So

The blogosphere seems to be dead. I suppose thats fine, but I'm trying to keep updating so you guys know whats going on.

Shorthand due to internet time
Oldest slave port in East Africa yesterday.
Zanzibar next weekend.
Hot springs and water fall 3 weekends.
Safari 4 weeknds from now.
Regular stuff in between (class, orphanage, teaching English)

After my program is over, I'm looking into traveling through TZ, Uganda and Kenya, so I'm really excited, and then summer vacation with the fam. Hope your summers are awesome.

Peace!
Trent

Hating Tanzanian Internet

I hate Tanzania internet. Pictures are near impossible to upload. I've uploaded very few on facebook, so check em out. I had an awesome weekend involving lots of beach. I have now swam in three oceans and been on four continents, which I think is pretty cool. I also rode a camel on the beach.

Anyways, things are going well. After a week of classes and internships, I found out how expensive it is to be a tourist. I'm eating cheap during the week to splurge on the weekends. And communication is very difficult with the bad internet. But I am loving it here, but I just wish I could share it with everyone. I'll just have to wait until I get back.

There is peace in Africa

So I've been having a lot of conversations with people, getting to know them, finding new persepctives and learning how to cook chapati. (Mmmm) Its been interesting learning others perspectives on Africa, America and the world at large.

One thing that comes up everywhere is universal love for Obama. His family is Kenyan which borders Tz and everyone is very happy that "America has an East African." Its been cool to see the excitement in their eyes and voices when they speak of Obama. And while I don't agree with all of his policies (who does?) I think that it is a great thing that he is in office. To avoid being cheesy, the hope he brings to people is tremendous, both at home and abroad. Even as things get worse, people are hopeful. They say there is peace in Africa, even when faced with evidence of wars in nearby Uganda. They remain hopeful, and I love it. Probably their lives wont change as a result of Obama being President, but hope is ALWAYS a good thing, and I'm glad I can see it first hand.

Tobechukwu

P.S. I have pictures, but I'm not on the wireless yet, so I can't post them. Coming soon.

Mimi si mzungu, mimi ni mwanafunzi.

Hey all.

I'm back again. Things are going pretty great. I'm warming up to this place. We went to the wood carvers area yesterday where we are going to be teaching English for the next two months. It was overwhelming because we had to go up and talk to a lot of total strangers, but it was still good. It was just part of a long day. Today, we went to the orphanage we are working at and I loved it. All the kids were awesome and I am looking forward to spending 2 hours a day with them for the next 2 months. We've met other wazungu (white people) from Harvard, Georgetown, Carnegie Mellon etc, and its been cool getting to know them. Everyone here is really friendly and love to talk to us. Although they want to practice English and we want to practice Swahili. But its been a really cool experience riding in a dala dala (a van packed with a minimum of 20-25 people) and just being somewhere new.

Kwaheri!
Trent Tobechukwu

I'm a huge tease

Sorry about that. I suck at doing mega updates, and now I'm in Tanzania and the internet sucks, so here's a recap.

First year of college was good, but it was also very hard. Big challenges, lots of new things I never experienced before. Best part was the people I met, lots of new friends from all over the world and varied experiences. Thats one of the things I love the most about Princeton. Cheerleading, PFA, friends from classes (especially Swahili and Freshmen Sems) it was great meeting all of you, and I can't wait to spend more time together in years to come.

I'm in Tanzania and its pretty great. Like Ecuador minus the limited showers and bad sleeping arrangements (and less mosquitoes too!) I had a 18 hour layover in Dubai and I got to check out the city some, and that was pretty cool. I've got all the necessities here so I'm good to go. Also, my phone number over here is +011255758154185 (its long I know) but call me or text me! Its free for me, and I think international texts cost the same, but I'm not sure.

Ok, gotta run, hopefully these will come more frequently.