This is what I told the immigration officer last week as I crossed from Congo into Rwanda. He looked at me with a cocked head and said ‘Really? You’ll come back?’ My first instinct (and perhaps the polite Southerner in me) was to reply ‘Of course! We had a wonderful time and want to see more!’ However, fulfilling this promise will no longer be as easy as it has been the last four years because Nathan is moving to a different program…in a different country…on a different continent.

Lake Kivu, on the border of Congo and Rwanda

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I finished my first year as a First Grade teacher!  If you’re wondering why I haven’t written a blog post since October 2016, read that first sentence again.  I’m hoping that the constant stress, exhaustion, and anxiety doesn’t erase the hundreds of amazing memories that were made this past year, so I’m sharing some here just in case. Continue reading →

Well, mostly no rashes.  Nathan and I moved to Tanzania in July 2014 and our two year anniversary of living abroad coincided with our second trip to the US since we moved.  Being ‘home’ felt very different this time around as our definition of ‘home’ continues to change.  While it was of course nice to be in the US again, we were eager to return to East Africa for some of the reasons you can read about below. Continue reading →

This is a late post, but worth sharing because Nathan and I took one of the best trips of our lives recently to Namibia.  It is a difficult place to describe and I don’t think our pictures will do it justice either!  Continue reading →

In June, Nathan and I welcomed our friends Laura and Mark from Colorado for their first trip to Africa.  They work at the same high school and deserved a break after yet another tiring year.  We loved spending time with them and selfishly using their visit as an excuse to explore some beautiful new areas of Tanzania.   The post below is from Laura because we wanted to give y’all a chance to read a bit about traveling in Tanzania from someone other than us. Continue reading →

In April, Nathan and I took advantage of several national holidays by going on a two week road trip to Southern Tanzania, Northern Malawi, and a tiny portion of Zambia.  It was not an easy trip, but that’s not what we wanted.

Infamous road to the top – 1.5 hours, 15 km (9 miles)

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It has been a long time since we updated everyone on our life here in Tanzania.  We are doing well but the last few months have been busy, challenging, and sometimes frustrating.  I finish my teaching certificate in 15 days so this post will be short but give you an insight into why we have been so quiet. Continue reading →

We had a great year in 2015, and here are some of the reasons why (not in order necessarily): Continue reading →

In July, Nathan and I celebrated our one year anniversary of moving to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, East Africa.  It has been one of the best years of our lives for many reasons: we’ve grown closer, we’ve traveled to beautiful places, we made good friends, we like our jobs, and we have learned a lot about ourselves and the world.  I woke-up one morning a few weeks ago and felt more content than I have felt in maybe a few years.  We have both been really busy (I will write some blogs soon to share fun things from the last few months), but we are happy, healthy, and positive that despite the challenges over the last year, moving here was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. Continue reading →

Not too long ago, neither of us could run even one mile without feeling awful.  It took time, but today running is one of our favorite ways to exercise and recently a great way to see new places.  My friend Christina (who just visited us in Dar and Zanzibar!) was the first person I remember who traveled all over the US as a sports tourist and we are starting to understand why she loves it so much.  The two runs we did this June were challenging but rewarding because they pushed us to see places we have never seen, meet some really cool people, and also contribute financially to some great causes. Continue reading →