Last Minute Planning at its Finest

We finally started classes this week, but everything is still a bit messed up. Our teacher for Africa Literature met us briefly on Tuesday to explain that Tuesdays don't work for him so he will have to teach us on Monday nights instead. Then on Wednesday we actually started and had History of East Africa and Family/Gender Relations. History of East Africa seems interesting but a tad on the dull side... possibly because the teacher is about as old as East Africa itself haha. Gender/Family Relations sounds like it has the potential to be interesting but we haven't actually met the real teacher yet. She was out of town this week for a conference in Sweden so she had one of her colleagues teach us an intro lecture. I guess I'll let you know how it is once she is there and the class gets more serious. On Thursday we had African Politics, which seems like its going to be great. Granted right now we are learning all about IR theories and things I study in school, so maybe that's why I like it. The teacher is also really fun and politically active and what not, so I think that will make it more interesting as well.

Ok so the big news I have is that I'm climbing Kilimanjaro next week!! I literallty decided to do it on Tuesday afternoon, got my stuff together Wed and Thurs, took the bus to Moshi yesterday, and am now in Moshi figuring out all the last minute details. Everything happened so last minute because I have been overwhelmed with classes/travelling and not thinking about it, but rainy season starts very soon and its kind of a now or never deal. Also, I found someone to climb with me now, which will make it a lot more enjoyable. I am climbing with this kid Ryan, a friend of a friend of a friend, who is volunteering right now with Ibrah's new organization in Moshi (Ibrah is the former program head of my volunteer group in Moshi). So, we leave Monday morning to do a seven day hike up the Machame Route, which is the harder and longer of the two most popular routes. I don't have much time to write now because I am headed to the used clothing market in town to buy some winter clothes and then to the duka la dawa (pharmacy) to get some high altitude sickness medicine. I can't believe I'm really doing this in two days... it still hasn't really sunk in but I'm really, really excited. Wish me luck! I'll write again in a week when I get back to Moshi (lets hope its not less time than that because that means I didn't make it to Uhuru Peak)!

Love,
Lis