I have survived a week in Tanzania. It really is a crazy place. There is no order to anything here. But I like it. I couldn't do it forever, but it's good for now. The people are hilarious, and the children are adorable. And the tribes are fascinating. The Maasai wear a lot of red and black, particularly in buffalo plaid. But some of them wear other bright colors. Yesterday we saw three boys walking down the road who were possibly the coolest thing I've ever seen. They were definitely the blackest thing I've ever seen. I have never seen darker skin, and they wore all black tribal clothing. They had big sticks in their hands and beaded rings on their fingers. My heavens. I wanted to take a picture so bad, but just looking at them was so intimidating that I was afraid to try. I have to be careful what I take pictures of and where I am. In some areas it's totally fine, and I hardly have to worry about my camera, but in some areas they yell at you if you pull a camera out.
This week we spent two days destroying a Maasai mud hut at Your Sisters Orphanage. These mud huts are quite impressive. They have a wooden frame all nailed together and then a mixture of mud and cow dung padded around it and hardened like clay. They are very stable, and the mud on the inside of the building where it hadn't been weathered down was difficult to rip apart. We mostly used only our hands, but we had a couple hammers and things. My hands are still sore. We are going to build a new, smaller one in a different location on the property.
The little girls at this orphanage are miracles. We particularly like this orphanage because it's not just a shelter for the girls, it's a home. The girls are all so happy and active. They absolutely love to play and laugh. And the people there treat us like family, too. They never let us leave without eating first, and it's not like they have extra money and food to spare.
The food, which I was most worried about, is good for the most part. There is a lot of rice but usually has a vegetable curry to go along with it, and I do love curry. Everyone in our house loves chipati. It's like a fried tortilla, kind of a mix between a tortilla and pita bread. We also had noodles cooked in sunflower oil the other night, which was tasty. The meals are good but not super filling because we don't have the opportunity to eat meat very often. And we did manage to find a restaurant with amazingly delicious chocolate shakes where we will celebrate our week countdowns. The shake is amazing! They have good fries, bread, fruit and vegetables. If you order fries, they bring you five different sauces to dip your fries in, including ketchup and mayonnaise so I can make fry sauce. :) I snack on a lot of raisins and peanut butter sandwiches. And I'm glad I brought granola bars and fruit snacks for every day. Their corn here is more like popcorn. It has almost as much flavor as ours, but is not juicy like ours at all. They sell it covered in chili powder and lime on the streets. It's delicious, but so spicy that my mouth can only handle a couple bites.
We found some good markets to buy a lot of great souvenirs. Everything is cheap here...$1=1,585 Tanzanian shillings. The vegetable curry I usually get when I go out costs 4,000, so about $2.40ish. I feel like I'm spending a lot of money because everything is in hundreds and thousands, but the first day I got here I pulled out the equivalent of about $70, and it will last me about two weeks, including a few souvenirs but no extra activities.
I'm going to hold a snake, see some alligators and something I've always wanted to do... ride a camel tomorrow! And next weekend we are going on our safari to Lake Manyara, Ngorongoro Crater and the Serengeti.
We went to church on Sunday. You essentially get harassed on your way there. Not because you're going to church but because you have to walk through some kind of slummy areas. The key to not getting bothered while you walk down the street is to walk like you're on a mission and have a very serious face. Anyway, church in a foreign land always feels like another home. We sang the hymns in Swahili but sang with the Primary in English. Relief Society and Primary are both in English, but Priesthood, Sunday School and Sacrament are in Swahili. Everyone in our group except one is LDS. One of the girls got her mission call this week, too! Her parents scanned it and e-mailed it to her. She is going to Fresno, California and is pretty excited. Mom, her sister actually married Mr. Schwimmer. Small world, huh? Apparently he has a two-year-old little boy now.
My malaria pill is no longer making me feel sick, which is a relief. I just have to down about half my water bottle with it.
Today we played soccer with some street kids, and it was a blast! Some of them were pretty young and hadn't played a lot, but the teenage boys were really good. We're hoping to play with them again. It really was a lot of fun!
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