Saba Saba

Today was amazing. It was Saba Saba, meaning the 7th of July, in which Tanzanians celebrate small farmers and businessmen. There are huge trade fairs in the cities, and it is a national holiday, so we got the afternoon off.

As quoted by Heather during "muda binafsi" (literally self-time) "we found a couch" and we sat outside and read :)

When we got homes, we went for a walk for hours around our neighborhood, and our brother made Hannah and Cecelela lead us, while he and I pretended to be tourists. We walked everywhere, asking lots of questions, like whether the cows crossing the road were lions and if all Tanzanians lived in huts and hunted elephants :) We took lots of pictures too, and we laughed and ran through forests and cornfields under the giant shadow of the looming mountain above.

A lot of the neighborhoods through which we passed were Maasai areas, and for once we were not the ones that felt like outsiders. A lot of the Maasai didn't even know basic greetings, and when the kids did respond, even we noticed their very different accents.

Off for a weekend safari to see all sorts of wonderfully fantastic animals :)

Bye from beautiful Tanzania!

-Laura

Happy 4th of July!

Today was a little piece of America. My friend Heather and I walked around for an hour and a half doing a three-legged race practice. As you can see in our picture, we even played soccer and volleyball with our legs tied together. The kitchen took requests, and we had hamburgers and hotdogs, potato salad and ice cream. Admittedly, all these items still had some African flare, but the Americans all thought it was great! However, we did notice that none of the Tanzanians seemed to like our nation's food...

In the evening we had a talent show and people sang tons of beautiful songs. I showed off my hand walking and juggling skills :)

We also attempted s'mores. Apparently the concept of Graham Crackers is also foreign, so we used biscuits. They built a GIANT FIRE, maybe a little too big... We felt like we were trying to roast marshmallows on a forest fire. We couldn't get within three feet of the fire. There is a group of engineers here, and we worked together using marshmallows as glue to create longer sticks for roasting. We laid on the ground and covered our faces like we learned you do when escaping a burning house, and even then, only a few marshmallows reached their golden brown potential.

4th of July Tanzanian style!

HAPPY 4th of JULY!!!!

Weekend

This weekend we helped out around the house. We washed our clothes in buckets and hung them out to dry. Apparently we didn't do a very good job of wringing out our clothes, though because our host mom took them all down and rung them out again so that they would stop dripping. We walked around the neighborhood, and very near to our houses are two huge mining holes. All around the top of the hole, women sat with huge piles of rocks and a hammer, breaking them into pieces all day in the sun for only $2 a day. I felt very thankful that that was not my job. What a horrible way to spend ones life, but it is major industry, and many are employed to do this work.

We learned how to make chapati pancakes, and at night we had a talent show. All the kids did an act, from singing and dancing to storytelling. Hannah and I wrote a story about a giraffe bigger than Mount. Meru, and I acted it out, making scary faces, juggling things, and walking on my hands. We were a big hit.

Then, Sunday before the sun had risen, through complete darkness we walked through the banana fields on small dirt paths, the light slowly beginning to pour through the tops of the trees. Our family is Catholic, and so we went to the first mass. We were the only white people there, and apparently last week Hannah had to introduce herself in front of everyone. There was lots of singing and clapping and standing up and sitting down, and it was a beautiful sight to see so many people gathered together so early to share their thanks, beliefs, worries, and prayers.

Fading Sunset

We stayed late today to celebrate one of the girls' birthday (Happy birthday Heather!), and we got a chance to walk around outside of the school. Walking back at sunset, the mountains and hills were colored as bright as a coloring book, and children played soccer under the fading light.

Sokoni (at the market)

Here's a picture from our trip to the market today, outside the entrance before it got too crazy and I had to start worrying about getting my camera stolen. We pulled up in bus, and I was really concerned about 20 white people getting off together. Sure enough, we were surrounded by children trying to sell us plastic bags for the market, but once we split up it was alright.

People are continually surprised and pleased by our ability to speak Swahili, and surprisingly respectful when we explained that we didn't need something. We bought everything we needed for a reasonable price. The market was quite a sight with dozens of women sitting with huge bags of produce, all trying to sell the same thing. Next time I go, I'll try to snap some more pictures of the madness, as it is quite a sight.

Bye!

Laura

Kasheshe

Sitting on the roof reading, Mount Meru in front of us, cool bricks behind, a long Swahili book in front and warm smiles of surprised and pleasantly surprised passer-byers below when we greet them in Swahili.

I am staying with a new host family. Three of us were alone, and so for three weeks they put us all together. We are staying with two retired teachers and their 8 children, some of which are their actual grandchildren and others of whom are orphans. Living with teachers is amazing because they know just how to make sure you understand and to help us learn tons of Swahili! Plus, having that many kids around is a blast. We are planning a talent show for the weekend.

We have a kitten named Kashshe meaning trouble in Swahili. She is adorable, even though the Tanzanians don't think so and kick her away whenever she comes too near. She always climbs on my lap and sits and purrs, but she is also trouble. (: I walked into the room and found her swinging back and forth on my mosquito net, and she is very tricky at stealing food during meal times.

Baadaye! (Later!)

-Laura

Maporomoko Ya Maji

My brother Beda and I walked for 4.5 hours today to go see a waterfall. We ambered down small brownish red dirt roads, through valleys and mountain paths with the constant canopy of arching banana trees framing the road. Living in Seattle, I thought I knew what hills are, but here is truly something amazing. There is no flat ground in sight, and around every peak is either a breathtaking view of the hills and mountains ahead or a view for miles around of the valleys below.

We walked along, and the children shouted "Mzungu! Mzungu!" (White person!) Some of them came up in groups and touched me, then ran back to their friends to exclaim their victory. The groups of women laughed when I greeted them in Swahili and the old men and women held my hand and smiled, saying "my child, how are you my child?"

Everything is beautiful here- the people, the culture, the environment. People are so respectful and caring. I have never seen so many sincere smiles in one place, but ofcourse living here, everyone thinks it is so normal.

One of the teachers told a story about how a friend from another region of Tanzania had come to visit and had gasped in wonder "The mountain! Look at Mount. Kilimanjaro!" Concerned, my teacher turned around and asked "What's wrong with it?!!" worried that it was falling down or had somehow drastically changed. Of course, her friend was just amazed at its beauty, but my teacher is so used to it, she says she doesn't even notice it. My host mom added she would certainly never want to climb it. She says she is confused by why anyone would want to climb it. All that exercise, pain, freezing cold, and when you get to the top, you can't even see the beautiful mountain anymore because you are on it!

:)

-Laura