Hey guys!

Just literally got back from Safari and have had the most amazing weekend! First will update you on my projects however from last week. I actually changed my morning project to be with another few girls so I wasn't walking a long way on my own. It's so much more fun being with other people actually and we're at a great little nursey. The one exception to the 'niceness' (sorry that's not really a word but oh well) is that they use the cane on little 3-6 year olds. It's really hard to just look away and put it down to cultural differences but you kind of have to.

My afternoon project has been pretty interesting as Ive been teaching adults a range of different subjects, so far I've taught Biology and History. Biology was particularly interesting as it was my first lesson and they really threw me in the deep end by asking me to teach the human reproductive systems! Lol! I was pretty embarassed having to draw, label and explain diagrams on the chalk board, I tell you! Anyway the people at that project are really nice and welcoming, and often they just ask me to stay and chat for half an hour after as they're just interested in the Mzungu (what they all call white people out here).

Ok so now...the SAFARI!!! EEEK! Well we set off for our first stop on Friday morning which was Lake Manyara which took over 5 hours to drive too! Eugh! However we literally drove into the park, with me stating 'wouldn't it be really cool if we saw one of those really rare tree climbing lions here', and then we go around a corner and lo and behold there's one of the lions up the tree sleeping! AMAZING! Then as we carried on we saw warthogs, zebras, a whole herd of elephants (including a baby!!), giraffe, baboons, impala, gazelle and literally millions of flamingo's. It was just awesome!

The next day (Saturday) we went to the Ngorogoro crater. I don't think I've ever had such a scary drive in all my life but it was so worth it! We started driving and the road just went up and up and up and we were just surrounded by thick mist. Then we came to the top (after nearly crashing at one point- crazy African drivers I tell you) and started to descend down this crazily steep and bumpy path, but then we turned the corner and saw into the crater which is just undescribable. It is simply this massive plain in the bottom with a few lakes and rivers running through, surrounded by mountains covered in lush jungle. It's sooooo beautiful.

So we get to the bottom of the crater and just see everything- hyena, loads of zebras and warthogs and gazelle, ostritches 'romancing' one another, porcupine, a pride of female lions, a male lion sleeping, literally a pool full of hippo and hundreds of different birds. It was just awesome! What made the day however was as we were coming over the top of the crater to go home, right on the road in front of us was a HUGE young adult male lion. We were literally driving beside it for about 3 minutes, being about 5 foot away from it!

On the way back to Moshi today we popped into a Massai (local tribe) village. We even got to look in one of their houses. They are in fact one of the very few tribes in Africa who have kept to their traditional roots, but alongside that they have no concept of hygiene so it was pretty smelly and the children were literally covered in flies, and the flies they were covered in are well known for carrying a fairly nasty disease called African sleeping sickness! Yuck!

So there we go, that's whats been going on with me for the last few days!

Take care!xxx