Yesterday (Friday) we had a free day so we traveled into Arusha town to do some more shopping and explore. Town is very dirty and very crowded so it is very exhausting to spend time there. I’m glad we live outside the city a little bit. Since there are so many people it is hard to take pictures because I am scared my camera will get stolen. When we were in town we went to the Maasai Market which was a quieter area where a lot of souvenirs and our [...]

Kalakar Basti is a slum [some even say it is the birth place of Gypsy's] where famous Rajasthani artists have come to live and make money.  These artists usually end up traveling all over the world to perform.  Their dancing, music, and puppetry is a common practice in India, but only those who are the best will succeed and make a well-off living from it.  As for these artists, they do well enough to provide for a short amount of time, but unfortunately the profits don’t last long.  one…two…three pots… [...]

My week has been full of unexpected adventures – which I’m realizing usually end up being the best ones. Last Friday night I went salsa dancing with a friend that I met in my swing dance class. Before that night, I only knew the most basic salsa step, but by the end of the night Florian had taught me an entire semester’s worth of moves! He was a great teacher and an amazing salsa dancer. I really hope I was a good student and that we make these salsa nights [...]

Lunes (4/4) y Martes(5/4): yoga y sauna Jueves (7/4): yoga, dance party Viernes (8/4): yoga, salsa class! more dancing after a snack break Sábado (9/4): went to Quito, hung out with Carlos and Patrice (mis padres Quiteños) as they ran around the restuarant serving people, met up with a friend, hung out for band practice (metalrock band… five hours of electric guitar= tired ears), ate homemade bolas de verde con cafecito, went to a karaoke parlor (didn’t get a chance to sing though), more dancing (ahh! new people to dance [...]

Peeking out the bus windows while approaching central Toubacouta, we saw a large circle of chairs and a giant group of people.  The center of the circle was lit with two bright outdoor lights and nothing else, so faces were cast in shadow.  Stepping from the bus, the children of the village reached for our hands, offering a warm welcome and the invitation to “viens, assis-toi!” or “come, sit down!” We were lead to a chair and several children quickly surrounded us, introduced themselves, asked our names, and promised to [...]

which means whats up in sererre. Don’t have a lot of time, just wanted to drop a line to say hello and that I’m doing fine. I cant really go on about all I’ve been up to, I’ll just tell you its of course gotten better each day. There are still plenty of times when I want to shut myself up in my room, click my heels three times and repeat theres no place like home over and over again (exhibit a: i have almost finished reading Anna Karenina) but [...]