Week One in Moshi...Work Fun and all

Our new Rooster, Magic (Johnson!)

Amazingly, the trip from the US to Moshi was good.  Somehow, we lucked out in Amsterdam and were reseated on the big 777.  It is a great plane, with comfortable seats.  Imagine that!  We were actually able to sit for the 9 hours without getting “bed sores” and to survive the full trip in tact.  When we got off the plane, the Tanzanian cool breeze of winter’s end reminded us of why we love to come back to Moshi. 

The customs’ officers gave us a break and we breezed through thanks to our Kenyon son Charles, and our travel to our home was easy.  There is so much new building on the way.  One would think that prosperity is blooming in Kilimanjaro, but sadly, the building belies the reality of the world.  The rich here, too, are getting richer, while the poor are much much poorer.  Prices are high in everything especially food, and with poor rains for the whole year, it is clear that the average person is going to suffer greatly.  Corn, instead of being harvested, just limply hangs in the fields, brown and dried up.  Cows are thin, though goats look delighted because they are eating all the dried up corn.

The days are already busy.  Pauli & Lucy decided to invest in chickens and they are fabulous.  They had also rebuilt our coop, moved it to a different location to make sure that the disease that killed the others won’t affect new ones.  And our new ones are fabulous.  I have been able to name the rooster (Magic after Magic Johnson), for sure my black and white hen will be “Chumvi na pilipili” (Salt & Pepper), Angel for the white one, Blue Heaven for the funny bluish one, Malika for the Black one and I am still thinking about my brown one.  Though silly, I find comfort in giving these chickens names.  They are settling into their new home. John and I think that the activity of chickens around the house may provide snake protection, and for that I would be happy!

The Kuku Girls in their new home

I was fortunate to be able to visit our great Duke Students in Mwika (or as I know now, Mrimbo Uuwo) where we had a nice visit and I congratulated them on the fantastic work that they had done during their nearly 8 weeks on the ground.  Kathleen, Brandon, and Joy not only entered patient records electronically, INCREDIBLE, taught a person how to continue the job and made a manual for how to keep it going, but also did community assessments and held seminars all over the Mwika area to provide feedback and some small prevention advice to the community.  The seminars were well attended, and the communities are begging for more!  I cannot wait to read their report.  Neha as usual is doing incredible work with her young primary and secondary students and clearly has earned tremendous respect in the area.  I wish we could clone her.  Just one sentence grabbed my attention yesterday. “The parents I talk with say that they used to see so many kids around on the roads during the day, drinking and just hanging out, but now there are no kids around, they are all in The Program”.  The program is the mentoring program that she and Katya started last year which has now grown in size, meets 5 days a week, and provides tutoring to both the secondary students and primary, as well as peer mentoring for the primary students 2 days a week.  Now the goal is to make it sustainable.

Brendon Kathleen Neha Me!  In Mwika

Last night John and I went to a wonderful Tanzanian wedding where one of our brightest medical students was married.  It was fabulous, though I think John provided quite a bit of comedy with his dancing. (no way to really describe it.)  The MC thanked the Wazungu Wazee (White old people) for coming to the dance floor. John and Sister Julitha from our clinic were given a lovely cake in honor of the KCMC-Duke project support for Michael.  There was a lot of laughter, probably at our mercy! The evening blended of all walks of people from our gardener to high-ranking officials.  Terrific time. And then Sunday we had one of our fabulous hashes, which as always lived up to our expectations.  It is a nice way to relax after a hard week. Be forewarned though Moshi-ites.  The police have a new speed gun between Moshi and Machame, and they caught us going 64K in a 50K speed zone.  As far as I know, no one has ever driven this slowly on the stretch, and I managed to distract the policeman with our new driver's licenses, thus making his speed gun fail!  (While Charles and I saw the speed, he was unable to get it back as he was so fascinated with the fact that we actually have legal licenses which as all my friendly bloggers know I got the hard way!!!)  Bob, John and I talked about what the trip to Dar or Pangani is going to be like if we have to adhere to this 50K/hour.  It might take days to get there!

Elizabeth and Iris, Cutest mom and baby award here!

Charles talking to new Kenyan friends

Bob and John discussing new speed rules

So now on to new adventures in week two. John and Charles will be in Addis for the MEPI meeting, and I will stay on here.  Hope I get caught up a little on sleep.!