Packed Ten Days

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Nice Visits to Machame,Arusha,Marangu Palliative Care and Marangu Book Club

Your Taste of beauty at Jackie Brice-Bennett's home.....

After all my musings about language 10 days ago, I was happy to spend a beautiful day in Machame with Vera and her family where we visited her family home, had a delicious lunch and spent the afternoon walking up to a beautiful church and down through scenic paths.  We were passing by a huge funeral ceremony for a prominent family and heard the story of how the rich son improved the road to his house just for the funeral ceremony.  And though the son was rich, the father who had died continued to make local mbege (home brewed beer for sale) Quite a contrast. John on the other hand was terrified that it might rain, and the small drive to Vera’s moms house would have been quite treacherous if the rain had come down. 

Vera's family

Vera and Edwin

Vera staying cool on walk

Bob and Monty chatting at Vera's family home

Bob's ELCT Palliative Care builds a home for "Shida" a mentally ill man

Bob has many stories ALWAYS!

What Cute Sisters.....Vera with her sister from DAR

Everyone knows I love Pub pictures!  look at this...there was no street!

I really was there, but will have to post me later!

Pretty awesome grave....PrayGod Mushi (not uncommon names)

 Indeed it did look like rain, thus while we were enjoying the walk, John was looking at black thundering sky and imagining our RAV4 slipping and sliding all the way down the steep hill.  As it turned out, after we left, the sky cleared and the mountain came out.  It was a great day with our guests and Vera’s family.

Ok Ok, it did not rain here is Machame and the mountain

On Sunday, I attempted to play my bass recorder in church.  It was fun, but sadly, the piano drowned out the bass so it looked like I was just fingering something and breathing intently.  In one way it was good because I forgot during a 4 sharp piece, that “D” is the fourth sharp, and kept wondering why my bass and the piano sounded very wrong.  Finally on the last verse I figured it out and nice and loudly played all the notes right, but yet not to be heard.  After church it was fun when several children came up to me and asked me to play something on it.  I did and finished with “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”.  In any language that is a favorite, and the children were laughing and laughing.

My sweet bass

In the afternoon, I took the dreaded trip to Arusha to visit with Shoonie Hartwig, a just amazing lovely woman who runs a program called “Mwangaza” there (this is loosely translated as sort of “shining light”).  She has been running or involved with the program for nearly 20 years. It is a program that trains teachers to really understand their subjects and learn to teach.  They use a good curriculum and often have volunteers who come from the states to help, but now mostly Tanzanians are doing the teaching.  Shoonie is a remarkable woman who many of my Friday Morning Music Study Club members know from her days at Duke University, and at Church of the Abiding Savior.  Her husband was recruited to Duke by my father in the history department and thus the whole family were embraced by my family.  Amazing how time travels, but you can pick up where you left off and have meaningful and lovely conversations.

Wow-this is a long blog but so much was happening.  Anna Massawe (head of Palliative Care here at KCMC) Cynthia (Palliative Care Health Care Dispensary, Australia volunteer) and I went to Marangu to visit a terminally ill patient with rectal cancer.  This was an amazing trip.  The woman had a colostomy, bed sores and was in terrific pain.  I had managed to find colostomy bags at ONE pharmacy in town.  I went everywhere trust me on this one!  They had to be cut to fit and none of us were very clear about how to cut them.  The remarkable thing to me was that one of this lady’s sons had been helping her, and he had, in fact, been bathing her and changing her bag.  I was stunned that the house was neat and clean and that this poor family had prepared lunch for us!  Can you imagine.  Very moving day.

One pharmacy (not the main one) had colestomy supplies

First Road to Turn!

African Hospitality=2 to 3 weeks money for this family

Husband is a pastor who has 2-3 churches to mind

water bottle with green is morphine

Anna Cynthia and patient

Anna cuts the bags

Patient helps with the bag even though in pain

Team for the Day

 One big highlight for the past 10 days was being invited to one of the Moshi Book Clubs.  The book being read was “Death Comes To Pemberley”, one of PD James’ last books. This book club was held at Jackie Brice Bennett’s home and what a beautiful beautiful setting.  While PD James’ detective novels are high on my list, this one was lower, except that it is what it is….British, and with the linkage to Pride and Prejudice, a novel that as a teenager I loved, and will forever confuse Darcy with Colin Firth.

Get married here????

Jackie's garden

Orchids of unknown names (for me, not Jackie)

beautiful view to house

I call these Faux Bananas....they are beautiful

Some Book Club members

But Jackie’s flowers, birds and landscaping are amazing. And her hospitality was just incredible.  We had tea as well as lunch and I am sure I gained 10 lbs right there!  Her staff are so nice, so it was a perfect day.  I enjoyed the company tremendously even if I am such a Southern American!!!!!  We all know that 15% of book club is talking about the book, and the rest is just talking.  I miss book clubs!  And a big shout out to my dear Terrie who was very anxious about a sick horse (who is still sick), but who took me up to Marangu anyway.  Everyone who reads this, please deliver mantras of “Get Well Penelope” .  There are so many issues for horses in this area and Penelope is a favorite at the stables.

Weddings are fun, and here is our lifeline in Moshi, Rose, Lucy Pauli and cute cute Jonathon

It is hard to believe that we leave in two weeks.  It is bitter sweet for me.  I look forward to seeing my granddaughters, but sincerely cannot imagine waking up in a bed that is not my Moshi bed.  The peace and calm here is so different….