November 4

Hello everyone that I love!!

First I just want to say thank you for all of the text messages. I loved waking up today to a zillion messages from my friends and family- it was the best way to start the day. I apologize for not being able to respond to you guys, but I have a limited number of texts that I'm allowed to send from Tanzania without getting screwed over by att. Please, please, please keep 'em coming! I'm seven hours ahead, so if you send them before you go to sleep, I'll get them when I turn my phone on in the morning. Thanks so much!

Things are totally different here- I'm the only volunteer and no one speaks English. I'm really doing my best. The kids are all amazing and there are a zillion of them. Yesterday and today I taught at the Day Care Center. These are kids from the really poor part of Usa River, the village in which I'm staying. Today I taught them the difference between capital and lowercase letters.

Next week I'm going to be teaching at a primary school called St. Vivians. I met with the headmaster and he's so pleasant. This is an English school, so it might be a little easier for me. The following week I'll be teaching at the orphanage, where the kids are still too little to learn English. I go to the orphanage every evening to wake the kids up from their naps, do homework, play, eat dinner and go to sleep. I call the little girls "Ya kupendeza," which means beautiful and the boys "Mrembo" for handsome. They always smile when I say that. I'm already getting pretty close with the kids, so I'm excited to be there for them during the day as well.

I'm going to Arusha tomorrow so I can buy a prepaid cell phone so I can call you guys soon. I told some of you before I left that there was no hot water here. Turns out, there's no running water at all. All of the water has to be boiled for ten minutes, and I've been brushing my teeth with bottled water. A shower here consists of pouring water over yourself in the bathroom sink (which doesn't work).

I love and miss you guys like crazy, and I hope I don't sound insane begging for texts, but I really really really really appreciate them.

So much love from Tanzania!!

-Katie

P.S.- someone please forward this to grandma and uncle ray. apparently i don't have the right e-mail addresses in my address book.