African Safari! :)

well, i just got back from my safari this past monday. so awesome. i loved it. i was with a group of 15 volunteers from cross cultural solutions. at first they seemed to be a bit too much for me to handle and i kept really quiet (mostly befriending the tanzanian guides) but i had gotten closer to them and started having much more fun by the last night.

first we went to lake manyara and we rode some camels there. very fun. getting up and down from camels is definitely an interesting experience. then we went to a massai village to learn a little bit more about their culture. one of the massai warriors proposed to me. and he was VERY serious about it too. he offered me 5 cows as a dowry. i was pretty offended when i found out he had 200 cows, haha. BUT, he told me he wanted to give me the 5 and sell the rest so that he could build me a very nice house like i would have in america. he even offered me the gold ring on my finger. AND he called me that night after we left, but i missed his call. haha. very funny. i felt bad because he was actually telling me he loved me and i was straight up laughing in his face. needless to say we all got quite a kick out of the situation.

we went on safari (meaning "journey") to the serengeti (meaning "endless plain") and ngorongoro crater which was created by a volcano. our main goal was to see the Big 5. The big 5 are the most sought out animals on safari because they are the most rare due to poaching in the past. the big 5 are water buffalo, lions, leopards, elephants, and rhinos. luckily we saw ALL of them! :) we also saw giraffes, zebras, wardhogs, hyenas, cheetahs, cool birds, gazelles, etc. it was really cool and SO gorgeous! i really wish i could go ahead and put up my pictures.

we've been back at school this week, but we havent really had normal classes. many, many of the students were sent home because they still havent paid school fees from the beginning of the school year. so a lot of the kids are missing and im pretty sad because its some of my favorites who arent here. i havent been able to give new material, so we've just been doing reading exercises and having class discussions.

i dont know why, but ive really been missing greece lately, and my family and friends there. i think i might just be sad at the realization that i cant see them this year. anyway, things are great here, and i hope things are great where each of you are as well! i love you all soo much!