6 Days to go...

After going crazy for the past couple weeks over finals, it's finally hitting me that in 6 days I will be leaving the country.

In 6 days I will no longer have internet access in the palm of my hand
In 6 days I will no longer be assured that water will come out of the faucet when I turn it
In 6 days I will no longer have consistent electricity
In 6 days I will be trading all of the modern amenities that I have come to rely on in exchange for a simpler way of living and a full heart.

Call me crazy, but I could not be more excited about it. I've been dreaming about going back to Tanzania and St. Dymphna's Special School ever since I left, but I really do not know what to expect. It has been a year and a half since I left and I'm sure the students have grown and the school has made changes. Not knowing is kind of exciting though. It's going to be an adventure.

I'm trying not to set expectations for my visit, but I have a few goals:

1. Learn more about my student's background, their community, and their values. I want to better understand the people I'm serving to figure out where my help is needed the most and what I can do to ensure lasting change.

2. Learn more about the teachers at St. Dymphna's Special School. They spend the most time with the students and know them best while volunteers come and go. I'm worried that last time I didn't collaborate enough with them to identify the learning needs of each student and how to address them.

3. Implement a sustainable curriculum that will equip the students with the skills they need to gain employment and become contributing members of their society. Matt Healey and I have made a plan as to what we believe the students should be learning, but we have a very myopic western perspective. I want to take our plan and collaborate with the teachers and Mary (Headmistress of St. Dymphna's) to adjust it to best meet the needs of the students. Who knows best what it takes to be a contributing member of Tanzanian society than actual members of Tanzanian society? Certainly not us Americans. If we want to make lasting, sustainable change then it must come from within the school and be on the teacher and administrator's terms or else all the work I do will fall apart once I leave.


and a couple personal ones...

4. Improve my Swahili. Once the language barrier is broken down, I'm sure others will be too.

5. Do something that scares me.

6. Do something that I didn't think I could do (or at least try).

7. Surprise myself.

8. Prove to myself (again) how strong I am.

9. Try 3 new foods.

10. Immerse myself in Tanzanian culture, tradition, and art as much as possible.

11. Savor every second and not take one minute for granted.

12. Stay open minded.