Upinde ya mvua

The rain has been teasing us. It seems to like the slopes of Kilimanjaro and everyday it seems to get a bit closer to the ranch. Last night I was able to see localized lightning in the distance and the birds and frogs are telling us it will hit anyday. Yesterday on my way home from the treehouse, there was a huge rainbow. I love African rainbows... and trees... and the scent of rain on a breeze. Too bad I can't take a picture of that.

Mkazi-mwenzangu

I have a new roommate. I mentioned in a previous post that Nyama the cat is gone and therefore the house is being overridden with frogs, rats, insects, and my favorite, the resident gecko that lives on my bedroom wall. We have gotten quite comfortable with each other and the other day I found him lying on my bed. I finally got a picture of him so that you too can enjoy his gecko-ness. Nyama will be coming home soon with two kittens. I don't think she will be as thrilled with my new friend as I am.

MOTO!

There was a fire on the property over the weekend. My askari noticed it Saturday night and had to basically sound an alarm to all the workers on the ranch to help fight it. By daybreak on Sunday, everyone thought the threat was over and returned home for some much needed rest. However, in the early afternoon it had started back up again. I took this picture on my way to the treehouse. Throughout the afternoon I listened to the drama on the radio, the entire time sympathizing with everyone who had to deal with it. It also happened to be about 40 C on Sunday. Just walking to the treehouse, I felt that I too might spontaneously combust. I decided to take the long way home at the end of the day to get a good look at the damage from the fire. It actually left a pattern that, dare I say it, is quite pretty. On my walk, I felt a few raindrops and was hoping that the rain would settle the problem, but alas, the rain stayed away for the most part. Askaris have been keeping an eye on the sight, and now it is pretty safe to say that the threat is gone. Everything is so dry now and we are definitely in need of rain. Just about every afternoon, I can smell rain in the distance and sometimes and accompanied by rolls of marvelous thunder, but still we wait.

Siku ya TEMBO!

Yesterday was Elephant Day. Most of you are probably quite surprised to hear that such a thing exists. I was asked to look up information online about it and found out that it is basically a holiday created in 1994 by a guy in Florida that collected elephants and owned a printing company... so yet another 'Hallmark holiday.' Nonetheless, here I am am researching elephants so it should be acknowledged. The ranch was honored with a visit from some esteemed VIP guests in honor of Elephant day, but I guess the guests of honor (elephants) were attending an invitation only elephant day party somewhere... because they were not on the ranch.

Vijiji mpya.

I went to Moshi this past weekend to escape the computer work I have been subjecting myself to. It was nice to go to a new town. I have been there three times before, but once was by accident when Nabil and I missed our stop, once was when I was in a rush to make photocopies and return before dark, and once was in 2004 when Dad and I climbed Kilimanjaro. However, I quickly learned on this trip that what people say is true. Moshi is cleaner, prettier, and doesn’t have the hawker problem that Arusha does. I still saw plenty of wazungu but was only bothered twice by people trying to sell me things. When I told them I didn’t want anything and politely asked them to leave me alone, they did! I was dumbstruck. In Arusha, I really had to be mean for the people to stop bothering me. The problem in Arusha is that as soon as one person comes up to sell something, the rest see and rush over to increase the annoyance of the situation. I always leave Arusha feeling like I was a poor ambassador of America because I had to be so rude so that people would let me do what I had to do. But, Moshi was different and I definitely will return. I stayed in a hotel and drank Stoney’s and watched TV and went to bed early. The next morning I went to the salon and got my hair braided. It is fun to do something different and I was really getting sick of hair blowing in my eyes. Problem solved. Please note my “I’m Bringing Sexy Back” t-shirt. I will have to get Rose to take a picture of my all-out Tanzanian mama look, complete with inappropriate saying on t-shirt. In Moshi, I saw one lady about my age wearing a t-shirt that said “I heart hot moms.” There was another girl about 10 years old wearing a shirt that said “F.B.I.: Female Body Inspector.” I never know if I should explain to these people what their t-shirts mean, do I laugh, do I sigh, or should I just be glad that they don’t really understand how perverted western society is?

watoto ya Rose

Rose’s three kids had to return to school at the beginning of the month. Before they left, I came to say goodbye and had a photo shoot. The kids thought this was a hoot. By the way, all these kids aren’t Rose’s. Actually, 2 are hers, and 2 are friends of those, and one of hers is missing. I know Stacie or Nabil can tell me who is who, but I actually only met all the kids once and was embarrassed that I didn’t remember who was who!

Jirani yangu...

The students who visit here have said, “You must be so lonely.” But I repeatedly have to explain that the workers on the ranch live in their houses about 50 meters from my door. It also helps that the furrow that supplies water for them and me is right outside my door. This results in many visitors everyday. Of course, when I didn’t know Swahili, it really didn’t matter if they greeted me or not, but now that I am catching on, I really enjoy the multiple “salimia’s” (greetings) everyday and no longer mind stopping what I am doing to ask them about their day, their work, their family… etc. etc. I guess I am adapting. This is a picture I took one night last week when Rose was cooking in the kitchen and we had some visitors who had matching Old Navy sweatshirts. This is Max and “rafiki ya Max” (only because I can never remember his name!).

They are from the same place near the Kenyan border. One night, Max was showing me where they were from on a map posted on my wall and when I asked how long it took to get there, he said 2 days. I was really confused because it looked to be just a little farther than Arusha… but with the roads here you never know. Then I pointed to Dar es Salaam and some other city farther south and asked how long it took to get there. He said 3 months. At this point I realized he was telling me how long it took to walk! Oh the life we are accustomed to in America.