Student Photos, and Powerful Quotes ~

Right now, this is my favorite quote:

"Boundaries between noise and sound are conventions.

All boundaries are conventions - waiting to be transcended.

One can transcend any convention . . .

I can hear your heart beating as clearly as my own.

And I know that separation is an illusion.

You have to do the thing you can't NOT do."

~from the film Cloud Atlas

And these are some of my favorite students:

(Apologies for the skewed photos!)

And, in closing, I wanted to also include this poweful Madiba quote:

Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania

Below are photos from my recent holiday. I traveled overland from Namibia to Zambia, Malawi and Tanzania, then back to Namibia.

This was me on a boat tour we took in northern Namibia ~

We also saw a hippo, and a lot of other animals:

As well as the traditional dug-out wooden canoes called "mokoros." They are found in northern Namibia, Botswana, and other surrounding countries . . .

The next stop was Lake Malawi, which is gorgeous. Here are some shots from our room:

Our final destination was Zanzibar, via Dar es Salaam. First, a snap of Dar:

We traveled via ferry from Dar es Salaam to Zanzibar. This is a view from the ferry:

Zanzibar is famous for:

- Stunning beaches:

- Sunsets:

- Spices:

- Seafood:

- Middle-eastern/Arabic inspired architecture and carved wooden doors:

This was me with the puppies at our bungalows:

And I loved this Vespa scene ~

As well as this street art ~

The local beer I love, only for the name!

That was our journey through Zanzibar...

Our travels through Tanzania showed how lush and green the countryside is at the moment. Tanzania has had a lot of rain lately . . .

It was a wonderful trip, a long journey, and incredible to see so much of this region of Africa. Grateful to have had this opportunity! Sending love to you all ~

More to come ~

This is a brief update, with more to come! My PC service continues to go well. Prior to a recent holiday, the focus has been on school, teaching, and many community projects.

An amazing counterpart and I launched an initiative called "Grassroots Soccer," which went very well. This is a partnership between Grassroots Soccer SKILLZ and Peace Corps International. It is a project which uses soccer drills and a club format to work with youth in order to prevent and raise awareness about HIV and AIDS. I love the program! Not only is it very important to stop the spread of aids, but it provides the platform to work with youth in a direct mentoring role. What I particularly like about Grassroots is that you build strong relationships with the kids in your community. Grassroots incorporates "coaches stories" which makes the program more "real" and allows coaches (the facilitators) to share their own life experience so that the youth can learn from you. They are also give the opportunity to work with adults that care about them and that provide positive role models. I have thoroughly enjoyed the program, and it is been a gift and an opportunity to connect more deeply with the young people at my site via Grassroots Soccer.

On another note, my service is coming to an end ~ our group concludes our service around September of this year. This means we are all preparing for departure and working to wrap up our projects and initiatives.

Finally, I am back at site now, but have been traveling recently. I will post photos soon. A friend and I travelled overland all the way from Namibia to Malawi to Zambia to Tanzania, and then back again! A great adventure.

I send all my love to family and friends near and far. I hope this post finds you happy, content, and living life to the fullest.

I am also including a link to a friend of a friend's blog which inspired me today:

http://timetogobald.blogspot.com/2014/04/failing-slowly-and-playing-with-color.html

Sending all my love from Namibia!

"You must do the thing you think you cannot do.”

~ Eleanor Roosevelt