Mambo? Poa, niaje

After nearly a week sleep in our little volunteer room and a million smiling interested people, we feel like this is home. The countryside is incredible. Not so much breath taking - but the lushness and variety of plants and the rich soil provides a sense of serenity that is difficult to explain. Perhaps it is the lack of artificial (or should I say highly processed) objects around us. Almost everything is locally made from local materials for local people. The community we live in is part of the wider Sinon area which is a rural area 7km outside of Arusha. Across the road is a row of properties owned by four brothers and is teeming (like our whole area) with excitable little children screaming 'Good Morning' at all hours of of the day or 'mzungu' (european), and wanting to hold hands or wave.

The people are very friendly (partly out of strict code of etiquette) and they really appreciate every word of our limited Swahili, which is going through a vertical learning curve at the moment. The project is also so 'real', there is no bureaucracy, no set rules, everything is negotiable and can be changed if you have a good idea. But there is an excellent plan and a thoughtful approach to sustainability and cultural sensitivities.

We crawled in last Thursday night an exhausted wreck`after a couple of long days of airports and aeroplanes. We spent all day Thursday walking around Arusha with FWS employee Lucas - a young Tanzanian chap who speaks great english and we are teaching Spanish as well.

Every evening I wander through the cool air with my bucket of hot water to our banana leaf cubicles for a much needed and enjoyable wash beneath a bright crescent moon and watch the final rays of sun disappear from the peak of Mt Meru.

My head is a blur at the moment and I need to have a think about how to describe where we are and how it works. And also to put some photos up.

It is a very different life, and at times the idea that 'this is it' for the next 12 months can be a fraction daunting, but there are sufficient moments every day that make me thankful to be here.