6 March 2010

I am happy that I am not in Tanzania during the rainy season (November-December). I would hate to see what it looks like. I think that March is quite rainy enough thank you very much. All of a sudden for about the last two weeks it has been raining cats and dogs every night. I think that it is actually nice because the rain cools everything off, so it isn’t so hot the next day. But the mud in the morning is a real pain. A while ago I was walking home from the dalla-dalla when I stepped on what I thought was a hard bit of mud. It ended up not being so hard. I sunk in the mud all the way up my calf. The worst part was when I pulled my foot out I didn’t have a sandal on it anymore. So I had to stick my arm all the way down in the mud to get it out. The rest of the walk home was fun as well. Every person I saw walking home would look at me and laugh and say “Pole sana, Sister” (meaning “I’m very sorry that happened to you” in Swahili), but I knew they were all thinking oh stupid muzungu. Lucky I wasn’t very far from home, so I got to wash off right away.

This week I had one of my favorite experiences while being in Africa, and I never even thought about it until my friend, Nathalie, mentioned it. We went to an African soccer game. It wasn’t even kids playing in a field, it was professional (or maybe semi-pro) teams in a huge stadium. We went to see a friendly match between the Tanzanian Stars and the Ugandan Cranes at Kirumba Stadium in Mwanza. It was unbelievable. I had such a blast. Conveniently, a little while after I got here back in January I bought a really cheap Tanzania soccer jersey as a souvenir from the market. I thought it would be fun to wear when I get home. I never thought that I would actually get to wear it to a Tanzanian soccer match to cheer on my team… BUT I DID!! I thought that all of the Tanzanians were going to laugh at me, but they were really pleased that I was wearing a jersey and cheering their team on. It was by far the nicest field I have seen since I have been here; there weren’t any dead grass or dirt spots on the entire field. The stadium was huge. We guessed that there were probably about 2,000 people at the game and the stands were only a fifth or a quarter full. It was very exhilarating to jump up and cheer every time that Tanzania scored. The fans were dancing around in the stands and running a huge Tanzania flag that was carried by 6 people across the entire stadium when we were ahead 2-1. Sadly, Uganda caught up and ended up winning the game 2-3, but it was still an amazing time. It was really nice to see the people have such pride in their country, especially because a lot of the locals really get down on Tanzania because of its poverty and other problems.

Everything has been good at the Baby Home lately. Charlie was adopted by a nice Scottish couple, who are overjoyed to be parents. It is quite rare that someone his age (4 ½) is adopted. Lately the big babies have been quite sick; they all have come down with bouts of diarrhea and vomiting. It has hit little Lilly the worst. She has had it for about 12 days now, and has been in terrible shape. She has also lost a pound and a half, which is a lot because she only weighed 17 pounds to start with. So today she was admitted to the hospital and put on a drip to make sure that she stays hydrated. She will also be treated for malaria, even though the tests we did were negative. Amy thinks that she will probably be in the hospital for 6 days. Lilly was one of the first babies that I really clicked with. She was my first favorite (even though I really shouldn’t have favorites). I took the news really hard because I am so worried about her, but also because I am leaving in 5 days. I wouldn’t get another chance to see her and say goodbye. But hopefully if it all works out as planned I will be able to go visit her in the hospital in a few days. It will give me a chance to cuddle her and say goodbye. In the meantime, she could use your thoughts and prayers.

So like I said I am leaving in 5 days, but I actually have 15 days left in Tanzania before my flight home. I decided to cut my stay at the Baby Home a bit short in order to go to Zanzibar. I know I will kick myself if I skip going because I don’t know when I will be in East Africa again. For those of you who don’t know, Zanzibar is an island off the coast of Tanzania in the Indian Ocean. It is a tropical paradise because of the warm currents that come from Asia across the ocean. My friend, Lynn, just got back from a 10-day vacation there as well and the pictures are unbelievable. It is all white sand beach, palm trees, and hammocks, aka heaven. I am really looking forward to enjoying some time on the beach and touch up my terrible farmer’s tan. It will also give me a chance to catch up on all of the homework that I have fell so far behind on. Hopefully when I get back I can write another post all about Zanzibar and my adventures there.