Locals

Haha today started out differently! Since it's the weekend, our services weren't required at the orphanage (I mean, I guess they would have been appreciated, but it's our weekend). That means that we got to sleep in. My mom woke up at 9 (I think) and took all of our dirty laundry (or most of it...we have a lot) to the laundry service here at the hotel. Apparently all my boxers were too expensive to wash, so we have to do that in the sink. Great. The rest of us (Ashton, Amy, and I) woke up at 11ish. We sat around for a bit, got dressed, and then headed out. The first place we went to was Kase's Bookstore; a short walk from the hotel. The annoying thing about walking anywhere around the tourist-y areas of town is the fly catchers (the dudes that sell paintings and stuff that "they made"). They offer to help you get somewhere, etc., and try to sell you stuff at the same time. Highly annoying. So anyway, we got to Kase's, and shopped around for some learning books for the kids. I also got a Swahili-English dictionary, and I'm interested in buying a Bible in Swahili (I think it'd be cool). The store itself was very cramped, with nearly every open space filled with books. After the bookstore we walked about 5 shops down to a restaurant called Bamboo. This, too, was a quasi-tourist spot. There were of course many locals, but also a few wazungu (white people). We got lunch foods, except for Ashton, who got French toast. After lunch/brunch we walked back towards the central clock tower, to a grocery store, where we resupplied on water. Also, throughout the week, we've been looking for a big cake to take to the orphanage on our last day. Since there are so many kids there, and since birthdays don't seem to be that big of a deal here, none of the kids has one. So we've decided to throw our own for all of them. The grocery store didn't have any cakes though. After that we headed to this store called "The Tanzanite Experience." Tanzanite is a rare gemstone that is mined here. Many of the Maasai sell it here in town. Apparently this place that we went, The Tanzanite Experience, has a good deal, and an additional discount for TFFT workers. But...it was closed. The town itself is getting ready for the festival/holiday called Saba Saba. It's basically they day that Tanzania was declared a free country. It's on Tuesday, and it should be awesome. So then we continued our walking. Along the way I ran into a friend I've made here named Nixon. He's a local 19-year old who I met on the first or second day. He started walking with us and he and I talked about Swahili, Arusha, etc. He also took us to the soccer stadium here in town. There was an 18-under tournament going on, and we got to watch the second half of one of the games. The stadium itself was pretty ghetto, but the backdrop was awesome. A bit of Arusha and then Mt. Meru in the background. It was cool. After the stadium we kept walking, through the main market at the center of town. We stopped at a few shops, where I got a Tanzanian soccer jersey, before going to a t-shirt store where they sold tons and tons of t-shirts. At this point, Nixon left us (I gave him TZS 1000 for helping us out) and we headed over to Shoprite and the place where we would have dinner. We ate at a place called Ciao Gelato. It is Italian-themed, owned by a German guy, and located in East Africa. That was weird. The food was good (mine wasn't...Mango juice is bad, and they gave me the wrong panini) but the desert was divine. Ashton got vanilla and coffee gelato, while my mom and I both got an iced chocolate. It was chocolate milk, chocolate gelato, and pieces of chocolate on top. Yeah. After that we visited a chocolate shop, where Amy got some desert (non-chocolate, of course), and then got a taxi back to the hotel. So we're here now, in the internet cafe again, winding down for the night. Who knows what the plan is for tomorrow. We may go see a movie tomorrow night, but as far as the day goes, everything is either closed or closes down early on Sundays, so we'll see. Whatever happens though, we're still in Africa, and it's still awesome. Peace.

Maasai Market

Ok, so you've gotten used to the morning routine. We wake up, eat, etc. We are now experienced dalla-dalla riders, so we are able to take those to get out to Fidi Fosi (the road that the "entrance" to Olasiti is on...one of them). It's interesting on our walks to the orphanage...the little kids that run to us only know how to say "Goodbye! Goodbye!" So we got to the orphanage and the kids sang to us, then we did our lessons, etc. My class spent a lot of time outside studying the parts of trees, and then today we also moved on to the sky. We all laid down in the grass (there were thorns...I didn't realize that) and identified clouds, sky, sun, moon, stars, etc. It was lovely. We had lunch there again, too, but this time no beans! Instead there was a mystery meat with rice, which was decent. By the way, as I'm sitting here, there is a Muslim call to prayer. I don't know if I've talked about those yet. If you're unfamiliar with Muslims, they do this 5 times a day. Wait...I have talked about these. Whatever. Google it. It's annoying. So we ate lunch and then walked with Nosim and Mike to the Maasai market. We've realized that "How far of a walk is it?" doesn't get it done here. You have to specify "Africa far" or "America far." These people have been walking their whole lives, so a 45 minute walk (which this one was) seems like a hop, skip, and a jump. Luckily the scenery is very nice (I mean...its Africa. The whole time we've had this huge mountain, Mt. Meru, in the background.) So we walked for about 45 minutes, including a little bit through the huge, 7 foot or so ditches left over from running water during the rainy seasons. Eventually we got to the village outside of the Maasai market. Mike and I reasoned that Olasiti is like a miniature Tanzania. In and of itself it is technically a village, but within there are various groupings of homes, businesses, etc. that have their own names. The Maasai market was obviously not made for white tourists. I mean these were legit Africans doing legit day-to-day business. There were hundreds of goats, which the Maasai buy, sell, and eat (I saw a hairy goat leg cooking over a grill...Mike asked if I wanted some. No thanks; Hapana asante). Additionally there were the clothes they wear (I put on a whole Maasai outfit for a picture...which ended up costing TZS 2500) and the tire sandals. I bought a pair!! They're really cool. Google "Maasai tire sandals" if you want to see them. The girls bought some fabric, and Mike and Nosim bought some food for their families. I tried to buy a Maasai bush sword/machete, but the dude tried to give me the "wazungu (white people) price"...TZS 15000. Mike said no way and instead said he'd give me his (a legit one!!! SICK!) and then go buy another one for the Maasai price (I'll give him the money). After the Maasai market we got on a dalla-dalla with Mike and Nosim (they got off halfway to see a friend) and got off at the main dalla-dalla station (the side of a road). We went to Dolly's Patisserie (spelling?) which we have frequented daily. It is owned by an Arabic lady and her family, and the stuff there is legit, especially the doughnuts. We sat in there and argued about whether or not it was Pepsi's fault that the teeth of Appalachain poor kids have been rotting out since they're addicted to Mountain Dew. I don't know. It was on Oprah or something. Anyway, Ashton and I won the argument against Amy and my mom because we are smarter. So we sat in there until it got close to dark, which of course means we need to get back. We walked back to the apartment (a new one...on top of the one we've been staying in) and watched the only English channel on tv...WWJD TV: diehard Christians...great. Now we're about to eat at the hotel again. Tomorrow and Sunday we don't go to the orphanage. Instead, we'll be walking and shopping around town, and we may go on a hike to one of the waterfalls in Ngorongoro. Who knows. Until next time...kwa heri marafiki yangu.

Another Side of Arusha

Today began like any other. We got up, got ready, ate breakfast, and got a can to the entrance to the village. Oh wait...I forgot to mention about the cab. WE (the Americans) had to tell the cab driver (Tanzanian) how to get through Arusha. SWEET! Of course we knew that place like the back of our hand...we've gone to the orphanage everyday by a new road through the village (Olasiti). So anyway, the driver finally got us to the outskirts. The many roads to the orphanage/village are literally just on the side of the main roads. We started walking, which of course took us like 40 minutes, and eventually got to Matonyok. The walks are always the best part. White people (wazungu) are like aliens in these African villages. I mean, everyone sees us and yells and runs to us...I haven't felt this popular since high school! When we got to Matonyok, the kids had already started their classes (there is a Tanzanian who lives nearby and volunteers as a teacher at Matonyok. We don't think Mike, Emmy, Ndemno, etc. like him all that much, because they rarely talk to him. It's really funny.). I found that the best way to teach the little kids is to keep them active (my mom gave her class some trail mix today). You can only do word sounds for so long before it gets boring. Even for African kids. Yeah...I've had little 3 year old African kids fall asleep in my class; apparently this isn't just an American thing. So for "science" we walked around outside, pointing out leaves, grass, dirt (they call it soil), and the parts of a tree: root, trunk, leaves, branch. They couldn't figure out "branch" for the life of them, but they did get clouds, rain, sunshine, etc. (it was all in English). We left Matonyok before lunch, and Nosim (Mike wasn't there today) walked us to the main road again; another 30 minute walk. During our walk we heard a loud shrieking coming from a house. Nosim casually translated and told us that someone had just died, then went on to tell us that it was one of her dad's (Ndemno) friends. No biggie I guess. We got to the road, and left Nosim, taking our first dalla-dalla ride alone. The guy who does the money tried to short change us TZS 200 (200 shillings...a coin), but Ashton demanded in English that he pay us the money, which he eventually did. It was really funny. We had to get back to our hotel by 3 because Alley and Emily, the two TFFT girls who live here, were picking us up to go to the school that they visit every day, called Usa River (TFFT sponsors some kids who go there. Amy and Ashton also were visiting Richard, a boy that they have been sponsoring from TFFT at Myers Park...TFFT=The Foundation for Tomorrow). To get to the school, we basically took a right where we usually take a left. As newbies, it opened up a new world to us. Instead of busy streets it was tree-lined roads with LINES! I mean, it was still obviously African and poor-ish, but nice nonetheless. Apparently it was the same road we came in on from the airport. The difference between dayAfrica and nightAfrica is ridiculous. The school itself is more of a knowledge compound. There is a gatehouse, a school building, a dining hall, dormitories, a place where teachers sleep, etc. Additionally there is about 5 acres (that we could see) of grassy areas, soccer fields, a basketball court, etc. It was really cool. I played soccer with the kids (using a tennis ball), and of course, learned more Swahili. I actually got into a quasi-argument in only Swahili with a girl about whether or not one of my goals was actually a goal (it was). I purposely called the guys girls, which they all found really funny. I did get really attached to the kids as well (you'll find that in Africa, especially with kids, you get attached to everyone), which climaxed as we were about to get into the car to leave. One of the kids, Prince (his full name is Prince Elvis) ran up to me as I was about to get in the car. All of the kids had been telling me Swahili words the whole time, but I guess he felt this last one was necessary. "Nakupenda...I love you." Yeah...I think I'll be coming back here. So we left and went with Alley and Emily (they have a car, remember) to a restaurant called Stiggy's. It was delicious! To keep us warm, they hung small cauldrons full of softly flaming coals next to us (not as dangerous as it sounds, and very effective). After dinner, the girls dropped us off, and so here we are now. Apparently our apartment is booked for tomorrow, so we have to take the one upstairs, but still the same place, etc. Did I mention that on Monday we will be camping at Matonyok? Apparently no one who comes to Africa camps at a Maasai village. YES! I think we're going to roast marshmallows with the kids. Talk to you tomorrow. Kwa heri.

An Informative and Out of Chronological Order Blog About the General Happenings in Africa

This post doesn't describe a day in particular, just our experiences in general...there may be more of these, so WATCH OUT!

Matonyok itself, as I have said, is the house and grounds of our orphanage. This isn't an orphanage like "Annie," though...it also functions as the house of the family, kids, and grandmothers, as well as the Sunday school. In total, there are 32 kids, 19 of which live in the house. As far as adults go, there is Ndemno (the dad), Emmy (the mom), Mike (the helper and our guide, also my Swahili teacher), Nosim (Emmy/Ndemno's daughter and helper), Emmanuel (they call him "Manuel," he is also a helper and the driver of the Land Rover that should probably be towed away...he speaks very very very little English), Susie (the cook), The Nameless Masai Grandmother (she's 91 and still kicking...literally, or at least beating chickpeas. I know I'm scared), and I think that's it. The Land Rover, by the way, in order to get going, requires that everyone push it down the driveway as Manuel revs the engine. While the family is obviously very poor, at least to our eyes, they are also very efficient. The children all share clothes, are constantly dirty, etc., but always very happy. The current project at the site is this biosomething fuel thing. It's two tanks buried in the ground into which flows mud and the people's waste. This creates a gas that can be used in the house. I mean, other stuff is involved so it doesn't smell like poop all the time, but the idea in and of itself is genius. Everyone loves everyone and they are very loyal to family. They are also very hard workers. Every morning we are given tea, and whenever a guest comes, they greet EVERYONE. Today, the agriculture people came over to check on the chickpeas for some reason, and greeted me as if I lived there. It was really a neat experience.

The city of Arusha is like any other city...except not. There is no traffic lights as far as I've seen, and if there were ever any street lines they have long since been erased. Cars drive on the left (technically), and it's really every man for himself. The other day we came to a section that was under repair, and must have been for some time, because everyone just drove around through the mud. We were in a dalla-dalla (rollercoasters of death, basically) and raced a truck 3 times our size down a bumpy muddy hill to get to the crossing first. AWESOME! (Ashton bumped her head). We think we are going to die every day because really there are no road rules...at all. I don't even know if pedestrians have the right of way, its just whether or not the driver wants to go through the hassle of wiping death off of his car. Everyone sits around and looks like they are doing nothing, while an equally large number have shops that seem to sell all the same stuff. We get hassled in the touristy parts by people called "fly catchers," who try to sell cheap African stuff to wide-eyed white people. Hapana sitaji, rafiki yangu! (No thank you, my friend!) Everything is dirty and crowded, but at the same time, everyone is very very friendly and helpful. Additionally, everyone seems to move slower and more relaxed. For the first few days, Mike would keep telling us to slow down and enjoy everything...a very anti-American ideal. While of course there are many things that America could offer to Africa, or at least Arusha, there are also many, many things that they could offer to us. It's like a modern city (sort of) with traditional ideals. Sweet! Oh yeah, and the Muslims. Apparently Africans don't like Muslims too much, but they live here anyway, and seem to own all the shops. When the ladies walk around in their full-body burkas, it makes the whole place look like Star Wars. 5 times a day (including like 2 o'clock in the morning...ugh) there is the standard call to prayer over the loudspeaker. It wakes everyone up and pisses everyone off, so I guess that is part of the reason why they don't like Muslims too much.

The standard American idea is that everyone wants to rob/hurt you in Africa. Never once have we felt in danger, and only the first few times walking around did we feel uncomfortable. On the contrary, like I've said, everyone is very friendly. So, if you ever come to Africa, pack lightly (I've worn the same outfit, except shirt and underwear, every day. We plan on donating all the stuff we bought for the trip, including clothes, to the orphanage), don't worry about your safety (except at night, because you will die...apparently), and embrace the culture. I know more Swahili after three days than Latin after 7 years. Also, don't do the tourist thing with safari packages, etc. Book a hotel (or an apartment in our case) that doesn't necessarily cater to Americans/white people, and just move around. You'll find it very entertaining sitting there with people from Tanzania laughing at the white people falling out of safari trucks and tripping over camera equipment and bottled water. Mike and I did that today at the cultural center. A white lady and her husband walked by me and I said "Mzungu" to her (it means "white person), to which she replied "Jambo!" (Hello!), I'm sure thinking that she was about as African as Nelson Mandela. So blaze your own trail, or whatever you want to call it. At least thats my opinion.

p.s. dalla dalla's are different...you will always be scared on a dalla dalla, but even so, after a few days you will love it, and when I leave here, it will be one of the things I miss the most.

p.p.s. not every mosquito carries malaria, nor does every piece of food have a deadly disease attached to it.

Wazungu (White People)

Another awesome day in Africa. Per usual, we woke up early, but this time instead of meeting Mike and Nosim, we had had Alley arrange for a cab to take us to the outskirts of Olasiti (the name of the village, remember?). I told the cab driver where to take us, but I had gotten directions from Emmy, who's English sounds a lot like Swahili, so what I wrote down clearly wasn't the right thing (it said Bada Bada Mpia CD Posi...that's what is sounded like when I talked to her). So we got dropped off nowhere near where Mike and Nosim were going to meet us in the village. No worries though...we got to walk through a traditional African village by ourselves and say hey to everyone...like a movie again. By the way, when I say village, don't think like 8 huts around a fire with giraffes and lions roaming on the horizon...there are a lot of huts/houses/shacks, and they are both close together and very spread out; all in all its probably at least several hundred acres...think more like a county, or an area code. Anyway, we walked from where we got dropped off to Matonyok, about 45 minutes. On the way a 17-year old started walking with us, and we communicated in broken English before he left to study at school. We got to Matonyok and were sung to again (apparently this will be a daily thing) before beginning our lessons. I can't speak for the other 3, but I myself taught the youngest kids how to make the "a" sound with works like "man" and "pan," then, after we had a quick recess, we did math outside. I made a plus sign (which could also be turned into a minus sign) and an equals sign out of sticks, and using the kids as number amounts, we did basic math like 1+1 and 6-4...etc. It was a lot of fun, and the kids loved to be picked up. Eventually we had lunch time: chipati, bananas, oranges, ugali, and beans (we had given them money for the market), after which I walked around with the kids while they told me Swahili words for things like rope, stone, stones, etc. We left the orphanage early today, and went with Mike and Nosim to the Cultural Heritage center; basically an Epcot for Safaris. We've realized that when you purchase the safari package, you are basically kept away from the real Africa that we are experiencing...everything for them is very glamourous, clean, expensive, English-speaking, etc. I'm extremely glad that we are doing what we are doing...basically becoming African for 2 weeks, riding dalla-dallas, buying food, negotiating prices, getting dirty, etc. After the Heritage place, we took a dalla-dalla with Mike and Nosim to the center-ish area of town, where they left us to find our way home on our own. Obviously, since I'm typing this, we did just fine. We got back to the hotel, dropped off our bags, and took a cap to a restaurant called "McMoody's." Apparently this is the American restaurant in Arusha. We had hamburgers, pizza, milkshakes, etc., and it was actually all very good. We saw a really funny (in a sad way) sign too...it said "Give to a streetchild today, and there will be two tomorrow." We've also saw a lot of Masai today. Masai is the biggest tribe in this area, and also the most proud. They walk around (most of them) in the traditional bright robes and tire tread shoes (just Google Image 'Africa' or 'Masai' and you'll see) and speak in their own Masai language (the grandma at Matonyok is Masai, so are Mike and Nosim and Ndemno and Emmy...basically everyone, but they don't all wear the clothing). It feels a little bit like Disneyworld, when they walk in to the shops and stuff dressed in their "costumes," although they could easily kill all of us with a twig. Apparently many of them come from their "land" 6 hours away to sell the famous gem tanzanite. We saw some today for $4,000, so they're making bank. So back to the day. We ate at McMoody's and then walked on our own back to the hotel (a quick 4 or 5 or 10 blocks...whatever). Now, we're sitting in the internet cafe communicating with relatives (I'm trying to sell stock). After that I assume that we'll go back to the room, do some Sudoku, maybe play some cards...who knows. If you go out on the street after dark and you are white, you die...or at least thats what the Americans say.

We are Africans!

Today, the second day at Matonyok, was really our first day of school (forget the title from yesterday). We split into teaching the individual standard groups (standards are basically grades, or levels...they use the British system) and began to teach. Ashton and I had the youngest kids, standard 1 I believe. There were 20 of them, but several wandered in and out throughout the day. Amy had 3 kids in standard 2 or 3, and then my mom had the standard 4 kids, of which there were 5. Ashton and I started with some math (basic addition and then an intro to subtraction) before realizing that the kids really had no idea what we were talking about. Eventually we just read stories, learned shapes, sang songs, and did some coloring. After 45 minutes of learning, the kids all get 5 or so minutes of playing outside before going back in to learn again. It was here that I learned the "fun value" of a tire. The kids had tons and tons of fun rolling tires around and letting me push the tires down the driveway into the play area. So then we went back in to learn up until lunch time. For lunch we again had beans and rice, this time with some sort of vegetable topping that Emmy picked from her garden just hours before. My Swahili has picked up a bit to where I can talk to the "groundskeeper" Emmanuel, who speaks very little English. Mike translates the gaps for each of us. After lunch we went with the kids to Learning Space, which is somewhat of a daycare/private school for kids sponsored by rich British people. Apparently when the kids who usually go there are on holiday, or summer, the kids from Matonyok are able to come and play. We all piled in to a huge safari truck that looked and felt much more like an army truck and drove the few minutes to the place. The kids played soccer, jumped on a trampoline, put on costumes, and did some paiting. We stayed there before heading back to Matonyok and then getting ready to go back to the hotel. Mike and Nosim took us again on the dalla-dallas, but this time Mike and I sat up front with the driver and worked a bit more on my Swahili. Mike keeps saying that the best way to learn a culture is to just walk around and talk to people, which he does with us everyday. We took the dalla-dalla to the market, where we had a grocery list from Emmy with things to get for the house. I myself purchased a delicious (kitamu) treat called "gunzi." It's corn that sits over a fire until it's kernels are somewhere between regular corn and popcorn kernels. It was really good. We got back on another dalla-dalla to get to the main part of town, and then with Mike and Nosim we walked to the vicinity of the hotel, upon which they left and we walked the last 2 or so blocks. On the last stretch, some teenager-looking kid named Nixon apparently recognized me, and he and I talked a bit in broken Swahili about how I suck at Swahili. Ah well. Another day in the books. Tomorrow we'll do it all again, although we are planning to go the Cultural Center, apparently a really nice shopping place. Usiku mwema (good night)

School Day

Today was truly Africa. We woke up early so as to meet Alley (not Ali, like I thought yesterday). She is the resident white chick working for The Foundation for Tomorrow. She's been in Arusha/Tanzania for a little over a year now, so she showed us around the grocery store (Shoprite...think Dollar General meets Costco) as well as the bank. She also has a car, so she drove us to the orphanage. The journey to the orphanage was unique in and of itself. I still haven't figured out the layout of this city, so it seems like it's just endless markets and masses of people. We turned off the main drag after some time and took a dirt road. All of the sudden it was like BAM, we were in the Africa that we all see in National Geographic. I'm talking mud huts, people balancing stuff on heads, skinny cows, random dogs, goats, etc. It was beautiful...very rural and self-sustaining. The entire trip felt like an offroad excursion...the road randomly turns into ditches at places, runs over rocks, etc...and Alley was driving us in a little station wagon-type thing. After a couple of twists and turns, we arrived at Matonyok. Originally we thought that Matonyok was a village, so that's what we've been telling our African friends the whole time. No wonder they have no idea where it is...it's actually Emmy and Ndemno's farm/orphanage. Matonyok is their last name, or their family name...however you want to look at it. As soon as we got out of the car we had our hands shaken by dozens of tiny African children. In their broken English they would tell us their name and that it was lovely to meet us. Luckily, we've made name tags that we are distributing tomorrow so that we can remember everyone. At first they were very shy, but when Ndemno (the dad) told them to take us on a tour of the grounds, they opened up. It was just like a movie: four white people with bookbags being escorted by about a dozen African children and a few adults. Originally we were supposed to stay at a guesthouse (a circular brick hut...Masai tradition) that is currently being built on the grounds. Obviously, since it's not finished, we've been staying elsewhere. Reason for the delay: they make their own bricks and cement at the farm! We were led through the many gardens and plots of corn (maize) as well as sunflowers (they use the oil) and chickpeas. They showed us the brand new bathrooms that they had built as well as the water system they had set up. The house itself doubles as a school and on Sundays, a Sunday school for the kids. There are currently 19 kids living there, with a total of 32 attending class during the day. Many of the kids are orphans, a few are street kids that Emmy and Ndemno have taken in, one has cerebral palsy and is paralyzed on one side, and one is HIV positive. Additionally, Emmy and Ndemno's daughter, Nosim, volunteers there when she isn't working at another school, as well as a lady named Susie who does all the cooking (the kitchen is an outdoor fire pit). There are two men, Emmanuel and Mike, as well as another man (don't know his name) who is a volunteer teacher there. Also in the house is the 91 year old grandmother who only speaks Masai. We thought she was bed-ridden, but when we were walking around later we saw that she had crawled out of bed (she can't walk, and doesn't like the wheelchair), sat herself down on a stool, and was beating the crap out of dried beans to un-shell them...she's 91 and eats little more than beans and rice each day. We sat down and talked with Emmy and Ndemno for a while and then distributed Old Navy flip flops from home to the kids. Mike, Emmanuel, and I sat outside of the house and shared some tea while they tried to teach me Swahili. Emmanuel doesn't speak English, so while he taught me Swahili, I taught him English. Apparently my Swahili is decent enough to where Mike told the kids to treat me not as a European but as someone who speaks Swahili (my Swahili sucks)...now they don't speak English to me. Great. For lunch we had homemade beans and rice with homemade bananas (delish). After that we left with Mike and Nosim, who escorted us back to the hotel. From the orphanage, Emmanuel drove us all in a practically broken down Range Rover (we had to push it down a hill to get it going) to the dalla-dalla stop. A dalla-dalla, as far as I can tell, is basically a small van-type vehicle (there must be at least a million in Arusha) that gets packed with people. Luckily, Mike and Nosim knew exactly where we were going. We got off about 45 minutes from the hotel and walked through the city with the two of them as our guides. We bought some more flip flops for the kids who's feet were too small. It was a lot of fun. We felt like genuine Africans (except we are white) because we're staying away from the huge safari caravans full of old people with dozens of cameras. Safaris are a huge business around here...kind of like prostitution in Vegas but with lions and stuff. We got back to the apartment and invited Mike and Nosim in for about half an hour. Mike decided to get us a better tv deal, so he went to the front desk and came back with a better antenna! I think he's going to be our guide for the remainder of the trip. He and I talk for hours while we practice Swahili. After they left we went to dinner at the hotel again and then came back to the apartment to study up on what we are going to teach tomorrow. I think I got geography. So until next time!