First days in Moshi!

Hi all!
I've been in Moshi for over a week but we have been so crazy busy this is the first chance I have to post anything. I'll try to update you on everything I've been doing:
There definitely is an adjustment time when you get here. It's 9 hours difference from Minnesota. The first challenge was to go from below 0 weather in Minnesota to very hot, humid weather here. I've since gotten used to it and am sleeping quite well. Everything here is so completely different from home. The poverty is incredibly sad but the people are very happy, it's very refreshing to see everyone so nice and happy all the time. Their favorite saying here is "hakuna matata" or, "no worries". I've been learning a good amount of Swahili and the locals love to help you out and talk with you.
This is a note I wrote to my mom a couple days after arrival:
Tanzanian's are incredibly nice and welcoming. you can literally go to any house in the town and say "hodi" which means essentially, hello may i enter? and they will welcome you and offer you food and drink, even if they don't know you. We are going on our safari this weekend, a bit nervous because we are camping in the park but it is incredibly safe and we are going with highly recommended guides. we already met with them and they gave us a presentation and showed us their tents, supplies, trucks, etc. it was impressive. Mt. Kilimanjaro, we call her Kili here, is absolutely breathtaking. most of the time she is hiding in the clouds but this morning on our way to work you could see her. she is soooo close! one of the guys on the trip, actually the only guy right now, is climbing her after he leaves. he's here for 6 weeks. there is a 35 year old that is here and has been for 4 weeks. she is so outgoing. she has spent time in a lot of places. she has been a huge help. she's also going to be here up until my last two weeks. i'm also happy to report I'm sleeping better and my luggage came! Abraham, our driver, took me and another girl to get it. everything was in it, such good news! The food here is incredible! we have two chefs, Kisoka and Primo, and they give us a very balanced meal of traditional foods, lots of starches but also something like kale and lots and lots of fruits. There are crepes and natural peanut butter as a staple every morning along with a mix of other things. At lunch today one of the things we had was spaghetti with vegetable meatballs, so good! Anyway, i will give you guys an update soon. it's cooled down a bit since the first day but still very hot and humid.

Side note: On the first night I think a combination of exhaustion, the heat, and my malaria pills had me sleepwalking in my room...so happy that only happened once! I woke up looking out the window picking at the screen (we also all sleep with mosquito nets) and talking to myself. Yikes!

Here is my next note:

Another happy message from Tanzania! This place continues to be amazing. The people, I can't even describe. Incredible! I wish we had people like this in the states. They don't even have a word for stranger in Swahili. I'm learning lots of the language because everyone is so willing to help and talk with you. We go on our safari this weekend. We leave Friday right after we are done teaching and come back Sunday night. So, after tomorrow (Thursday) I won't be able to message you until Monday. I'm so excited! On the safari we also go see a traditional Maasai tribe. I have met some people from traditional Maasai tribes, they still wear traditional clothes, it is awesome! One guy, Zach, we only met once but already is a good friend. I know I will see him around more, he lives really close. If you don't know what they wear you should google it, it's so cool. I can't believe I'm actually seeing all the things I learned about in my classes in college. My students are so cute, and SUPER SMART! They are 10 and some are asking me to teach the process of rain, about water vapor and advanced algebra. I'm trying to keep up! These first three weeks we have such a full schedule, I have been getting up around 5 am to work on my lesson plans or read a bit (because I'm so tired at night), then at 7 is breakfast, then we leave for work at 8, then get back around 12:30, then lunch at 1, and then for the first few weeks our afternoons are filled with day excursions, guest speakers, and Swahili lessons. After the first three weeks things will calm down, but I have a feeling I will still be crazy busy. As of now I'm not super homesick, just of course miss my boy, so I hope that continues for the rest of the 9 weeks, this is only week one! Feels like I've already been here for at least 2. I am going to start taking pics of some of the food because it's too incredible to explain. I haven't had to take even one allergy pill yet (KNOCK ON WOOD!!!!!!!). Hopefully that continues. I'm also getting used to the heat, to being dirty and being sweaty. When you walk into the orphanage the kids practically attack you, wanting to touch you and talk to you. They all fight to hold your hand. They are so precious! Already I know I will never forget them. My goal is to give them the best education I possibly can while I'm here. They are so smart I wish they had more opportunities. They are so willing to learn, it makes you feel guilty for taking advantage of our education or not listening. They cherish pencils, paper, any type of material. They have no books. Tomorrow I'm giving them a test on geography, one of the things they don't know a lot about (they love exams and were amazed when I brought a map in today). I'm also going to bring a biology book and work off of that tomorrow. I will work more on my lesson plan tonight/tomorrow morning. Also, I guess for my internship here I have to write a 10 page experience/research paper when I get home from here. So, I will have to start working on that. There are 3 people here doing internships, and because we are we get to hear a few more special speakers and go on a few more small trips. Also, if we want to learn about a particular subject, our director said just to ask and he will try his best to get a local Tanzanian who is an expert in the field, so cool!

ps: I am being forced to get over my fear of chickens. They are everywhere here, even a couple roosters (who crow literally all night, I'm learning to sleep through that) and chickens here at the homebase. There are 2 roosters and about 6 hens and about 20 chicks at the orphanage.....eeeeeeeeeeeeeewwwww!

My time is out, that's all for now, more later!!!