May 11,2010

This past weekend was my first full weekend back in Arusha and it was anything but dull. Friday night everyone was tired so we all just chilled at the house and played my new favorite game “Back in the Bag.” You split up into 2 groups and every player writes down ten famous names ranging from Disney characters to past Presidents/ Prime Ministers, all those names then go into 1 bag. Then 1 person from one of the teams stands up and for 1 minute and they draw names from the bag and gives clues so that their team can try and guess the names. At the end the team that guessed the most names wins! Its really fun to play with a group of people from all different backgrounds and countries because then you get a real range of names. Mark (American) got Stephen Harper and he had no idea who he was! Obviously all the Canadians were pretty offended but then ironically a few minutes later the Australian Prime Minister was one of the names and of course none of us knew who he was.
Saturday I went to Lake Deluti which is a gorgeous lake just 30 minutes outside of Arusha. There is a thatched roof bar and tons of tables’ right on the waterfront surrounded by giant lush tropical trees, the place is almost enchanted. We had a beer, made some bracelets, enjoyed the scenery, and just talked about life. It was the perfect way to spend a Saturday. That night was my birthday night so we all went out to Empire Sports Bar to have some beers and listen to the Bob Marley cover band. Around 12:30 a big group of us went to Masai Camp which is a dance bar and we all danced our hearts out till about 3am! Probably not such a hot idea considering the next day consisted of a 6 hour hike to a waterfall.
Mark a volunteer who has been here for 6 months has made a ton of local friends in Arusha and they took us. They rented a dalla dalla which is just the African version of a “bus.” Really though all it is a van that can hold as many people as you can physically fit. So 20 of us packed into the tiny van and attempted to make our way up a steep muddy African road, needless to say it didn’t turn out so well and we probably made it halfway. It wasn’t a big deal though because the walk was stunning. All in all it was a great weekend.
The house is extremely quiet right now because there are only 4 people here, the rest went on safari. We are getting a few new people this weekend though so it will only be this quiet for the next 2 days. On Sunday Mark, Johny, and I are going to visit our daytime security guards maasai village that’s about an hour outside of Arusha it will be cool to see the village and see how Lindazi grew up. Speaking of Lindazi, for the past 6 months Mark has been here Lindazi has been talking about wanting to go to America to learn English so that he can be a safari guide here. Well it’s going to happen for him because Marks family has agreed to sponsor him and they are currently going through the visa application process as we speak. Apparently Marks parents tried to adopt a child from China a few years ago but it didn’t work out so now they are thrilled that they get to bring a 23 year old to America to learn English. Lindazi a tough Maasai warrior bawled when he found out he gets to go to America, it was definitely a beautiful moment.
All the kids at Tuamkeni are doing fantastic as usual! I didn’t go Tuesday and Wednesday this week because I was sick but I went Monday and Cayley, and I brought the math duotangs we made and the ankle game. Who knew kids could get so excited about math problems! It wasn’t so much the math they were excited about but the fact that they had their own book with the questions already written out for them. We sat there for an hour and a half as the kids eagerly kept filling out the pages. Even the little 3 year olds were excited they could count out the pictures in the book. I am still trying to get a feel for what their biggest needs are but I will keep you all updated!

Baadai
Catherine