Internet, Broken Camaras and Deep, Deep Holes

So i'm 11 days into my Tanzania trip now. It's already been an incredible time and I'm so glad I came out here! After being rescued from Kilimanjaro by Eliphas (Mr Happy) and Sammi the bus driver I met up with other people who are at the camp with me. There are 19 of us, mostly English and Australians but we also have 2 Dutch girls staying with us too. Pretty much everyone is here for a month and all the Aussies are here for 3.

After a day of rest in a nearby hotel we made the 7 hour voyage to the Camp where we are staying. On the way we experienced vendors coming up to the bus, trying to sell us trinkets through the windows! Once we arrived we met Eustace (Boss Man) who is the camp manager, had a quick orientation and then hit the hay.

Since Tanzania is a Muslim country we are awoken each morning to the prayers over loudspeaker. We have solid beds though so no sleeping on the floor!

This is the second visit to Tanga town, the nearby major town to the camp (internet cafes FTW!) and I've changed money both times. It's crazy how many Tanzanian Shillings (TSH) you get for Pounds & Dollars. I changed $100 Saturday 7th June and received 162,000 TSH!

Saturday also got me involved in a game of football with the villagers. I know, me playing football! Africa must be rubbing off on me. That night was drinking night which got everyone very merry! One of the guys (Simon) broke a couch!

We started work on Monday 9th. There are three project we are doing at one of the local schools: Repairing desks, replacing a classroom floor and building a new block of toilets. I've dabbled in all three and enjoyed them all.

Unfortunately for me on the first day of work I managed to spill my water bottle all over my camera! RIP Kodak, you were a splendid ally. I have now resorted to using my iPad's camera instead so don't worry everyone, I will still have pictures!

We're learning Swahili with Eliphas every Monday and Thursday (Swahili is actually called Kiswahili, who knew?) and we're learning songs as well to help remember stuff. They are super cathy and keep popping up at work.

Our hole that we've been digging for the toilet block has become really, really deep! We've hit the water table at approximately 7ft down. it's deeper than I am now! On Friday 13th the guys decided shirts were overrated and went without at work. Despite doom and gloom from the others no-one was sun burnt and our pasty whit skin is no longer so pasty! Sun cream was applied copiously all day!

I'm hoping to get to the internet cafe once a week, although next week we're all heading to Zanzibar for a few days so I might have to call a rain-check on that one.

Best wishes all and see you on the flipside!