vacation

Yep, we took a vacation, and it was spectacular. Our dear friend Joanna came to see us for three weeks, and it was excellent: we spent time on the beach in Zanzibar, we spent time in our village, and we went on an amazing safari to Ngorongoro Crater and Tarangire National Park (highlights: we saw rare black rhinos, lions, elephants, zebras, warthogs, hyenas, giraffes, wildebeest, flamingos, and ostriches). We took LONG bus rides with chickens at our feet (and occasionally on our laps), got clothes made in our village, ate ugali (the staple food of Tanzania, which is corn flour cooked with water--like polenta, only flavorless), baked a cake on our charcoal stove, shopped in the markets, got henna tattoos in Zanzibar, bought beaded jewelry from Maasai women, slept in a FANCY tented camp after our safari, and swam in the Indian ocean: a perfect holiday, minus one extremely clever thief who stole our camera bag from right above our heads on the bus. It was so fun to see Tanzania through the eyes of a visitor--and show off our Swahili language skills. Everyone was healthy and happy throughout, including our favorite Peace Corps friend, Stephanie, who was with us for Zanzibar and the safari. Check Tony's blog in the next month or so--he'll post pictures.

Pipi the kitten is doing extremely well; plans are already underway for bringing her home with us when we finish our work in Tanzania. Some Peace Corps friends just took their dog back with them when they finished their service, and they said it was extremely easy.

Tony and I have two new counterparts who we'll be working with on projects in the future; my counterpart is named Renfrida (or Mama Cocu, as she's called in our village), and Tony's counterpart is named Madinda. They are really motivated and excited to work together, particularly within the schools and with our fellow villagers, which is exciting for us. They were both doing volunteer work with hiv/aids before we arrived in Kibakwe, so I think we'll all work well together. We are taking a break from our dudes, who have been unmotivated and largely absent for the last few months; we need a breath of fresh air. We are all together in Morogoro right now for a Peace Corps workshop which starts tomorrow; as always, I'll keep you posted.

There is a bit of drama in Mpwapwa right now, but nothing to be alarmed about. Within the last 6 or 7 months rubies and sapphires were discovered in some mountains close to Kibakwe. As a result, LOTS of strangers are passing through and/or settling in Mpwapwa and Kibakwe these days: people from other countries who have come to buy the stones, and Tanzanian miners who have come to dig these stones and make a LOT of money selling them to the foreigners. Because we're foreigners, too, the miners who don't know us think we're there to buy the stones like all the other foreigners. There has been an increase in robberies, and the price of everything has skyrocketed. So far Tony and I have been safe, and we're very well liked in our village, so I'm hoping our fellow villagers will keep looking out for us. Things in our area are changing every single day--it's like a gold rush, and I'm extremely concerned about the very realistic possibility of hiv rates rising as a result of all the transient people with spare change in their pockets (men far from home + extra money=prostitution opportunities). A serious health threat, no doubt. Stay tuned.