this entry should be called ar in paradise. ar is really in paradise. i'm in nunwi which is the north of zanzibar and we've been living in a postcard, delicious food, sun, pristine beaches with white powder sand and clear turquoise water. does that sound like the life i deserve or what? this is so much better than being ripped off and paying for the fast ferry and spending 9 hrs on the crap ferry. apart from everyone making fun of me bc i'm so american, it's perfect. sorry guys, i keep telling people that freakness has nothing to do with being american, but they insist. next time you're abroad and someone says some thing negative about americans, it might just be bc of my "ana rosaness". anyways, don't want to miss the sunset swim so, big kiss to all.

love,
ar in paradise

p.s.
n didn't even go into new friends, good laughs, hammock and stars n ah, perfection!

hi all! so sorry that i don't have my camera cable bc a) this is the fastest connection since leaving the states, and b) would've loved to upload this amazing photo of sunset with old boats in zanzibar....so romantic. no, i like being without my hunny thanks for asking:)

not too much to report since yesterday however. went out to a nice dinner last nite and learned that freddy mercury from queen was born here in zanzibar. helpful fact for any future trivial pursuit games!:) hoping it will stop raining, bc will be going to the north to hang at beaches day after tomorrow. tomorrow doing a spice tour, and then prison island. snorkeling, exciting. am being bitten by mosquitos now, bc as soon as sun goes down those blood suckers come out full force. good times. still taking my malaria pills everyday of course. my friend (cause now i have them) got so bitten in her face last nite (slept on couch without mosquito net or repellent) that it looks like a rash and she's sick! just what you want in a vacation.

anyways, we've been staying in different places every nite. last nite we stayed with a friend of friend and they were so nice to basically let us take over their house (there's 6 of us now), but bc of the attack of the killer mosquitos we're staying at a cheap hotel. typically traveling stuff in groups, 1 person being grumpy, 1 person getting sick, and coordinating for food n stuff. i mean not horribly bad though. i've only met these people literally a couple of days ago. it's all good though. as many of you know, when you're abroad, you just get close to friends, bc you really just need them and you have this shared experience. it's really been really helpful for me to blow off steam and have people to have fun and travel with....even if we were on the sticky overcrowded ferry for 9 hrs or lost in a taxi for an hour! ay yay yay!

big kiss to all,
ar.

jambo rafiki(hi friends)! adventure begins...in crowded internet cafe in zanzibar, bc why shouldn't it rain when you plan an beach trip and have been in 9 hr crowded dirty ferry where your friend (but thank god you've finally made a friend even though they're going back to denmark soon) stuff almost gets stolen by girls you've been hanging out with and sharing the entire hot voyage?:) ah, traveling, filled with so many anecdotes. traveling in africa is a whole other cup of tea (or chai as they say here). things are a lot better after spending time with the danish volunteers, so have people to go dancing, traveling with, and just speak and be understood. amazing concept! can't imagine how tiring it is to try to communicate all the time. al the time, really exhausting.

so know we are in stone town zanzibar. could say dirtier islamic venice. amzaing to bea ble to see this coulture. could've done without being awoken at 5 or so to the sounds of mosque inviting all to pray, but agian hakuna matata...go with the flow. everything in africa is hakuna matata. feel like could never get all stories out and just convey what it's like...so much happends and is sooooooooooooooo different! it'sa like nothing i've dreamed of b4.

good news is that in better spirits. still miss my honey though...'tis life. my life right now anywyas. almost a month. will be traveling for a while and next is lake victoria, serengeti (safari!), and arusha (hope to see kilimanjaro).

gotsta go, bc traveling in group and all, but sending love. pls. continue to send positive thoughts for us .

love,
ar.

roller coaster...some days i'm ok, some days i'm bored, some days i find everything so fascinating, some days i'm homesick, all days i'm jr sick and then i got really sick. no malaria or anything, just a lil cold. i missed medical clinic this week bc of it, but i went to work with the notman's to raise money for the program by doing entertainment at a children's party. it was in this gorgeous hotel with an infinity pool and amazing ocean view. wow! i got preteens to dance and play games. who's gonna complain about that, i love dancing! they even played the shakira song. you know the world is becoming a more colombia friendly place! yeah for colombia!

i've been teaching the kids in tabata how to dance salsa, merengue, and carnaval music, bc this girl needs to exercise and i like teaching them something they'll have. may be teaching english at a local elementary, but haven't looked into yet.

may be going to zanzibar on thurs and then go to lake victoria and the serengeti on safari. long vacation, but i'll be back to work. probably make it to the internet cafe b4 i go.

that's the scoop, see pix. most are from my walk to the the buses, but also the kids in the house, the house, and kibwana. he's the one who lives in the house too.

kiss to all. feel free to write and share your anecdotes with me or send a friendly text message

too bad, so sad, but no pix in that last post. i've been trying for over an hour to upload...either blogger sucks, this computer sucks, or life sucks. either way, i'm tired, want a shower and am going to bed...another time, another place...

roller coaster...some days i'm ok, some days i'm bored, some days i find everything so fascinating, some days i'm homesick, all days i'm jr sick and then i got really sick. no malaria or anything, just a lil cold. i missed medical clinic this week bc of it, but i went to work with the notman's to raise money for the program by doing entertainment at a children's party. it was in this gorgeous hotel with an infinity pool and amazing ocean view. wow! i got preteens to dance and play games. who's gonna complain about that, i love dancing! they even played the shakira song. you know the world is becoming a more colombia friendly place! yeah for colombia!

i've been teaching the kids in tabata how to dance salsa, merengue, and carnaval music, bc this girl needs to exercise and i like teaching them something they'll have. may be teaching english at a local elementary, but haven't looked into yet.

may be going to zanzibar on thurs and then go to lake victoria and the serengeti on safari. long vacation, but i'll be back to work. probably make it to the internet cafe b4 i go.

that's the scoop, see pix. most are from my walk to the the buses, but also the kids in the house, the house, and kibwana. he's the one who lives in the house too.

kiss to all. feel free to write and share your anecdotes with me or send a friendly text message....

roller coaster...some days i'm ok, some days i'm bored, some days i find everything so fascinating, some days i'm homesick, all days i'm jr sick and then i got really sick. no malaria or anything, just a lil cold. i missed medical clinic this week bc of it, but i went to work with the notman's to raise money for the program by doing entertainment at a children's party. it was in this gorgeous hotel with an infinity pool and amazing ocean view. wow! i got preteens to dance and play games. who's gonna complain about that, i love dancing! they even played the shakira song. you know the world is becoming a more colombia friendly place! yeah for colombia!

i've been teaching the kids in tabata how to dance salsa, merengue, and carnaval music, bc this girl needs to exercise and i like teaching them something they'll have. may be teaching english at a local elementary, but haven't looked into yet.

may be going to zanzibar on thurs and then go to lake victoria and the serengeti on safari. long vacation, but i'll be back to work. probably make it to the internet cafe b4 i go.

that's the scoop, see pix. most are from my walk to the the buses, but also the kids in the house, the house, and kibwana. he's the one who lives in the house too.

kiss to all. feel free to write and share your anecdotes with me or send a friendly text message....

les mando un saludo en espanol para que los que no lean en ingles, pero ya casi se me acaba el tiempo en el internet cafe...estoy bien. me mude a mi casa con los ninos que tienen hiv. son 5 y son carinosos y basicamente les brindo amor y ellos me ensenan swahili y yo el ingles. es mucho para acostumbrarme, pero sigo con el empeno de seguir adelante. creo que si se parece como a un barrio pobre de colombia, pero para remate no hablo el idioma asi que necesito de otros hasta que aprenda...

los quiero y escribanme pronto...

any

i'm in my new home...tabata. sorry, no pix, but coming soon...well, i have my little quarters with cement floor, sleeping under a mosquito net, but it's nice to have my own space. ok, i have to get out and go into the main house if i want the toilet, but i'm still in africa after all!:)

i've living with 5 kids that have hiv, 3 boys and 2 girls. the youngest girl is 5 and her name is mboni and the oldest boy is 12 and his name is erick. the other kids are johnny, laurin, zufla. i'll definetly take tons of pix of them! mama agnes also lives there and she's also a nurse. they also call her bibi or grandmother. they call me auntie or auntie rose. yet, another alias!:) they are very affectionate, which we all know i love! they are teaching me swahili and i am teaching them english. kibwana also lives in the house and he was the once nice enough to take me on the bus to the internet cafe. sounds easy? don't be fooled. it's like camping, but i actually live here! over the hills and through the woods to the bus stop. oh, and the buses....never had an adventure like this b4. you saw the last pix, but you didn't get the smell, beyond lack of personal space, and yesterday i didn't have a seat going to the medical clinic, pasada. crazy, it's funded my italians in padova of all places! what are the odds?? anyways, my body is contorted every way bc the dalla dalla (bus) is a minibus. too much! i stretch when i get home and move on. i've never loved water more...never loved a lot of things more actually. i love cell phones, and internet, and variety in food, and family and friends, and the list goes on and on.

anyways, other anecdotes include the way the kids pray-like a baptist revival on the floor and everything! yet another sight to see.

adjusting ok though all in all. just need to get used to things and make friends and everything. kids are so great. we even play what time is it mr. wolf and think of ready by 5!

take care and sending you love from tz!
ar.

just eating some homemade popcorn and getting ready to watch a movie...leaving this home to go the home with the kids that are hiv+. won't really be able to internet as much, so hopefully you guys can live with out my anecdotes as frequently. feel fee to stay in touch on the celly.

sooooooooo, went out last nite for a nite out in dar. very euro have to say. bc it's been raining so much it is so ridiculously muddy that i feel like i'm already on safari. sad news about that is that it's like $100 a day! yikes! i may be looking into doing a little bit of traveling soon with some of the danish volunteers. yea for traveling!

anyways, funny quotes from yesterday include the tanzanian guy that wanted some of my gum and put in grrrrr in aggressive! hilarious! good thing i've been going to salsa clubs all my life and know how to handle ridiculous men. so the people i was with were the kids of this family and the girl is 16 and the guy is 25, but ok let's go, i'm in dar right. i'm young at heart, right? they're telling me to say i'm 18. ok, i'm 18. it was a lot of fun and met kids from all over the world.

went back to mburuhati today, where the kids are orphans bc their parents died of aids. we went in bus and again with the mud. it was so nasty in the "bus station" with the flip flops. i have not managed to be wearing the right shoes for one day i sware! the buses are from 1902. they make the buses in colombia look like mercedes i sware. anyways, we did the children's program and the kids taught me to sing this totally cute kiswahili song. i taught them america the beautiful. you know, 'cause i'm so patriotic!:) it was fun though. everything is just such an adventure. everyday life is just such an adventure and it's so amazing how slower paced everything needs to be here.

anyways, here's some pix of the latest and the greatest...

p.s.
pix of me coming soon, promise

p.s.
also became spanish teacher to the kids and may even become salsa teacher to rich ex-pat kids for more fabulous lifestyle!

hey all, quick post with no pix. i did take a shower today (those lovely euro showers with just the handle), and finally washed my hair (we only know how often i wash it at home), but now if look like heidi with the 2 braids. b4 i was looking particularily hot with a bird's nest of knots! seriously i could've had dreads in a few more days! not my best moments!

no work news, as it was raining nob-stop today and we didn't make it into the city. i did however go the the movies tonight and saw mi3. way to take one for the kids! ha! plenty of time to get down and dirty later...

excitement, got my sim for my celly...+2550786093351

hit me on the hip as chris would say...

love,
me

no hice un carajo hoy sino lavarme el pelo que lo tenia todo rasta ya y fui al cine esta noche a ver mission impossible 3. que vida.

el que me quiera llamar/mandar un text de amor y apoyo me lo puede hacer a +2550786093351

cuidensen y les mando un beso,
any

these are the latest pix. most are from the children's center in mburuhati and one is just from the street. so, still not sick, good stuff. yesterday was quite a day...we took the dala dala aka local bus at nite and can we just say that it looked like "city of god". if you haven't seen that brazilian movie, i highly recommend. so, we went there and did the children's program, which consisted of dancing and singing with kids. hello, i can do that! we also reviewed some english words. hey, i know english, i can do that too! if only i could learn kiswahili! i have so far learned numbers 1-10 and very very few words. it's so hard! this is no italian my friends!:) damn, and i thought i was so good at languages!

so, the bus ride was filled with being crammed in with people and apparently deodorant doesn't exist in this country! ha, fun fun fun...maybe i'll assimilate! how fun for everyone when come i home!:)

i'll be getting my sim card for my cell today and we are going to download a program to be able to talk over the internet. you know you wanna call me! keep ya in the loop....much love, ar.

escribi bastante en ingles, pero queria que vieran un poco de los ninos con la cual estamos trabajando. cantamos y bailamos con ellos y le ensenamos ingles. estoy tratando de aprender swahili, pero es full dificil. les mando much amor por aca y les pido que me escriban para saber de ustedes.

un abrazo fuerte,
any

hey all,

made it safe and sound with a view of kilimanjaro and sweatiness all over! oh joy! the house i'm staying in is really nice and the family has 7 kids, wow! we'll start work tomorrow.

inital pix from plane.

pray for my health...about to drink some water....

todo bien, acabo de llegar y resando que no me enferme.

besos,
any

well this time i mean it...all my bags are packed i'm ready to go...those who don't know that song should just stop reading at this moment:) thanks to everyone for your support and generousity. i just finished talking to my tia in colombia and i was really just reminded that i wouldn't be able to do this without everyone's support.

be in touch...if you wanna send some financial support (no plug intended) you can send it to my momma bc she's got power of attorney...alicia najera (the cute one in the foto) 12521 cedar ave hawthorne, ca 90250

para los que no hablan ingles, flojos! ja ja ja mil gracias por todo su apoyo y amor, especialmente toda la familia. no se imaginan el amor y carino que les tengo. gracias.

un beso,
any

p.d.
si quieren saber mas sobre las fotos, van a tener que escribirme...:)