The Countdown 8-8-12

The Countdown

Katie Poch

            Hello, Katie here! Well it is down to less than a week until I head back to America. I feel I still have so much stuff to do.We are really in the heart of our work right now. The changes we have been planning during the last two months for the new management at FANAKA are finally starting to take place. We have interviews on Saturday (11-8-12) for a new headmaster, new teachers have been coming to see the school and cleaning of the new offices has begun. It has been a long but rewarding process. The school is really starting to come together. It is sad to think that I will be leaving FANAKA, but glad that the school will now be in new hands.

            I have been busy trying to get everything done on my to do list. This is hard since one simple errand, such as going to buy books for the children I live with, takes a full day. It is hard to get anything done here in "American Time." Everything takes three times as long to do; this is just part of their culture. The traffic is a lot heavier, the roads are in poor condition, the vehicles are old and few and the people are never in a hurry. These is some of the qualities of why I love Tanzania, but also the reasons I feel so rushed during the last few weeks of my trip. Tanzania has been the best experience of my whole life. It is sad that I will be leaving but this place will have a special place in my heart forever.