So again I am carrying a giant bag full of avocados and lemons on my head, rushing home after a 3.5 hour hike, one way, and maybe 5 hours back, due to the fruit on my head. It was a long day. Mama Zabron, the chairman of my Widows Group, and I walked all the way to her mothers house in a village that is incredibly far away from mine. Far away also has a totally different meaning here because it is so HILLY! As I have expressed multiple times! So an hour walk is wayyy harder in Umalila than it is in a flatter area. Anyway, the trip was great! When we got there we helped her mother and other family members plant beans with some small hand hoes. As we were walking back to her mothers house to rest and start up a fire we witnessed a goat being born! Which was really cool! And we watched her first few steps. Then we started up a fire and boiled water to cook ugali! I love to help with this process but sometimes the smoke really bothers my eyes. And everyone laughs and laughs as I go to stand outside when my eyes are so watered up I can barely see. They are so used to the smoke! So as we were visiting Izumbwe I do not think anyone spoke swahili to me, it was all kimalila! Which was so crazy, but that is the way of life when you are in villages off the beaten path. As we were leaving, after a long day of eating lots of ugali and sitting around fires, with Mama Zabron translating kimalila to swahili for me, we eventually said our goodbyes. But of course as we were leaving got gifted so much heavy fruit!! Mama Zabron got hard beans as well! So we were totally overloaded on our walk home and this village does not have many cars coming through. So our only choice was to walk or to sleep the night on mud floors. We made it home after dark (all cell phones in TZ have flashlights on them, which I think is the greatest invention ever) and I melted on to my bed and promptly fell asleep. Anyway, hope things are going well for everyone! Everything has been very busy here. I have been going to a lot of meetings with various groups, teaching a lot and helping out with the Mary Ryan Foundation. Also attempting to catch up on some letters with friends and a few books I have been meaning to read. My classes are going well here. Because I only teach two grades at the primary school I feel like I am really getting to know these students and I am really enjoying teaching there. The secondary school is a different story. I still enjoy it but because I am teaching every grade and I only go once a week. So I only see each class once a month and I feel as though I am not really familiar with these kids as much as my primary school students. And sometimes they ask incredibly advanced questions that I really do not have the swahili to answer properly. And technically they should all know English because the teachers teach in English here. But that is just not the case. Sometimes communication can be a problem and I just have to throw my hands up and laugh! Other times Nahasibu comes to help me teach but these days he essentially has a full time job with MRF. So it is hard to peel him away from everything that is going on there. I have been volunteering at the health center more frequently, which has been really fun and I learn so much every time I go! I have been helping out at the clinic for pregnant mothers and actually helping to measure their bellies, feel for the baby's head and listen for the heartbeat with this cold metal tool that looks like one of those hearing aids old people would use in the 19th century. Since there's no electricity there is not another option for another tool. But it is really fun to find the heart beat and actually hear the little baby inside! I have been helping a little with counselling as well and just talk about nutrition for pregnant mothers, because they do not get much of that education here. A lot of moms have a serious vitamin and protein deficiency. everyone eats vegetables here but they boil them so much there is not much nutritional value by the time they eat them. So the clinic is a good space to talk about some of that. Protein is a hard one here since meat is so expensive and only people with an income can afford it, probably 98% of my villagers are farmers with little to no income. So meat is out of the question for most. But beans are everywhere!!! And most farmers grow them so they are free! So I encourage a lot of bean intake. Another thing I would like to start working on is family planning because we see so many moms at the clinic who are on their 9th, 10th or 11th pregnancy. And it is really unsafe, especially here in the village setting. Hope everyone is doing well! I am getting really excited for my parents to come in a few weeks and will be out of my village for a little while, as we are going to Zanzibar as soon as they get here! But it should be great. Back to the village today for 2 weeks, will update soon!