personal reflections: budgeting the future

This entry comes from the free ramblings in my private journal.

Written on July 3rd, 2011

One of the things I've loved about my time here in Tanzania is the walks into town. It's a rare occasion that I don't enjoy them or feel like they're wasted time. There's always something to think about, something to ponder, something to figure out. It's actually because of these walks that I'm feeling the need to write these thoughts down.

Today I thought about the situation here in Tanzania in relation to development, and the role of foreign aid in that development. I reflected on what kind of impact I've made in my year and a half, and if it has benefitted Tanzania at all in the grand scheme of things. I thought about this because of a friend's exploits to stay another year in a much different capacity than a PCV, and because of my own curiosity as to how much time and energy someone needs to give in order to really accomplish something for the people of Tanzania.

on return

I just came back to the mainland yesterday after spending over a week on Zanzibar. It's difficult to succinctly describe how incredible Zanzibar is, so I'll simply leave it as that, incredible. I went with a friend originally with the intention to spend most of our time at the Zanzibar International Film Festival, but plans quickly changed after we found out how expensive life on Zanzibar was, and after we discovered how much else the island has to offer. We snorkeled, we shopped, we lazed on the beach, and we saw Shaggy in concert!

I have a ton of footage to go through from the trip, so keep your ear to the ground because the clips are coming!

important things come in "short" timeframes

We're in the waning days of terminal exams here at school. Hard to believe I may not be here much longer. Between my vacation later this month to Zanzibar and COS conference at the beginning of August (and assuming I land the extension down south), I have only a precious pair of months left here at site.