Soooooo! Lots of pictures to make up for my long absence. Things here are normal. Or, normal for Tanzania, maybe not normal for Maine.
Two weeks ago a cobra slid up onto the table i was sitting at. It was dark and I just saw it move next to my arm and then ran away and the man next door killed it. It was gigantic. Apparently they are drawn to girl's voices.
We also drove around Mikumi National Park a few weeks ago which was pretty great. There were lots of animals and they were beautiful and right next to our car. It was cool to see them all, though it felt a little touristy. The animals aren't really part of the people's lives here. The Tanzanians I was with were just as excited and surprised as I was.
Last weekend we went fishing with a friend in the village he grew up in. It was interesting though I got way too much sun and was wiped out by the end of the day. We trudged through grass that was twice as tall as us and got completely covered in mud from the river banks. My friend, Hamili, shuttled across the river one-by-one in the canoe he made. He said it is full of crocodiles but I didn't see any. I was disappointed about that but I'm not sure what I would have done if we had seen one.
The picture of the little baby is Simon's daughter, Dori. She's adorable but is terrified of me and cries if I try to hold her. oh well. I am kind of scary.

There is another couch surfer staying at the house with me now. She is from Germany and it's so refreshing to have another english-speaking female friend around. We are planning a trip to Zanzibar at the end of March and maybe a quick visit to Rwanda if there is enough time in April. She lived here last year for a few months so on Monday she took me to the Tanzanian American Mall in the city. It was air conditioned. I was happy. They had a huge supermarket where we hung out for most of the day. I paid about $1 for about 10 peanut m&ms but they were the best ten m&ms i have ever had. everything was really expensive but they had all the stuff that the village doesn't. It was a nice break from village life but I also felt SUPER touristy and super rich, which i'm not. It was a materialistic, shallow comfort but I'll probably go back once more before I leave. Everyone needs a little superficial, air-conditioned comfort every now and then.
I'm trying hard to upload a video of the drumming circle that performed for us this past weekend but the internet doesn't seem to be working. It was so great. We danced all day and the musicians were drunk and having a blast. We drank locally made whiskey. I don't know how it's made I just know that it was about $4 for one liter. Next I want to try the banana-wine. I guess I'm giving up on the video but maybe I'll try again next week.

heeyyyooooo
i couldn't figure out how to type and put pictures in the same post.
things are going swimmingly. life is hot, slow and interesting. slowly interesting. there is so much here to keep me on my toes.
yesterday I was sitting on the doorstep of the school, the kids were at recess, and one little girl who is teeny tiny came up to me and just started squishing my face and petting my nose and hair. Soon there was a crowd of kids around me, squeezing my skin, and talking a mile a minute about who knows what. I couldn't have been happier.
also this past week i started teaching english in the evenings to anyone that wants to come. it's kind of exhausting but really really cool to try over and over again to explain something to someone and then suddenly see them understand. it's probably. maybe. the coolest thing ever.

the teachers, helen and janeth, in the kitchen.


UGALI!


On wednesday i learned how to cook Ugali with two of the teachers who are my age. ugali is a staple here and one of the two choices for meals, the other being rice. it is water and flour which you cook for a very long time together over the fire and stir continuously. it's tiring and since no one else was bothered by the wood smoke i tried not to be also. we also prepared pumkpkin leaves by stripping off the fuzzy skin and cooking them in oil with onions and tomatoes. it was surprisingly delicious. it was a good feeling to cook a meal (almost) by myself. this weekend i'll be moving out to simon's area of the village and will be living by myself which also means cooking for myself. i'm excited for the change. even though it was beyond nice of simon to set up a house for me with electricity and a super-generous family, i am anxious to live like the majority of the people here.
i'll let you know how it goes.

salima swinging


did it work?

there are such intense highs and lows here. every day someone is sick and going to the hospital. last week the niece of one of the teachers died and our neighbor's young daughter died, simon's son was sick and went to the hospital at 2am and the boy who lives in my house was sick and went to the hospital three times in one night. so there is all that. there are families who can't send their kids to school because they need them to help look for food during the day. there is that.
then there is salima swinging from a coconut tree and the village soccer match (we won 5-0) which leaves everyone hooting and hollering and hugging.
i don't know. everything is about surviving but i guess all the happiness or whatever is part of it too. more later
lots of love

the crowd at the soccer match