Lushoto

A lot has happened since my last post. Last Wednesday I got a call from Peace Corps. They told me that at 9 the following morning I'd be getting on a plane for Dar es Salaam and the day after that I'd drive to Lushoto. Needless to say Wednesday was a hectic day of saying goodbyes, packing, and giving away stuff that wouldn't fit on the plane. I didn't get to say goodbye to everyone, including my students, which I really regret. It's just the way these things go sometimes.

In Dar I had a good time because a lot of PCVs were in town. PC was also good enough to reimburse me for a lot of my losses in the theft. I didn't expect that so it was a nice surprise. After a crazy night at the weekly "Thirsty Thursday" hosted by the US embassy contingent of Marines, I left Friday morning for my new home.

I'll spread my impressions over several posts as there are so many. First of all, it is incredibly beautiful here. Lushoto is in the Usambara mountains and my school is in a beautiful valley filled with maize fields and banana trees. The school itself is beautiful and well-maintained. It is a Catholic girls' school and much of the staff are nuns. They've been very helpful, as has my second master. He even brought me into town on Sunday and bought me things like cooking utensils for the house. It was a very nice gesture. I'll be teaching math again, and should start teaching tomorrow. Today I had to come into town so I can open a bank account. It's not too hard to get into town from my site, but it's certainly not as easy as it was at my last site. Really though, I have to say overall I think I'll like this place more. It's certainly safer, it's quiet, and the school is really supportive so far. The only down side is that for the first few weeks I'm sharing my house with a couple of other people. It hasn't been a big deal so far, but having my own space to relax was pretty important to me at my last site, and I'm sure it will be at this one. A few weeks won't be bad though.

There is so much more to say about the new place. In my next few posts I'm sure I'll elaborate more. By the way, new address:

Kongei Secondary School
PO Box 61
Lushoto, Tanga, Tanzania

I'll have a lot less internet time than before, so letters would be appreciated. In fact, letters always make my day. I may be able to update this weekend.