BTW, in case you're interested...

Here are blog posts from when I was in Rwanda in 2010... in case you're interested in reading my old experiences and finding out more about Africa and Rwanda in particular.

http://sendmetorwanda.weebly.com/blog.html

So I have yet to mention my impending trip to Africa this summer on my blog. At first I was a bit hesitant, but as the days pass I am getting more and more excited. I will be living in Arusha, Tanzania and I will be working for the United Nations, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda to be exact :). I arrive in Dar Es Salaam on May 25th, and I am hoping to meet my friend Taima (who is my best Rwandese friend who I will be living with). I plan to spend a few days in Zanzibar, what a dream, and then embark on the 9 hour bus ride from Dar Es Salaam to Arusha. I will start my internship on June 1st and it will last until the beginning of August, at which point I will travel on a bus across East Africa from Arusha to Nairobi, Kenya (a 5-6 hour bus ride). In Nairobi I will meet up with my Kenyan friend Caz who lives in a small town called Eldoret in Kenya. I will try to visit with her for a day or two, at which point I will then head to Kampala (an 11ish hour bus ride) and spend a short amount of time with my Rwandese friend Benon, who currently lives in Kampala. I will then embark on my last bus trip to Kigali, Rwanda (a 11-13 hour bus ride). It is there that I plan to spend the rest of my time. I'll be flying out of Kigali on August 13th. It is a pretty bold and adventurous agenda I am taking on, but I think I can handle it. I've also been in tune with the fact that there is a train that travels in Kenya and Tanzania... so that might be an option as well.

I could not be more excited to see my best friends. It has been 2 years since I stepped foot in Africa, and to be honest, I've missed it tremendously. For a long time I had an issue adjusting to being back in the US and my husband knows how much I wanted to move over there. Unfortunately it was not in the cards for us. I am grateful that I did not, because I have had the opportunity, since returning from Africa, to pursue my Masters in Conflict Analysis and Resolution. This internship experience, which I am applying to my Masters program, is a perfect addition to my experience and will teach me a lot. 2 months is nothing in the grand scheme of things... but I hope that I learn a lot. I am also excited to be surrounded by Rwandans and, in particular, my best friend Taima. She is a genuine and trustworthy friend.. something I have been lacking in my life for a long time. I know  that I can count on her for anything, and I am grateful to be able to live with her for two months. She has been such a blessing in my life.

As for my living arrangements, she lives with a roommate in a 3 bedroom apartment in Arusha town. I will have my own room... and apparently they have a cook/maid/laundry lady. I am super stoked on that... I hated spending 2-3 hours every weekend washing my clothes just for them to get rained on! It will be nice too that I do not have to spend money on breakfast, dinner, rent, or daily transportation when I am there. She is letting me stay for free, and even just purchased a car and is going to drop me at work everyday. That will leave me lots of money for fun trips... like possibly the Serengeti (one of the best safaris in Africa featuring the top 5 animals) and hiking Mount Kilimanjaro (the tallest mountain in Africa). I am looking into relatively inexpensive options to do those expensive "mzungu" activities.We shall see...

Well, that's all the info I have for now. Here are a few pictures and links to the place I'll be living/what I'll be doing while there.

INFO ABOUT THE UNICTR

ZANZIBAR, TANZANIA

ZANZIBAR, TANZANIA

MOUNT KILIMANJARO, TANZANIA

MOUNT KILIMANJARO, TANZANIA

THE SERENGETI, TANZANIA

THE SERENGETI, TANZANIA

THE SERENGETI, TANZANIA

MOUNT KILIMANJARO, TANZANIA

This past weekend Andrew and I went with some friends to Harper's Ferry. We started our day off early in the morning on Saturday, and made the hour and a half drive to Harper's Ferry. We had reserved a campsite at the KOA (because it's off season, no other campsites were open- bummer). We set up our tent, a huge 8 man tent, and then set out for Gathland State Park, a short 15 minute drive away. We then hiked the 6.5 miles from Gathland SP to Weverton Cliffs. It was a beautiful view, and a perfect day. We then made the grueling mostly uphill hike back, another 6.5 miles. After we got done, we were tired and beat. But the hike was well worth it. We then went back to our campsite for some burgers, hot dogs, and smores. A few mishaps... but overall a wonderful trip. We are grateful for the chance to live close to one of our favorite towns, Harper's Ferry. Andrew and I have gone there at least once every year that we have been married.

Here is a link to the hike that we did: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/22/AR2009012200946.html

It has been quite some time since I have posted anything on here, but I wanted to share a recipe that I tried tonight.. it was delicious!

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/quinoa-and-black-beans/

My in-laws are very health conscious.. and it has def. influenced me to watch what I eat. When we were in Oregon for the holidays, my sister-in-law was drinking a daily wheat grass drink (my mother-in-law has also been drinking it for as long as I've known her). It is the product below. I thought, eh, that's all nice and good, but it tasted like grass. Then, when we got back, Andrew tried some of the Naked drinks (they sell them at 7-11). I tried the Mango one and it is hands down the best thing I have ever tasted... not to mention that it is FULL of natural fruits and vitamins (no preservatives or added sugars). Then I tried the Green Machine.. not as tasty as the mango one, but essentially the same thing my in-laws drink daily (with added costs). I knew that this lifestyle change could be do-able, if I put my mind to it. After some searching for bulk Naked drinks (can't find any store that sells bulk Naked, even checked Costco website), I decided that shelling out almost $4.00 for one drink was too costly. I found a website called the NoMeatAthlete.com with a recipe for the Naked and Odwalla Superfood drinks. I took a trip to the grocery store today to get some much needed items, including lots of fruit for my drinks. They are very easy to make. You gather all the ingredients (kiwis, mangos, ginger, peaches,pineapples, and the Amazing Grass Green Superfood Mix) and blend them together. Then you fill them in ice cube trays, freeze them, and after frozen you put them in freezer bags. When you want to make a drink, you just take 3 of the ice cubes and blend them with some apple juice and fresh bananas and you have your very own superfood drink, minus the cost! Find the recipe here: http://www.nomeatathlete.com/homemade-naked-green-machine/

My mother-in-law and sister-in-law both drink this (mixed with water) every morning.

Grocery shopping today... solely vegan diet.. let the fun begin

Andrew and I decided to make an event out of New Years Eve. Since we wanted to keep it pretty low key this year, we just had over our friends Tom and Maddy. I've been trying to be more health conscious about our meals, so I decided to try out a new recipe from my Light and Healthy cookbook (pictured below). I chose a recipe called "Penne with Chicken and Summer Vegetables." The reason I look these cookbooks (America's Test Kitchen aka Cooks Illustrated), is because they explain everything. They test out different products, ways of preparing the meal, and even the healthiest options. This meal in particular was only 430 calories for a 2-cup serving, with 5g of fat, and 30g protein. The recipe consisted of chicken, zucchini, cherry tomatoes, an onion, a red bell pepper, garlic, red pepper flakes, chicken broth, penne, spinach, and basil... fairly simple ingredients. I had some whole grain penne pasta, so we used that to make it even healthier. Overall, it was a big hit and very healthy!

Prep for my meal: chopped bell pepper, tomatoes, and zucchini

Leftovers. This recipe made for 6 but fed 4 of us, and leftovers for lunch, dinner, and another dinner...

I swear by Cooks Illustrated books. This one featured the recipe... although the Best Simple Recipes is also a favorite.

I shifted some pictures around the apartment... most of them made their way into the hallway. I was tired of displaying my sacred White House photo with President George W. Bush and Dick Cheney in my bedroom. I wanted it to be out in the open along with my pictures with Mr. Fielding and Mr. Farren... along with my diploma and whatnot. So that got me thinking, why not make a wall with our accomplishments? Since Andrew just finished boot camp and we have some excellent photos of him with his uniform and also with his platoon from boot camp, it would be great to re-arrange them so they would all be together. Take a look!

So since things have constantly been added to our apartment, I thought it would be interesting to check my pictures and see just how far our apartment has come. We moved in the last week of August 2010 (hard to believe we've been here a year and 3 months already, time has flown by!). Since then, our apartment has really become warm and cozy. I just love it. It is exciting to find great deals and come up with new ideas for sprucing it up! So far we have yet to spend over $400.00 on any piece of furniture (except for our dining room table & chairs). I am proud of the unique pieces I have been able to find, and would like to share it with yall. Here goes nothing!