Month: July 2015

I was awake before my alarm rang, partially due to all the thinking about the next few days of logistics, but also the early morning call to prayer from the local mosque. The Swahili coast of Eastern Tanzania is predominantly Muslim.

We were told our taxi (in a Land Cruiser, due to some bad dirt roads) would arrive at 7:00 am, but he arrived at 7:30. I was wondering if he’d be a crazy driver, trying to make up time, but it wasn’t too different from the last time. We arrived at the rendezvous place at 9:25 and waited for 1 hour for the bus from Dar es Salaam to arrive. It was hot in the sun, but at least we got to watch some laborers pack large bags with oranges.

The bus was loaded, except for 2 seats that were reserved for us. In the next hour, the driver passed on a solid line three times, had three conversations on his in-hand cell phone, and helped one of the additional riders in the aisle-way get settled on a pillow. He was a very animated talker, and very frequently looked at the people he was talking with! After an hour, I decided that it wasn’t going to help to worry, and I stopped looking. However, I did say some prayers along the way!

After 5 hours, we were on the outskirts of Arusha. I realized that we could be dropped earlier closer to our hotel and save the hassle of being driven into the city and then pay more for a taxi to take us back. So, upon seeing taxis at the convenient intersection, we jumped out of our seats with the bags that were at our feet or on our lap, but we forgot the one small bag up top. It only had a Maasai blanket that was given to us and my old Teva sandals that were 15 years old with worn out velcro, but it did have Anya’s Chaco sandals. She only wears them in Tanzania. I’m just letting these go under the circumstances and the hassle it would take to try to retrieve them with no guarantees of success. Most likely, they are long gone. In light of all our travels, that is not too much of a loss.

Our hotel is hostel like at the back of an Ethiopian restaurant. It is also within a somewhat close range of another mosque, as the evening call to prayer informed us. However, we walked half a block to the Impala Hotel, which has my favorite Indian food, Handi Lazeez (SP?). So, for $20, we ate in a fancy hotel restaurant with fresh made-to-order food with Fanta passion sodas.

This evening, we’re catching up on emails. I have my auto insurance set to be reinstated on August 2. It looks like Anya’s cell phone was automatically reinstated after 6 months.

Now, we hope to get some good sleep before the early morning call to prayer.

With blessings,

Beth

WE HAVE A LIMITED WIFI CONNECTION. PHOTOS WILL BE ADDED LATER.

There was no need to get up early, other than breakfast ended at 9:00 am.

But we were both awake before then. The tide was way out with about 500 paces of tide flats to explore a bit before breakfast. I went out again and observed some fishermen. I chatted with a couple of them with some simple sentences in Kiswahili.

One told me about the small fish that they were catching with a net held by two men who walked chest deep and dragged it back to shore. Another speared an octopus and a small ray of some sort with intriguing colors.

Afterwards, we sat around doing whatever caught our fancy. I won the battleship game by just two pegs.

Later, Susan (from yesterday) stopped by and welcomed us to walk down the beach to their property. I joined her, while Anya stayed put. The two families from our snorkeling trip (including the father Nathan) were camping at their place. They have two large cone awnings, about 25 feet in diameter, made from poles and thatched with banana leaf “shingles.” Underneath are tents, camping chairs, and a well-equipped camping kitchen. We sat and talked for some time, catching up on the past few years and plans for the future.

One of the plans is a Great Rift Valley Walk. About 18 months ago, I woke up with a crazy idea to repeat a classic 8-day walk that the late Rev. David Simonson did with his sons, including Nathan, from Loliondo (by the Kenyan border) to Monduli. (They actually walked to Ngaramtoni, but Monduli would be a way to support the MaaSAE Girls School.) I threw out the crazy idea, and several were actually interested. Jean started talking with Nathan, and now there is some momentum to the planning. I didn’t tell Nathan today that I was the one who broached the idea to Jean, but since life is changing for me, it would be slim chances for me to be able to participate, because Nathan is suggesting a May date after the long rainy season and before the heavy tourist season.

If anyone is interested in this or know of anyone who would like an adventure which supports girls’ education, let me know. I’ll get you in contact with the right people.

I walked back for a late lunch of very nice beef samosas, and then we got ready for our kayaking trip. Nathan told me the trick is to paddle out just before the high tide mark, as the rising tide will help us get into the river with the mangrove forests. Then after high tide and our peaceful paddling among the mangroves and bird calls, then we turn around so the out-going tide helps us cross the breakers into the ocean beyond. So, Anya and I shared this adventure together.

I am one who must have descended from farming Norwegians instead of the seafaring Norwegians, because the ocean isn’t very peaceful for me. In the Old Testament, the “sea” is a metaphor for chaos. While I don’t get sea sick, I am not typically seeking out sea-related adventures. The snorkeling yesterday was a surprise for me at how much I enjoyed it, in spite of the wet and somewhat cold conditions. Perhaps this being my third trip gave me some understanding of what to expect, and really, the panorama of colorful fish was beyond what I had experienced before.

We returned to our beach lodge, showered, and I washed out our salty clothes. With the return of both power and internet, I’m able to make a post on the blog.

 

Dinner and packing will close the evening, as we leave tomorrow at 7:00 am after an early breakfast. We have a 3 hour drive to Segera, where we will be dropped at the roadside of the village. Then the bus from Dar es Salaam will pick us up and take us to Arusha. We’ll get a taxi to our hotel for the night. There is a chance we’ll see some of my former students. If it is a full night, I may not be able to get a blog post out.

Right now, we only have two more nights before we fly home. We haven’t been home since January 24, so it has been a long time.

With blessings,

Beth

Steve, the intrepid hiker, got us going early to be able to see the buffalo.

Later in the day, they go into the forests and are harder to see. So, while the heavy dew clung to every surface in our campsite, Bethany got up and brought us chai to our tents. What hospitality. She told us the story of her Indian friend’s mother, who brought them chai in bed when Bethany visited her friend. (Bethany was a missionary kid who grew up in Nepal and attended a boarding school in India.) Later, instant oatmeal packets were delivered with hot water.

Anya had a bad night’s sleep, only three hours, because of the cold. But, Steve has a way of directing the day that keeps pushing on. So, despite Anya’s initial protests, she got up and made it work.

We hid the sleeping bags, just in case some others came by, but most of our clothes stayed in the tent. We packed all our water empty water bottles and headed out to the spring, quietly whispering along the way through the waist high grass to not startle the buffalo. We were instructed that if a buffalo would charge us, we were to drop our packs (though today, only the adults were carrying them) and lie on the ground. If possible, roll to a log or into the depths of the grass. The horns of the cape buffalo are deadly when they can hook something and throw you. They are one of the most deadly animals in Africa.

Soon, we froze in a clearing and crouched down to watch a small herd of 11 or so buffalo about 100 yards from us. As they were departing into the woods, Steve started us walking toward them. However, one stood guard at the end of the herd, staring at us. In a split second, we heard hooves running, and the two girls and I hit the grass. I don’t know how long it took to get my backpack off, but it seemed like a reflex. Yet, the buffalo weren’t running toward us, they were running into the forest. Whew! I thought, I’m not sure my international travel insurance would cover any medical issues related to being out walking where dangerous animals were present! I didn’t add the “adventure rider” to my policy!

We walked on, seeing some bushbuck in the hillside, and across another clearing, we observed eland in the distance. They are very skittish from being hunted by many people. Bethany told a story of when her daughter was only 10 months old and her twin boys were older (about 7, I recall), they were up on the mountain. When her daughter was hungry, Bethany plopped down on a tuft of grass and started breast feeding. Soon, an armed hunting guide showed up with a white hunter and at least two more armed guards. A mother nursing an infant contrasted with the dangerous environment portrayed by the armed guards that hunting safari companies want to sell. People will pay more for dangerous adventures.

We made it to the spring, and the stream flowing from it. We filled our water bottles. I have a bottle with a filter, so we could drink right away. Bethany passed out water treatments pills for our drinking bottles, but Steve was not concerned and drank the water directly. It is a remote area with little human activity. He’s a doctor and knows the risks and treatments as needed.

Then, we had to hike back up to our campsite. On the way, we ended up going through several patches with lots of stinging nettles. It was impossible to avoid being stung. The sting hurts as much as a bee sting, but it doesn’t swell much but just stings for about an hour or so. This was miserable for Anya on only 3 hours of sleep, and even pushed me into frustration. When we made it back to the campsite, I put Benadryl gel on my remaining stings from later in the day. Unfortunately, the Benadryl stimulated the stings a bit and kept them buzzing way into the night. I even had to try to fall asleep with them aggravated. Fortunately, they were calmed sometime in the night.

Back to the return hike… While we were ascending to our ridge, we didn’t realize a herd of buffalo was ahead of us. They were startled by us and started stampeding down the hillside in a thunderous sound of hoof beats and breaking branches about 100 feet in front of us. We froze in our tracks, though none came our direction. That was a first for us all!

We plowed through the tall grass at the top of the hill and continued to our campsite.

For the rest of the afternoon, the females sat around, told stories, and talked. Steve was out discovering new buffalo trails, and announced that in the morning, we’d take a “short hike” on the next ridge.

Dinner was Mountain Meals beef stroganoff, which again was good for a freeze-dry meal (or perhaps we’re so hungry anything tastes good). Again, we were in our tents before sunset at 6:40 pm to snuggle into our modified sleeping bag arrangement before the cold became unbearable. We were ready for sleep.

With blessings,

Beth

We woke up to no water in the Friberg house, so we availed ourselves of the outhouse. After a hearty breakfast of oatmeal and chai, at 8:00 am we departed for the Ketumbeini mountain trail head. Fortunately, Steve chose to drive the 14 km to the trailhead instead of hiking to it. At 9:25 am, we started our hike at about 6,000 feet. Unfortunately, there are no switchbacks on the steepest parts, as much of it is up a narrow ridge. It was steep going, but fortunately, I wasn’t the slowest one. Steve kept directing us onward beyond what I would have thought was possible for me, but hiking with Steve is known as a challenge by all who have done it.

About midway, we did stop for a lunch with chai. Peanut butter and jelly on a tortilla never tasted so good. But then, Steve kept us pushing onward and upward to the top.

Around here, the shortcut for texting Ketumbeini is K2. While the Ketumbeini mountain is not as high as K2 in Pakistan, the second tallest mountain in the world, it was the tallest I have climbed at 9,000 feet, though we started two-thirds of the way up. With the thin air, I told Anya that I could email her soccer coach stating that she’s doing hypobaric conditioning in preparation for the fall season.

At the top, we stopped for a 30-minute rest, where Steve fell asleep. When he awoke, we stashed our packs and went for a hike around the top of the mountain, which included some descent to look for animals. We did see bushbuck and eland (the world’s largest antelope) in the distance.

After retrieving our packs, we walked through waist-high grass in the caldera of the mountain. It is thick grass, so thick that it sometimes hard to know where the cape buffalo trail goes right in front of you. However, it is 10 times easier to walk in a buffalo trail than try to navigate the tall grass.

Previously, Steve had scouted the mountain and found another ridge for camping on a bit of meadow which has a view of the valley 5,000 feet below. We decided upon a spot that had a clear view of the valley to set up our tents, and we placed the door setting east for the morning sunrise.

Our Mountain Meals dinner of beef stew was amazingly good for a freeze-dried package, which was washed down with hot cocoa.

We were in our tents around 6:00 pm, because as the sun goes down, it gets quite chilly. Steve said that one time they had frost in the morning.

I did get up in the night for a nature call, and with only the minimal light of a new moon, I saw a zillion stars and the milky way. As I crawled into my sleeping bag, Anya said that she had not fallen asleep yet, as she was so cold. I realized that her sleeping bag was a bit thin for this temperature, and camping with Steve means roughing it without a sleeping pad (because supposedly the grass meadow was to serve as a soft layer). So, we adjusted our bags to share both between the two of us and were able to warm up enough to sleep a bit. In retrospect, I would have gladly added the weight of a sleeping pad.

With blessings,

Beth

WE HAVE A LIMITED WIFI CONNECTION. PHOTOS WILL BE ADDED LATER.

The first cup of chai came through the hospitality of Ciwila’s thermos. I went to morning prayer and afterwards, I greeted Happy, one of the students sponsored by the Pohle family, who were part of the Cross of Christ mission team in 2012. I got choked up greeting her, because I know how meaningful this relationship has been for the Pohle’s, who have shared stories about visiting her enkang (family settlement, also known as a boma).

I hurriedly finished packing and saying farewells, as the Fribergs texted me they would arrive between 10 and 11 am. Well, they showed up a 9:55 am! On the way through Monduli, we stopped for chai (#2), and some had chapatti (like a thick tortilla fried in oil). Then it was up and over the Monduli mountains, and down into the valley below. The road is much better than it was years ago, but still at times, Steve needed 4-wheel drive to get through the rough spots and dry river beds.

Steve was carrying a bed from one of the Maasai young men from his area who was working as a guard in Arusha. When the rent of his little apartment went up, he thought it wasn’t worth it to continue working in the city. So, when we dropped of the bed, we were treated to chai (#3).

After a quick visit to a church, for which Steve and Bethany helped coordinate a work party from Luther College, we completed our drive to Ketumbeini. Bethany thought that she should first take me to visit Mama Laiser, who is a retired teacher and helps Bethany with the Napok beading mama project. She and her husband, Johanna, had two daughters in the first class of the MaaSAE Girls School, Elisipha and Enoti. While I never taught these two, I did help them get into university. Elisipha has now earned a master’s degree in community development from a university in Uganda and is seeking employment, while Enoti is one of the first Maasai women doctors in Tanzania, working at Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Center (KCMC) and specializing in eyes. (KCMC was founded by the father of Greg Mortenson, known for his book, Three Cups of Tea.) So, my fourth cup of chai was with a little lunch of beans on spaghetti while greeting Mama Laiser.

We talked about the development of the Napok beading mama’s project. The amazing news is that they have just secured land from the district. Maasai women are traditionally not allowed to own land or cows. (As this is a socialistic country, no one “owns” land, but those who have a 99 year lease are generally referred to as owning land. ) There is a local NGO that is working with Maasai women to help them understand their rights according to the law. Through seminars and hearing stories of the few pioneering Maasai women, slowly there has been advancement for women’s issues, such as legal recourse for domestic violence. We discussed more issues about the development of women and heard illustrative stories.

Then, Bethany and I walked the 15 minute journey over dust and rocks to their home. I’ve been here for a short visit, but now we’re overnight guests. We planned our camping trip and started our packing before dinner of spaghetti. A not too cold shower refreshed us before bedtime under mosquito nets.

With blessings,

Beth

WE HAVE A LIMITED WIFI CONNECTION. PHOTOS WILL BE ADDED LATER.

We haven’t mastered getting into the mosquito net, as my three bites in the morning evidence. We are on prophylaxis meds, so I’m not worried about malaria. We even have treatment meds along just in case, which we’ll bring back to the USA because of the incubation period.

After a breakfast, we walked the path to next door to meet our snorkeling group. Low and behold, it includes Susan and her daughter, Bethany. Susan is the daughter-in-law of the late Rev. David Simonson and his adorable wife, Eunie, (who just celebrated a birthday). Susan’s husband, Nathan, was at the retirement celebration for Pastor Nangole. I know Susan from our teaching days here, and I asked her to be the narrator for one of the video projects I did, because she has a rich but non-distinct international English accent (Canadian citizenship with various British Commonwealth influences). In other words, it is hard to tell where she came from, but clearly not American. Anya had played with Bethany, who is about 4 years older, when we were all at Tarangire Safari Lodge, which is also owned by a Simonson son (as this place is as well). So, again, we were not just tourists; we had relationships and were connected with significant people.

Their friends from the UK, a couple with two children about 8 and 5 were in the group too. Our German guide and two Tanzanian crew members rounded out our party. The German woman has been here 9 years and has helped save 30,000 turtles by relocating the nests to higher ground. National Geographic arrives next week to do some videoing of the story here!

At the beginning, the weather cooperated. We saw rain clouds in the area of Maziwa Island, but they passed by the time we arrived by motor boat. Maziwa is totally under water at high tide. The light aqua colored water surrounded the island. We gathered some shells to admire, but as this is a marine preserve, we can’t take any with us. We also picked up some garbage which floats in with the tide.

The snorkeling was even better than the last time I was here! There are over 500 distinctive fish species in these waters, not to mention the corals. The water was not cold, so I stayed in quite a while, discovering a kaleidoscope of colors. The British mom and kids were out of the water soon, and Anya followed later. When the rain came, they huddled under a mat to try to stay dry. I decided it was warmer in the water, so I continued to be amazed with the fish, clams, and coral.

The two who were taking their first scuba diving lesson and our German guide were the last in the boat. We returned to Maziwa Island for some samosas and watermelon. Anya did some sprinting on the beach for conditioning in preparation for the fall soccer season. Now I could email her coach and relay that she was doing running in the sand for conditioning, another training technique I’ve seen done.

Then the rain decided to come again. The joke was that when Susan is along, there usually is rain! So, the tarp—which usually is a sun shade—now was a rain cover! As the rain stopped, we ventured out again on the island to gather a few more beautiful shells.

On the boat ride back, we shared stories and just before land, the rains came again. Fortunately, this isn’t a miserable wet, as it isn’t too cold. I say that the third worst thing in life is being cold, and the second worst thing is being wet and cold. Then, I stop there. Inevitably someone asks, as Bethany did today, “What is the worst thing?” I reply, “Rejection.”

We helped unload the boat and then returned to our banda for a warm solar shower. I washed out the salty suits, shorts, T-shirts, and wraps. (Travel tip: I carry laundry soap leaves which are small and easy to use.) Then we hit the clubhouse for sodas and a bit of food from the snack bar—a chicken wrap in a chapatti—as sisimizi (tiny, tiny ants) run around. We also get to charge our gear in the clubhouse, as there are no electrical sockets in the banda.

The rest of the afternoon is relaxing in the clubhouse, writing up the missed blog posts, and hanging out for dinner at 7:30 pm. If the WIFI is capable, I may try to buy a plane ticket for a family wedding in August in Ann Arbor, Mich., and then start reading a novel from the little library of finished books. What a wonderful day!

With blessings,

Beth

WE HAVE A LIMITED WIFI CONNECTION. PHOTOS WILL BE ADDED LATER.

The morning came early at 5:00 am. When I learned how early the bus was, I suggested that we just stay at a hotel to get out the door early. Fortunately, Erik, one of our hosts, is an early riser and welcomed us to stay at their house. We were the first ones on the bus, and fortunately in a good place on the bus—not in the front and not in the back. We had a brief greeting and conversation with a young woman from Spain while she was waiting in the aisle to get back to her seat.

The bus left the bus stand about two-thirds full of customers with reserved seats. For the next 20 minutes, we picked up additional passengers alongside of the road. We eventually had three passengers sitting in the aisle on pillows. About a dozen of these folks got off after about an hour in Moshi.

We passed Mount Kilimanjaro, but only saw the base as it was shrouded in clouds. In Moshi, the Spanish woman asked if I knew if this was a break. I said I didn’t think so yet, just a change of passengers. She wanted to get some food, but didn’t want the bus to leave. I had an extra granola bar in my seat pocket, so I gave it to her, and she was grateful. We have been blessed so much by the kindness of others. It is good to be able to share with others, even relative strangers on the bus.

With ear plugs in, Anya and I tried to sleep a bit. The PA system was playing Kiswahili news with enough static to notice. As we drove along, the station’s signal would drop and then there would be a minute perhaps of white noise static, until they found a new station. After about an hour, Christian Kiswahili music videos were played. After that, the bloody Mel Gibson directed movie, Apocolypse, was shown. What a gruesome movie! Anya was squirming at the beginning, and stopped watching it. It was definitely not a family-friendly movie.

We were served two cookies and our choice of soda or water. We didn’t want to be too hydrated to avoid being uncomfortable before the lunch and toilet stop.

At the lunch stop, we addressed some biological urges. It was a better public toilet than I remember from my last stop 11 years ago. I did provide our own TP, but that is just expected in Tz. I always have a travel tissue pack in a pocket.

I was eager to get nyama choma, roasted meat. Anya wanted some chipsi, French fries. So, for the equivalent of $2.50 we had a take away box. Another $.25 bought Anya a chapati (like a thick tortilla fried in oil). We ate these while we talked to the Spanish woman. She had just spent a month west of Monduli at a Maasai primary school. She was going to have a day at the beach in Dar es Salaam before flying back to Spain. She was impressed with Anya’s Spanish, commenting that she had a Mexican pronunciation. But she very engaging, and her blue eyes sparkled. We wished her well as we relayed that we’d be getting off before Dar.

The stewardess knew we needed to get off at Segera, and I wouldn’t know the stop, so I would need some help. As it turned out, we were the only ones who got off, literally dropped at the side of the road in a quintessential small African village. We were the only wazungu, white people, and some of the very few women, with African men all around. We brought our bags into the shade, and I called our contact, Mohamed, to let him know we had arrived. He said a green car would be there in 5 minutes. Some of the young men tried to greet me in English. I responded in Kiswahili. This seems to give some respect, as they know that I’m not just the typical tourist. They know that I know a bit of the culture and what is appropriate. We were then left alone, as we watched a young man make chips maiyai (fried egg on French fries) in an old tire rim for a deep fryer.

Abu and Daudi came at about 11:45 am and helped us with the bags. We did the greetings and introductions and drove off. The beautiful scenery and rhythm of passing small African villages brought us to the Pangani River. We cross on the ferry, as I greeted a Muslim woman in the hijab. The Swahili coast is mostly Muslim. Our travels continued until 1:45 pm, when we arrived at Emanyani Beach Lodge. We were greeting with sweet fruit juice, and after registration, we settled into our banda facing the Indian Ocean.

The banda has banana leaf outer walls and roof. There is a basic cement block wall inside, with a woven reed mat over the white sand. The hard wood furniture is solid and substantial. For a bit of security, I brought a Pack-Safe woven steel reinforced bag that I put our laptops and camera in while we are out, locking it with a stainless steel cable to the heavy furnishings. Passports and money are in the safe, but it isn’t big enough for all the tech gear.

After a bit of unpacking, we checked out the club house, and ordered cokes and an order of nice vegetable samosas (Indian snacks like a spring roll, but in triangle shape). I took a short nap at high tide, while Anya explored the beach.

Later, I explored the beach while Anya did her nails and put on some new polish on the porch of the banda. As some of you can imagine, the beach is a bit cleaner now. I walked back and forth in front of our banda picking up trash that had floated ashore. Anya thinks I’m crazy to do this on vacation, but I’m happier having made the world a little more beautiful.

I’m sitting now in the clubhouse, with an idyllic view of the ocean, as palm trees wave gently in the breeze. There is complimentary coffee, tea, and drinking chocolate throughout the day. We both partook of the latter. It is warm, but not unbearable, as the breeze keeps it nice as well as keeping the bugs away.

Anya remembered a corner of the clubhouse, where I read to her a Frog and Toad book and a puzzel. Wow! She was 4 years and 4 months old! She doesn’t remember the banda or the beach, but does remember the reading corner!

I was able to talk with the woman who coordinates the water activities. We will join another family going snorkeling tomorrow morning at 8:00 am, after slathering on the sun screen!

Dinner is at 7:30 pm, followed by an attempt to update this blog as there was no wifi possible earlier when the power was out. I’m tired. Off to sleep!

WE HAVE A LIMITED WIFI CONNECTION. PHOTOS WILL BE ADDED LATER.
We were treated to Swedish pancakes (like crepes) for breakfast, and then loaded up our bags. We are traveling a bit heavy, but I separated the beach and travel clothes from the stuff that we could leave behind. But where would we leave it behind? While we are going to stay with Nashesha’s family, it is not in the center of town. I hope to have a simple collection of it at the end of our beach trip. Fortunately, when we went to pick up our bus tickets for tomorrow, the Serengeti Select office was willing to stash our bag for the few days, as providentially, their office is open on Saturday morning, and we’ll be staying in the neighborhood and meeting friends for lunch next door to the office. Some of these logistics are working so well, I know that these are due to the kindness of friends and the prayers of my dad and others.
Bethany is an amazing woman. She has raised twin boys and a girl in the middle of the bush, off the grid, and sometimes without water in the pipes. I love talking with her, as we have similar hearts to help constructively. However, she faces never-ending request for help. Each request requires understanding of the culture and great wisdom. Each request is a discernment process to prioritize needs and figure out who to help, when to help, how to help, and sometimes when not to help. The resources are always limited, and the Friberg’s philosophy is generally not to give 100% handouts. For church projects, the community has to come up with 50% of the resources and partner with the mission teams for building. This creates ownership and relationships.
On the road trip to Arusha, we talked about the beading mama project, Napok, that she coordinates for 57 women. These Maasai women have just secured land from the community. This is HUGE! Maasai women are not allowed to own land or cows. The incremental steps toward empowerment is so exciting for me. Bethany relayed that some of her women now have little huts on market day and sell tea and a little food. This they have done on their own initiative after learning that they can make some money through their own efforts. These are small steps financially, but in terms of self-agency, they are dramatic!
We also talked about the children we have helped to get into school and sponsor. Bethany has some great connections with vocational programs, and I think that this may be a better option for some of the evangelist’s children. However, the management of the school fees and progress reports is still too complicated right now.
We had Mama Laiser and her grandson with us. She is a manager in the bead project and has been critical for its continued growth through faithful bookkeeping with Bethany. Even when the drought hit so badly in 2009, there was income from the beads that help sustain families.
We stopped at her daughter’s house in Longido to drop of the grandson with her mother, Elisipha. I helped Elisipha get into Catholic University of East Africa in Nairobi area to earn her bachelor’s degree. She continued on and earned a master’s degree in Uganda, but now is looking for work. We also met her 10-month-old son while we had chai in her home. It is wonderful to see these young women develop. Life still isn’t easy, such as limited employment, but they are managing to thrive.
Bethany suggested that we call the sister-in-law, Maria, who was the Head of School at MGLSS when we were there. She is now also a widow and living in Ketumbeini. If I didn’t bring a greeting to Maria, then it would not be good for Bethany who didn’t make it happen when we were in the area. It was good to greet her and give her a blessing.
After dropping off Mama Laiser, we continued to our host family. Nashesha is a friend of Anya’s. She spent one year close to us with a cousin’s family when she was 13 years old! We did several things together, which was great fun for both of them. She is a fine young woman, who is eager to start the International Baccalaureate at the International School this fall.
After some lunch, Bethany took me to town to get my bus tickets (and drop my big duffel bag). I road along as she did her errands, which is always easier to do with two people in Arusha. I watched the left side of the car for left hand turns. Crazy motorcycle drivers are hard to see as they try to pass on the left. Having me in the car keeps things safer while Bethany ran into offices and did various tasks. Doing errands in Arusha is always exhausting, and it is nice to have company. I’m glad I could help, as Bethany has been so helpful for us during our stay.
We did some creative things with embroidery thread with Nashesha and her neighbor friend. We also saw her dad’s rammed earth walls that he’s making. Her dad, Erik, owns an Internet Service Provider, whose largest client is the UN in Arusha, but he is an innovative builder. During our last visit, we saw a house he was building from bricks made on his property that had a vaulted ceiling. The engineering was fascinating and the aesthetic was beautiful.
Erik is also a bicycler (and Nashesha is too, as she bikes to and from school). So, his family also hosts traveling bicyclists through the “Warm Showers” network. During our stay, Peter from London, was being hosted. Peter also has hosted Warm Showers travelers when he was in Mwanza for 3 years on a British development project in education. They told stories about the people they hosted. Erik’s family has hosted 22 families from all over the world, including a family (French?) with a 10-year-old daughter who biked up from South Africa!
We sat around listening and telling stories and talking the whole night. This was aided by the fact that the Internet router was down, so we couldn’t send emails or post on the blog. What a pleasant evening with new friends.

WE HAVE LIMITED WIFI. PICTURES WILL BE ADDED LATER.

The second night was worse for me. My left hip was tender from the previous night without a sleep pad, so I had limited positions, especially as Anya and I were somewhat sharing her rectangular but lighter sleeping bag while we put our feet in my heavier mummy bag, covering us both with it. However, it was another glorious morning as the sun rose, shining into our tent with a view of the valley 5000 feet below.

We had a later start, as Steve didn’t plan any more buffalo viewing and we shared a Sabbath time of reflection and prayer. He did have a “short” hike planned, and amazingly Anya was game to go along. I thought she would prefer to stay, but she repeated Steve’s plan of half hour out and back without any stinging nettles. And that is what we did, hiking along buffalo trails on the top of a narrow ridge at the highest point of the mountain. We could see over the valley and toward Gelai mountain, also at about 9,000 feet. It was a bit longer than the half hour, and the nettles were minimal, but still, it was not Anya’s preferred morning. Again, she did it and made it work.

We returned to get our gear hidden in the bushes and hiked through the waist-high grass to the top of the descent trail. It seemed steeper going down, but we made it to the village where the pipe from the mountain spring feeds a spigot and a livestock watering trough. We filled our water bottles and drove off.

Because we left the house without water, we figured that we should at least wash our feet and lower legs at one of the water spigots. So, down the mountain, we stopped by where all the young women were filling buckets with water. They were kind to share a bucket with us. I dunked my head in the bucket and then proceeded to cup water out of it to wash my filthy legs.

Steve helped a few people out with a ride for an old Maasai man and hauling bags of maize (corn) for a couple people. Having a vehicle in a rural area can be a huge blessing, but it also is a challenge to know how to help. We also gave cups of water to shepherd boys out in the dry, dusty land.

When we returned home, we were glad to see that there was water in the pipes, so we each showered, but with one layer of dirt removed from our hair and legs.

Bethany suggested that I wash anything that we need for the next few days, but I said let’s first get people through the showers to make sure there is enough water, and there was. So, I washed a few things, and Bethany showed me how she washes shoes to get the layers of grime and buffalo poop off. I think she was concerned that we’d look like vagabonds on the bus the day after tomorrow.

We had a tasty dinner of rice and lentils with a tomato and avocado salad, before I worked to repack things into two groups: 1) needed for beach and travel and 2) not needed.

I fell asleep after realizing that I needed to make a couple adjustments on the packing. I’ll need my PacSafe security bag for Pangani (a bag that has embedded steel wire and lockable to an object with a stainless steel cable, which isn’t totally secure, but will deter opportunistic thieves).

(Wageni means strangers or guests. The dual meaning always says to me that a stranger is a guest you haven’t had the chance to get to know yet.)

In Africa, the best laid plans rarely come to fruition. Today, things went amazingly well. Everything that I hoped to do happened and there were three additional meaningful visits.

I joined the students for morning prayer. There has been some disobedience, so there was some punishment. I don’t know what went on, but I trust the leadership to respond wisely. I talked a bit with Dr. Msinjili and we arranged to meet the math teacher that has been supported by Cross of Christ at chai time. However, I relayed that I’m expecting a visit from Pastor Nangole, so if he comes at chai time, I won’t be there. Indeed, Pastor Nangole arrived just before chai time. I sent Anya up to the administration building with a message letting them know of my delay. I had a nice visit with Nangole, who invited me for dinner. I regretted to inform him that I had plans to meet for dinner, but I could come afterwards for some chai. He would send his car to pick me up from Monduli town.

After he left, I went to the administration building and met the teacher. He is an enthusiastic young man with a love of teaching. He shared his philosophy of teaching math, and I was very encouraged. He is highly committed to the students and puts in additional time after class to help the students. I am eager to hear of the national exam scores in the future, as it sounds like they will dramatically increase.

Math here is very tough. As there are few government university scholarships, the exams are made to weed people out. One visitor when I was here, Carl Bennett (now with Jesus), was the statistician for the Manhatten Project, and he taught at Princeton. He looked at the Form 6 National Exam and said that he thought that only 50% of his math major students would get better than 50% on the exam—the 13^th year of formal education, as our senior in high school is the 13^th year of formal education including kindergarten. However, math is a gatekeeping subject. If students do not get a satisfactory mark in math, they can’t earn a “division 1” in their national exams, even if they ace their other subjects. So, math is important for all students.

Next, one of my former students greeted me. She is using her education in a pretty good job, however, she is a single mother and the father is not helping with any support for the child. The father has a very good job, but there is no teeth to the laws on the books that require paternal support. Single mothers are very often abandoned to scratch together a life for themselves and their children. I prayed for her, and encouraged her to seek help for the laws to be enforced.

I was then able to find Ciwila who took me to see the cows that my church had purchased for the school in order to provide milk for the chai. Milk is very important for the Maasai. It is the main staple of their diet. They have 9 cows total, but some are calves. Dr. Msinjili said that they will have a visitor tomorrow who will discuss the options for bio gas for the school. However, the cows are a bit far from the kitchen (which makes sense), so they have to see what is possible.

The coffee beans were also drying in the sun. The harvest isn’t very good this year, and the prices aren’t very high I hear. Still, there will be some income.

I returned to some packing for tomorrow’s departure, when Rebecca came with lunch. Rebecca is a joy to have around. She had help along, and we shared a Kvikk Lunsj, Norwegian chocolate that Marta gave us as a going away present.

I asked Rebecca about the prices for the dala dala (the “public” transportation, where 21 people are crammed into a 15 passenger van) to Messerani. The price is 700 shillings. However, she encouraged us to use her taxi driver and negotiated a price for him to drive us 14 km, hang out for 2 hours, and drive us back. The cost was about one-third of the price of the taxi in Norway, where we went 14 km in about 14 minutes.

Prior to Rebecca’s taxi pick up, we were saying goodbye to her with a big hug and a gift to support her new bakery, just as Diana and Nelson showed up to greet us. Just then, Evangelist Marko called to ask us where we lived. We arranged for Rebecca’s taxi to bring Marko here, which was perfect serendipitous timing!

Diana was our helper while we were here. She has the closest story to Cinderella that I know in real life, up to the point of the fairy godmother. She is an orphan who went to live with her aunt, but while her cousins were funded to go to secondary school, she wasn’t. Now, we support her son in an English medium primary school here, as this seemed to be a way to support an orphan and single mother. With an educated son, she will have a better future. Diana brought gifts of African fabric (khangas) for both Anya and me. They are both doing well. This is wonderful news. The son, Nelson, was translator for us today, and did a very fine job. Diana and Marko know just a bit of English, I know a bit of Kiswahili, so Nelson was a blessing for the afternoon. We had fun with memories of when Anya was little. I had ordered some of Rebecca’s cookies, which we ate, and I sent the rest home with Nelson and Marko.

Marko’s son, Richie, is a 9-year-old with special needs. I’m not sure exactly, but a friend guessed that it is a cerebral palsy from a very high fever. I don’t know, but I know that the care for people with special needs is important. So, Richie is in a special needs school. Marko relayed that he is gaining capacity in self-care, and they are so pleased that he is able to attend this school. Marko was also a friend of Eric’s, so I am so pleased that Richie is supported with Eric’s memorial scholarship.

After they went off, we had just enough time to get ready for our taxi pick up. Musa is a safe driver, in a nice car; it even has seat belts! Our destination is the Snake Park. Think of a campground, an 18 wheeler repair shop, a highway bar, and the Reptile Gardens in a Giligan’s Island meets Africa motif! The South African owners, BJ and Lynn, are worthy of a book!

We arrived at the Snake Park just a couple minutes before Sarah arrived with her three girls (aged about 3 to 7) and Elizabeth (from our airport pick up).

Each of Sarah’s girls ran up to Anya and greeted her by name and with a big hug. They are adorable! The youngest took to Anya right away, and they rode the camel together, while the oldest two rode the other camel together. (Unfortunately, the pictures are on Anya’s phone that isn’t easily accessible.)

Sarah is one of the most amazingly gifted people with inter-personal communication skills that I have ever met. She is a dual citizen of Australia and New Zealand. When we lived in Tz, we would regularly go to the Snake Park on Friday evenings for burgers and pseudo group therapy. Sarah also worked in Monduli at the center for physical rehabilitation that specialized with children with skeletal fluorosis, where the naturally-occurring fluoride in volcanic soils supplants the calcium in bones and causes multiple mini-fractures in the legs of toddlers. It is corrected by surgery, plaster casts, and lots of tender loving care. Her work continues with the Plaster House in Arusha. Her husband, is in South Africa trying to buy an airplane, so he wasn’t with us tonight.

We also missed Jean and Marv this night. This group was our core community during our Monduli days. Sarah said tonight that she couldn’t have survived without it. She added, “This is Africa,” with an entirely different meaning than when the power and water go out and the plans never work right. In this sense, it is an interdependency that holds us; beauty and goodness in the midst of what often seemed to be chaos and frustration. Tonight we commemorated our community and celebrated our friendships.

Musa’s taxi then took us to the Monduli Lutheran Church, where we met Nangole’s son, who drove us up the mountain to Nangole’s home. It was a casual time of chai and fruit as we talked about his wonderful retirement celebration, the church in the North Maasai District, our Cross of Christ Lutheran mission team, the new Lutheran university branch coming to Monduli this September, and the Maasai Research Group this past semester in Norway, as well as other things. Pastor Nangole prayed for us, and then his son drove us home.

Today was Africa, in the best sense.

Tomorrow, we go to Maasaini, and we don’t expect to have Internet access until the 27^th. So, keep us in your prayers, as we hope to be a blessing as we stay with Dr. Steve and Bethany Friberg and their daughter, who is a friend of Anya. They plan to take us hiking and camping on Mt. Ketumbeini.

With blessings,

Beth