Tic Toc of the Clock!

Hello Everyone!


So, I am about to get into bed for a lovely two hour sleep before I head off to the airport! I finished my final exam today and boy am I grateful to get it all out of the way! I got to see some good friends these past few days to say my goodbyes and hugs, and oh boy did it hit me hard. Most of you know my history of travel, but for those of you who have yet to learn... the longest plane ride I've been on is a one hour flight to Calgary, Alberta or Edmonton, Alberta. And as far as "traveling" goes, I have been to 2 provinces, and the northwest states: Washington, Oregon, Montana, Idaho, and Utah. Needless to say, this is a HUGE adventure for me and a direct line out of my comfort zone!
I want to thank everyone who has been so loving and supportive! I know I have said it before, but you can never be too grateful! I wish I had the time to meet all of you before I left, and to thank you all personally. However, time is working against us and so I hope to be able to visit with you all when I return from Tanzania. 
I love this moment and I have been anticipating it for quite some time now. The moment of mixed feelings. Both happy and sad. Excited and apprehensive. Adventurous and nervous. Powerful and weak. This moment is full of awesome emotions that, when put together, plays like a beautiful orchestra. This shall be a wonderful experience.


This is short and sweet! Next time I write I should be in Dar es Salaam! Good night!


Moriah

10 Days!

hello my lovely people! 


The last day of my double digit countdown! I am getting a little anxious and those of you who are around me lately KNOW that I am a bit scatter brained!! lol I keep forgetting where my list of things to do is and then straight up forget what those things are I need to do! AHHH lol I sure hope I will stop this craziness so I can be fully prepared! This too shall pass, lol (hopefully?)
So, not much to update on! I have my suitcase packed with just a few odds and ends to put in there. I am only taking a medium sized suitcase and a backpack... THATS IMPRESSIVE! haha I am not bringing nearly as many outfits as I wanted to, but ohhh well... packing light is the best! Knowing that I have one weekend left in Canada is kind of crazy... Hope I get to see as many of you as I can before I go! 


I just found my list so off I go to get things done! Type again soon!! <3
Moriah

My first t-shirt supporter picture!

The sweet and absolutely adorable Vienna, rocking the "Mend the Rift" t-shirt! <3 Thanks sweetie!!

2 WEEKS UNTIL I LEAVE FOR AFRICA!!... AND THE T-SHIRTS ARE HERE!

Hello Ladies and Gents! 


WOOOHOO!!! Two weeks!! I am officially excited. This whole time I have been excited about the thought of going, but today it just hit me and the excitement is a little overwhelming. The time has gone by so quickly, and I can't hardly wait! 
Just a few things to bring up! I know I haven't been writing much lately, but there hasn't been a great deal of news on the trip to Africa...


T-SHIRTS

The long awaited t-shirts have arrived. I just received them at our meeting today and they look AWESOME! I have a picture attached so you guys can see what they look like. I'll be getting them to you all this next week coming! On a side note, I RAISED THE MOST MONEY OUT OF EVERYONE, including the geography department! YAYYYY!!!! HUGE thank you to everyone who purchased a t-shirt to support me!! You guys rock so much! I am overwhelmed with gratitude for all of the love and support! Make sure when you get the t-shirts to put them on and take pictures of yourselves wearing them for me!!! My Auntie Tiann bought me a t-shirt, so I'll be posting my picture in the shirt too! THANKS AGAIN EVERYONE!!




PLACEMENT:


Okay, so I briefly mentioned that my placement was changed just this morning. There has been some issues with permits and MOUs with the NGOs and so, we have had to change NGOs. Although I wanted to work with kids at first, this placement I am now put with feels right. I will be working with:

Women Fund Tanzania

Interns at this placement must wish to gain experience in entrepreneurial development for women. This is more than just entrepreneurial development for woman, it is also an opportunity to work with the women, meet their children and understand the family dynamic and how the women in this society are key to the success for change. It is an important organization as it seeks to promote women’s rights and encourage the financial support for businesses run by women in Tanzania, which is not a normal practice. This helps the household and the many vulnerable children.

I am very excited for this opportunity! I will be making contact with them soon I hope, and plan to keep you updated as the correspondence progresses. I wish I had more information to tell you about the organization, but at this moment that is all I have. These next few weeks will be going by fast and information will be coming and going, but I will do my best to keep you all up to date as I know many of you have been requesting updates! 

We had our security meeting today, and it went over well. We received a lot of reminders and ways to stay safe and what to look out for. I'm not worried, it will be great! I am very happy for this meeting, though! It answered a lot of questions for me, being that this is my first time really traveling! 

BANANA BREAD:

The sale of banana bread is coming to an end! We have done extremely well and raised more $600!!! If you haven't had a chance to taste the banana bread yet, nows your chance! Get your orders in before its too late! Thank you to everyone who has purchased the bread! You all are awesome! And I can't leave this topic without giving a ginormous THANK YOU to Katie who has been the BIGGEST help in this fundraising from donating the ingredients, baking, spreading the word, and providing the delicious and amazing recipe! Without her I would not have been able to get this fundraiser up and going! 

I need to get back to my studying for finals, so I will write again soon! Thank you all again! 

Moriah

The new picture!

Hey I forgot to mention! For the permits we had to go get passport photos also known as MUGSHOTS! I updated my photo here with my mugshot! lol


Do not let that frown fool you... I am extremely excited. It took me a little bit to get rid of my smiles and giggles; I am sure the passport photographer was quite amused. *grin*


Not at all my best picture, but its THE permit photo... and currently the most recent picture taken of me. 


<3 Moriah

Less than 3 weeks!

3 Weeks from today I will be in Qatar! There is officially 20 days until I leave from the Vancouver Airport! Yay!


So the meeting yesterday was a lot of permit paperwork, and discussion of our schedules while out there. Nothing is finalized as of yet, but you will be happy to know, we not only have the security of the Canadian embassy contacting us by text msg and email while we are out there but the University has paid for a risk assessment company to keep us informed and provide us the extra security. 


T-SHIRTS:


The t-shirt order will be picked up this coming saturday on the 16th and I will be able to distribute them the following week. yay!! Thank you again to everyone who purchased a shirt! I am so excited to see you all in them! <3


BANANA BREAD:


The banana bread sales are going awesome! Thank you to everyone who has purchased loaves! The sales are only til the end of the month, so be sure to get your orders in ASAP! They are $12/loaf and come with chocolate chippies! delicious! If you prefer no chocolate chips you can request for the traditional loaves instead!!


At this moment that is all the information I have for updates! I have yet to receive my yellow fever shot, but hope to have it done soon. The packing list is slowly getting smaller and the pile in my room is slowly getting larger.


Thank you all for your support and of course your love! I wouldn't be able to do this without you all, and I am so grateful! 


"Faith is trusting in the good. Fear is putting your trust in the bad." 


God Bless! 
Moriah

Tan for TANzania! 25 days!

Hello all!

Just barely 25 days left, I stop and ponder the many things I must accomplish prior to going.

1) complete university course assignments and papers
2) study and take finals
3) get a yellow fever vaccine(what? I already did vaccines! darnit!)
4) take my double dose oral vaccine
5) get stuff for trip(oh my the list is still long!)
6) get a base tan to help prevent burning while out there(did I mention I am loving the tan!! Hooray!)
7) register for course, get course supplies
8) get supplies for the NGO I am being placed with(If you didn't see where I am getting placed, I announced it below, check it out!)
9) PACK! Well sometime... in the next... 25 days.
10) relax? Is that even an option?
11) continue the fundraising! YUMMY!
12) ... does this list ever stop?
13) safety meetings
14) _________________

I think I have a full 25 days ahead of me! Good think I don't have 25 things to do! Or do it?

In all seriousness, the time is short and I am trying to give myself a little time to reflect on the anticipated experience. Something that has been brought up in discussion is "culture shock" and I am trying to come up with ideas on how to be prepared for it. I do not think I will be fully prepared, but any little tidbits that I can contribute to lower the shock would be awesome! So, if you have any ideas, PLEASE share them with me, by post or by email!

Thanks all! I need to continue with my school work! Thanks for the love and support!

Moriah

OOPS! 28 Days left!

Hello everyone!


I forgot to start the OFFICIAL 30 DAY countdown!! oooooopps! Well we are on 


DAY 28!!!!!! Thats right! 28 days until I fly to Africa! Horray!!


Placement:


It isn't set in stone as of yet, but the letters have been sent out to the NGO. It is proposed that I will be working at the Maumaini School for Disabled with opportunities to connect to street girl programs and outreach programs. I will be getting more information on it in the next few weeks, as we get communication back from the NGO.


Banana Bread:


The banana bread sales are going amazing, and we have heard nothing but amazing compliments on the taste of the bread! Big thanks to everyone who has purchased a loaf to show your support! Your stomach and I both thank you! haha In all seriousness, I am truly grateful! 


The banana bread sales are still going until the end of Aprill, so please email us for orders: bread4africa@gmail.com or you can contact me by facebook or just phone me! The cost is $12.00/loaf. They come with chocolate chips, YUM! and are great to freeze for future occasions!


Before I leave this topic, I must give a HUGE thank you to Katie, my best friend who has been doing SO much to help me fundraise for this internship/volunteer trip! I love it! *huge smile*


Shots:


I didn't think I'd have to talk about these again, but it appears I need my yellow fever vaccine, so I will be returning to the travel doctor to get that vaccine soon. *YAY* haha 
--lets hope it won't make me sick again-- 




T-shirts:


The orders have gone in, so let's hope we get the shirts in the next few weeks! I am super excited for these t-shirts as I am sure the rest of you are too!




Meetings and Preparation:


We will be having safety meetings, and prep meetings these next couple weekends!! We are still waiting to hear back from the risk assessment officer in regards to the safety of this trip, but thats a minor detail! We are applying for our VISAs/Permits!! I just sent my photocopy of my passport, and getting a copy of my transcript! 
There is a lot of stuff to get, so I am picking up stuff here and there when I can spare time away from my current studies! 


This is a bit scattered with tidbits of information coming from all angles, so I apologize for the lack of a nicer format to the information. 


Until next time! Have a wonderful weekend!!


Moriah