Am I Really Retired

Kilimanjaro behind KCMC Hospital

After the past week, I do not feel retired and I'm ready to go back to being retired!  It was wonderful but incredibly busy and filled with new information, dinners, visits to our wonderful carver, a concert, a graduation for our Moshi Youth CAB members who have reached aged 26 and above and finally the 15th year of hashing in Moshi.  It was exhausting.

The week began with the arrival of Scott who is the nephew of old friends in Durham.  He is doing a project in Iringa (many hours away) but wanted to see Moshi, and to attend the workshop.  It was wonderful to have him and his friendliness and energy made everyone comment about him.

Trish is the short one

The Socio-Behavioral Health Symposium was very interesting.  I do not think that in two days I saw a bad presentation.  So much information is being researched and so many new ideas are coming from young investigators who are linking HIV and mental health, behavior changes, medical adherence, etc.  I was so proud of our Community Advisory Board who attended the conference and had many questions.  They care about their community and about the general health of it and have many ideas about how to change things, and how they might be able to implement some of the research that was presented.

Same picture, two views.  If you are ever asked to take a big group shot for your own sanity's sake, say "no"!  I have done the photography for this symposium for years and I have never gotten everyone in the picture.  You say, "turn to the camera" they turn the other way, you say "short people in front"  and so many believe that they are not short!  You say, "squeeze together" and more and more add themselves to the edges.  Next year the picture venue has to change, and someone else has to be the dictator.  I'll just snap the photo.  Even trying to get everyone to come join in the picture was impossible, but then later, they say, "aren't we going to have another group shot?"  ARGH!

As I said, lots of new information was presented and our Moshi Health CAB were no different.  This time they were talking about the pros and cons of monthly ARV injections.  Just how they would feel as young people if they were to take any shot once a month (and it had to be on time).  They were terrific and the speakers spoke with passion and their interpreters were supportive and wonderful.

Here are pictures of the MEPI Team (Medical Education Partnership Initiative)  who are out for a night of nyama choma (grilled meat) at our favorite restaurant, Mkulima (Farmer Restaurant).  The group was congratulating themselves for living through a week of Charles (that actually is not true).  They love to get together and everyone loves the mbuzi (goat) kuku (chicken) ndizi (grilled banana) and salad there. It was also a relief as they work towards a new grant that helps all of them and the University.

This truck was parked right in front of the restaurant.  I think everyone felt as if they were carrying an abnormal load after eating huge amounts of food at Mkulima.

I am a lucky member of a new Moshi Community Choir, and no, this is not the Moshi choir, it is a choir from Mwika (a small community farther up the mountain) who joins with the Moshi Community Choir.  I forgot to give my husband my camera so only this group is featured.  We are not a big group, but enthusiastic and we have a lot of fun.  Miss Mary, is not a Miss, but she (not featured here) is an incredible musician a tireless smiler, and a really accomplished cellist.  Though it started typically late, it was fun and we had a huge crowd.  Blow me over!

A crown crane in its infant stages.  It will be painted!

A rough piece of ebony.  If you look just in the middle, you will see where he carved just the top wood off and where the black wood lies underneath-very dense wood

A fountain lady and a cheetah (I think)  all built from concrete and metal coils

Rough outline of a woodpecker (just started work on it)

My friends Lisa, Terrie, Carol and I took an afternoon to go to see my favorite carver Lawi Mushi.  I have shown pictures of him in the past and here is one of him and John.

Lawi is in my opinion a creative genius who carves from his soul, much more than from what is ordered.  We have ordered many things from Lawi, and they have been fantastic, but we love to visit his humble surroundings.  He is currently building a little garden by his house, just for his and his family's enjoyment.  The trip began because Lawi called me completely out of the blue just to see if I were still around!  I couldn't believe it, as I think that it has been about 3 or 4 years since we visited.  I was so excited and rounded up the friends to go to his house.  I promise not to wait 3 or 4 years again.  I want to see his garden all finished, and of course I might have to have him carve me a very small ngiri (warthog) just for the occasion.

We also visited the Marangu Hotel, a place that is my peaceful home away from home.

Beers taste much better at Marangu Hotel

As much as it seems that the week should be over, there was still the graduation of the Moshi Health Youth CAB members who had reached the grand old age of 26.  We have about 25 younger and 26 older so we decided that the issues and discussions were becoming more difficult because of the age differences.  And, the younger kids saw that graduation was a really fun thing.  We had some good discussions, and Dr. Peter gave out candy for members telling one thing that they had learned in Youth CAB.  Pictures were shared and certificates given.  And one of the graduating members made delicious bites!  So proud of her for coming up with a little income generating business and saving us the headache of ordering bites from somewhere else.  Wonderful Stella.
My love and respect lie with this project, but Sister Bona and I have been together since I first came to Moshi.  She does a fantastic job in outreach and gives so much additional time for the Community Advisory Boards that she deserves a special place in heaven.  Tragically our picture together makes me look like an escapee from a mental institution, but Bona looks exactly like Bona.

Sister Bona and me!

The other person without whom the project would not work is Ema.  Lots of my friends know Ema and the entire board of Global Connections for Change has met and talked to Ema.  He is tireless in his job with SIMAMA as an NGO that helps mothers find ways to care for their children in more healthy ways and helps them to start businesses that can stabilize the family, and he is tireless with the Moshi Health Youth CAB.  He has been the Youth representative to IMPAACT (an NIAID National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases) for a number of years and is eager to bring knowledge back to his our two groups.  Ema will graduate, but be a leader and continue coordinating.  He gives courage to the young members (13+) and communicates on a regular basis with their caregivers to let them know that they are in safe hands with our group.

Ema and Trish with Dr. Peter

But wait! The weekend was not over.  We still had a hash (this is a group who are described as drinkers who have a running problem) on Sunday.  The Kilimanjaro Hash House Harriers was founded by Greg Emmanuel 15 years ago and he has nearly single handedly  kept it going. Hashes as I have explained previously, are where a "hare" finds a location that would be fun to run/walk for about 5 kilometers, and sets a trail with flour.  There are giant X's where the trail ends for a while and you have to locate the start of the flour again.  There can also be false trails which hares love to set and runners/walkers hate to see.  For our group (with young and old, various states of fitness) it can be really grueling.  This last weeks was one for the books. I guess it is appropriate that it was  the 15th year.  (personally I think the lost hasher until midnight, my unfortunate crash with a boy on a bicycle, and a broken femur were pretty significant ones as well)  There were river crossings, Acacia Trees everywhere, and quite a few very lost souls.  (full disclosure-John met me after the Acacia attack and said that I could not do the second water crossing which was a very wise decision on his part).  But it was lots of fun as always to get together and this was the first that I had attempted in two years so I feel that I have made progress even as I age.

beautiful old baobaob tree

Lawyer Ralph greeting John. (Ralph did lock his keys in his car and it was quite a job to jiggle the lock undone. Thanks Bob!)

The 15th year t-shirts are introduced

Greg showing off son's 5th year T-shirt.  (Nikoli would have been 6 then)

These were the last folks to make the first water crossing (and you always realize that if you cross once, you have to cross again--on this hash there were two (or 4 depending on the way you looked at it.)  The river was just past my knees so it was tough.

This was only part of my body with Acacia spikes in it.  Every time you got one out the branch would grab another, but the best were the ones in my rear end that our priest had to get out.  I teased him about taking selfies of this procedure but it was all a joke.  The nice thing is that they heal quickly and I have just one bruised upper arm today.(they hurt like hell when you get them).

Bob and John

Aat and John

When everyone was accounted for, we heaved a sigh of relief for all of the group got lost in one way or another, except Nikoli and two of his friends who ran with one of the young men who had helped to set the trail.

On our way home we saw several of the evil Acacia Trees (sorry for the dirty windshield)  And I just imagined it about 5-6 feet shorter hugging my rear end.

Wonderful Baobaob with out many leaves

some heron or ibis blocking the road home

We arrived safely, and now the week has started again!  Moshi is a place that is unique, and perhaps some people do not like it, but this is not true of the Bartletts!