Safari adventures.

    

 It is so hard to describe how amazing my adventures on safari were so I am going to let the photos do the talking. They still don’t do it justice but I hope it will give you some idea of what it was like……. I’ll tell you a few stories along the way! 

We got up bright and early to start our adventures. We had all got comfortable in the van  ready for our 2 hour drive  along tarmac roads before the bumpiness began. Unfortunately only half an hour out of Mwanza there was a bang........ we had a flat. It was another day at the office for Tyson our driver so the tyre was soon changed even if he did have to use a stone as a jack ....... we supervised!

We dropped into the garage to get the spare tyre repaired

We soon left the tarmac roads and headed into the Serengeti.

This is just a small selection of the wonderful sights we saw on the first day. Yes they were that close!

On the first night we arrive at Mbalengeti Lodge to be given an upgrade to the suite. We couldn't believe we were in the middle of the Serengeti until we looked at the view out of the window!

 

This is what greeted us in the morning from the bedroom window.

The next morning after a luxurious night sleep we were ready for a new day of dust and  bumpiness! About 20 minutes into our game drive there was a smell of burning rubber and the van stopped! Our wonderful driver Tyson was also a mechanic but even he couldn't fix the starter motor so for the rest of the trip we had to push start the van. We all piled out of the van with Wildebeast, Zebra and goodness knows what else watching us to push start the van.... luckily it started!

Our van was about a metre away from this young male lion who decided to go for a wander through the vehicles.

We travelled to Ngorongoro Crater and drove down a very steep decent into it to see more breathtaking sights. (This is my flat mate Suzie)

This was our picnic sight ........ if you look very carefully you can see the hippo in the lake!

As the sun was setting we drove back up onto the crater rim back to our lodge. Just when we thought we were nearly there.......... this was blocking the road (we followed him for a good 5 minutes) until he needed a snack and we could over take!

This was our lodge for the night. Our rooms had the same stunning view.

Our last day started with a trip to a Maasi village.

There was dancing. (Unfortunately the video wouldn't upload!)

We decided we would all come and teach at their school instead.

 Then it was back to the Serengeti for the last game drive.

We were just heading home thinking that we had seen some unbelievable sights then Tyson  brakes certainly  and shouts cheetah! It was quite a long way from the road so to us it was only a dot. Tyson was determined that we would  see it more close up so he decided he would drive over the grassland off road so we could have a closer look (He is suppose to keep on the tracks!). We soon got over the shock of coming off the track when we saw the cheetah this close up. It was an amazing end to an incredible couple of days.

We thought all the fun was over but Tyson had other ideas.

You can't see them in the photo but the river was filled with crocodiles and hippos. We decided it was safe enough to cross a very old wobbly bridge and pose for a photo!

We were sure that the excitement was definitely over as we headed back onto tarmac roads to Mwanza but Oh no! There was another bang. We had got another flat so poor Tyson had to change another tyre as we sat and watched the sunset.

I think one of the strangest part of the few days was being dropped off at our flats and not having to get on a plane to get home! I still can't believe I live 2 hours away from these incredible views and amazing animals.

African Firsts

Where has a half term gone? On Friday we finished term for a weeks half term holiday and I still can’t quite believe that I have been here for long enough to be at the end of a half term already.

Here are a few things that I have experienced for the first time since I arrived:

•A Tanzanian League Football match.

Yes you have read that correctly I have been to watch a live Tanzanian League Football match. Our local team are the Toto’s and there grounds are a 10 minute walk from our flats and we can hear the celebrations when they score very clearly so we thought we would watch rather than just hear it.

As a group of 10 white people walked into the 30,000 seater stadium I think we had more attention than the actual match as the stadium was very empty (as the team they were playing were apparently rubbish) so all eyes were on us . Luckily the Toto’s  won 2- 1 so there were a lot of happy and loud fans and their attention soon turned to the actual match. It was a great atmosphere and we enjoyed the ‘fast food’ served to us at our seats during the match. We joined the pitch invasion at the end of the match and got to meet some of the Toto players…… we are now true fans!

                                           

•The early start of the rainy season.
Unfortunately the rainy season which is suppose to start in November has decided to come early. On Tuesday this week the thunder and lightning started at about 2 o’clock in the morning and the rain was still hammering against my windows when I woke up……. for a few seconds I did think I was waking up in Leeds. I really thought we were going to be totally drenched as we walked to school but luckily it eased at the time we need to walk in. It decided to thunder and rain when the children arrived so I shouted my literacy lesson in the dark as the power also went off. The playground looked like a river but I was doing my break duty in 28 degree heat about half an hour later and all the puddles had dried up. Last night the thunder sounded like someone was drumming on the walls but the fork lightning was pretty amazing as it lit up the lake. You can enjoy the storms when you know that the sun will be coming out very soon!

•Biscuits with eating advise.
  As you can imagine they caused some giggles in the shop!

•Another extra member of my class.( This is the length of my thumb!)

Only one more sleep until the Serengeti! Will let you know how many lions we had to fight off very soon.

    

Life at school

I have now been the teacher of  Year 2 Gold for over 4 weeks.

My classroom is up the stairs on the left. I have nearly fallen down those steps so many times  when the monkeys decide to jump from the trees to the roof over the top of my head!

My first task was to transform a fairly bare room into an exciting and stimulating classroom. It has taken time because resources are quite scarce and you have to know where to find them. I have now discovered where some of the things are hidden so my classroom is now looking more like a Miss Durrant classroom should.

It has amazed me how children are the same where ever you are in the world. The children are not the sit and listen attentive African children that you may imagine. My class is full of characters some more chatty than others! My job would be dull if they weren’t a bit of a challenge sometimes though!  I don’t have a thinking chair anymore but a tower that they move down  and if they reach the bottom  where the dragon lives they have to go and see the dragon (my head of department!).

Yr 2 Gold before the Emma treatment!

Now it's getting there!

 I have actually been thankful to the call to prayer that acts as a great alarm clock when I have to get up at 5.45 as school starts at 7.50. It still doesn’t seem quite right that I start work at a time with a 7 in it but it is lovely finishing at 2pm in the afternoon.  I have a short walk along a dusty road normally in the sunshine but we have had 2 mornings when it has decided to thunder and lightening just as we have left the flats. We arrived at school looking like drowned rats as the rain wasn’t just a drizzle but a torrential down pour.  The good thing is that the rain has only lasted for about 45 minutes at a time so far and when the sun comes out you dry out pretty quickly. 

The playground.......sorry I'm not allowed to put pictures of the kids on.

The Jungle Gym! but actually the children use the trees as a climbing frame most of the time.

My extra class member!

My lessons have had to be more exciting than monkeys sitting at the window and tightrope walking along the wires just outside my classroom, torrential rain (baring in mind my classroom is on the top floor and has a tin roof) and  cockroaches  running across the floor but I think they have listened some of the time! I am really loving teaching here and enjoying the challenge of delivering lessons in more imaginative ways to get round the lack of resources. It has made me realise how much I used my interactive whiteboard in England. My artistic skills are definitely coming in handy.

I hope that gives you a bit of an idea what it is like in school. But it's not all work work work.............. ( I thought there should be at least one picture of me to prove that I am actually here!)

Our evening hand out........ with mojito!

Our local transport!