Let me give you a quick overview of what I am doing over there. I will be interning for a non-profit called Support for International Change. T
hey are based in Arusha, Tanzania and help with co
mmunity projects and HIV/AIDS education. They provide free testing to anyone who seeks it. What I will be doing with them is planning and teaching lessons on HIV/AIDS and sex-ed in general. I will go to local schools and community groups and talk with children, teenagers
and adults that are interested in learning more about HIV. I will be living with a local family for 2 1/2 months in a rural village. I'm so excited/nervous/anxious. I've traveled a lot in the past but have never done something quite like this so it is going to be a completely surreal experience! In addition to the volunteer work I'm
going to be trying to take in as much of the African culture as possible. I'm going to eat whatever they serve me and partake in activities that they do on a daily basis. I hope it will give me some perspective on life and allow me to fully appreciate everything that I have and probably take for granted.
As excited as I am, I have already started to ha
ve nightmares. Not about lions, not about the food, not about getting sick. I've been dreaming about spiders. BIG hairy mean spiders. I'm pretty sure that is the only thing I am nervous about so far. I have a huge fear of them. I can't even deal with little ones. I haven't been out on my porch in weeks (poor flowers) because there is a big brown spider on the backside of the door and I don't want to let him in! What follows are disturbing images of the creepy beasts I will encounter on my journey.
This is the second largest species of spider found in Africa and it happens to LOVE Tanzania. Great.
Apparently the island I am headed to first has an entire street devoted to spiders and travelers go there just to see them! I am most definitely steering clear of that place. It sounds like my worst nightmare!
I will post as often as possible which may only be once a week when I travel in to the city on weekends so keep a look out for new blogs and pictures!
