abiriselsewhere

[abiriselsewhere]

I deeply believe that young people play a critical role in Africa’s peaceful and prosperous future. Not only is investing in youth a human rights imperative but it is one of the smartest investment any nation can make! 📸: @ohsnapianduncan #AfricaRising #Youth4Peace #Tanzania #Sudan #OneAfrica #InvestinYouth #GenUnlimited (at Dar es Salaam, Tanzania) https://www.instagram.com/p/BoZO-pznvdP/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=um3lq2qfvjnd

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NYAMA CHOMA FESTIVAL! (at Dar es Salaam, Tanzania)

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conversing over chai and maandazi with a village elder this morning, we talk about pursuit of happiness. how many people believe if they could be elsewhere, their lives would be much better. like, if i go to america i will become wealthy, or if i lived in an african village i will find peace of mind. he tells me, everyone is fighting a war inside. struggling is inevitable. a change of place will not change that. if we want to change our situation, we change them no matter where we are destine to be. old man spitting some serious wisdom. i am forever humbled.

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There is something beautiful about full sunset collapsing into heart of city, the busy streets, call to prayer, food vendors and sound of hardworking men returning home. (at Dar es Salaam, Tanzania)

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In love with these Islamic influenced door designs. Tanzania has such a rich history rooting back to one of the oldest civilizations in the world. (at National Museum Tanzania)

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This is Juma ya'll. He likes long walks around the village, grabbing my pinky finger, eating raw mangoes, and listening to Beyoncé on my iPhone.

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Attending my first Tanzanian wedding in the village.

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I crossed oceans and continents and night skies to walk in the sunshine. (at Dar es Salaam, Tanzania)

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In the end, though, maybe we must all give up trying to pay back the people in this world who sustain our lives. In the end, maybe it's wiser to surrender before the miraculous scope of human generosity and to just keep saying thank you, forever and sincerely, for as long as we have voices.

Eat, Love, Pray

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10 weeks and 34 volunteers later we are officially sworn-in. Peace Corps Tanzania April 24th 2014. (at U.S. Embassy Tanzania)

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Great thanks and appreciation to #layaliwebzine for an amazing opportunity to be featured in this inspirational magazine. Perhaps the most inspiring, kind-hearted and intelligent women I have had the pleasure of meeting. Subscribe at layaliwebzine.com and share with everyone you love.

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White American volunteers at a coffee shop sipping expresso, iPhones in hand, venting about how "Africans" are lazy. Every morning, I watch Tanzanian women early and alert. Taking care of house big enough for five families. Cooking food smell of country, carrying child on back, bucket of water on head, world's sorrows on shoulders. Born straight into tired, tense and burdened with responsibilities. Raised to be good women, good daughters, good wives, never selfish. How men return home at sunset, traveled distance working any job to provide simple living. How children take care of parents at ten. How my host sister clean entire house, purchase groceries, wash clothes by hand, cook three meals every day, at fifteen. How my seven-year-old neighbor is capable of herding cattle. How respect is always present. No iPhones. No iPads. No iWashing Machines. No iRobots. No experiencing life in theory. And I truly wonder why "Africans" are lazy!

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Journey of a Peace Corps Volunteer in Tanzania, East Africa.

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"When I admire the wonders of a sunset or the beauty of the moon, my soul expands in the worship of the creator."

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Waking up to the sound of heavy rainfall on metal roof and morning fire. I neatly fold mosquito net. Make full-sized bed. Brush off dead insects that crawled their way into a sleepover the night before. Sun slowly peaks through the clouds, roasters alert, and neighbors with an early start. I grab bathroom slippers, solar light and Kanga in the right hand, water bucket and Target bought shampoo, toothpaste and shower gel on the left. Every morning, I fill bucket with water to bathe in a bathroom consist of nothing but a hole. Four weeks ago, this was all strange and uncomfortable. To live a lifestyle that seems almost unbearable. Now here is me, starting my own fire and fetching water from a well in the early mornings. Cooking dinner under the moonlight, conversing in a language that taste sweeter than my mother tongue to strangers who become family. Every day I am sinking into routine, into a peaceful numbness of emotion.

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Cooling down with some cold avocado juice and fresh fruits on a hot day. (at Tanga City)

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Simple morning bliss. #Tanzania #Africa #Peacecorps (at Muheza, Tanga, Tanzania)