. Well the little manual pencil sharpener flew out of my hand- hit the little girl in front of me- opened and the shavings went all over her! The whole class started laughing and so did the teacher.... good first impression!! ha it was a good ice breaker though!:)

Still trying to find an internet place to download pictures for everyone!! Hopefully I will be successful soon!

Hope all is well! Keep in touch! (please excuse any misspellings as the spell check is not working!)

I have just made it to Arusha and this is the first internet connection I have had that actually is somewhat fast!

I have just finished the safari through Maasai Mara and Ambroseli with my family. What an experience! The Maasai Mara was gorgeous and we saw so many animals there. We actually were so close to a lion that we could hear him chewing on his dinner. We also had a cheetah walk out right in front of our jeep for a picture perfect moment! We staying in tents (very high class tents though) which was so cool. The people in Africa are very welcoming and happy to have you there which makes for a very nice, easy transition. We definitely had some laughs as mom tried to communicate in Swahili a few times! We also traveled to a Maasai tribe village and saw how these amazing people lived! They only eat blood and milk and live so simply. (I will post pictures of the village soon as this internet cafe doesn't allow that) I have officially decided though I would rather be a man in this village as they only herd and the women cook, clean, milk the cows, haul the water, build the house and take care of the children!! Way too much for me.

We then traveled in a van to Ambroseli National Park. I have learned on that journey never to complain about Chicago potholes again! Lets just saw it was a rough ride. We then had a day to safari and saw lots of elephants, which is what the park is most known for. This park at the base of Mt Kilimanjaro should it would a beautiful sight. We saw some little monkeys and baboons- I have decided I would love to bring one home. I think they are so cute!

This brings me to my current setting. I was picked up on the 14th to head to my host family house. They are sweet, sweet people. We have mama (we call her), two sisters, two brothers, and like 6 volunteers in this house! It is definitely a housefull. I am glad for all the company as their way of like is definitely different and challenging for me. I do have running hot water (that runs out fast) and electricity though! We have to bathe with a bucket and the toilet doesn't have a seat- but I hear we are lucky so I am happy.

I have a roommate from Hong Kong which is very cool but she leave in 2 weeks and I have alot more to go- so I will be hopefully getting another one after she leaves. We had orientation today and I learned I will start off teaching. I will be taking the bus to the school tomorrow to learn the ropes and meet the students.

Well all is well for me right now! Thank you again for all your support! I will hopefully post some pictures for you all to see soon.

Miss you all- hope all is well!

Karibu (Goodbye for now)

Dad getting ready for some safari action!