Jambo!

Jambo again! I love that internet access is readily available here. Jolene, the Tanzania project director, has gone to Arusha for the day and left me her wireless modem. I thought I would start a blog.

Yesterday morning, I met with the DMO (District Medical Officer). He seems like an interesting man and has big plans for me. He seemed surprised at the number of c-sections I have performed at home and was just about to whisk me off the local hospital (Lutheran General) to start operating. However, Jolene wanted me to read through a few things at the office, and apparently the DMO needed to discuss this with the head surgeon at the hospital before I can do any work there. So I am off the hook for a few more days!

One of the other MIHV staff workers, Joyce, and I had lunch at a little outdoor cafe swarming with flies. The food was good - interesting. I asked for rice and beans, as it was so delicious from the day before. But Joyce said they had fried fish. So, I decided to give it a try. It appeared on the plate whole - scales, bones and head - along with a mound of fluffy white rice and a side of cooked greens, beans and some red soupy sauce. It was pretty good. I was disappointed that I didn't get to wash it all down with a Tangawizi - my favorite ginger drink here. Instead, I had a bottle of Sprite - which cost about 35 cents. (Lunch was about $2.50).

In the afternoon, Jolene brought me just out of town a few miles to the Fine Artz Gallery. This amazing little spot is nestled on a small hill overlooking a peaceful green valley. The site was so calm and incredibly beautiful. Inside, there is lots of local art which was actually quite good. I have my eye on a rather large carving of a pregnant woman. We'll see if I can afford it by the end of my trip here. But they also sell the bags that the Survive and Thrive group women are making. Jolene wanted to see if the owner wanted to put out a new item - some blouses made from many of the beautiful african prints here. She took 4 of them.

The owner, Ashley, is an ex-pat from America - who came on safari with her family 12 years ago. Through a number of chanels, she ended up coming back about 3 years ago and loves it. She is in the process of building a rather large and beautiful home on the same site as the Fine Artz Gallery. One of her workers, Zoe, is a lovely Brittish gal from Norfolk. She was traveling around Africa and met Ashley - who asked her to work for her. So she has been here for nearly a year now.

These gals invited Jolene and I to Bytes, a local restaurant in Karatu for dinner last night. Bytes is owned by Sandy, also an ex-pat. Her father worked for Brittish Airways, so she grew up all over, but calls Tanzania home now. Jolene was tired and had to work on a few things, so I ended up walking down to Bytes on my own. It was quickly becoming dark as I headed down the hill (about a 3 minute walk) and I felt like my skin was glowing in the dark. People were saying hello to me from all around, but I could barely see where the voices were coming from. It was quite a strange feeling. At our table was Ashley and Zoe, as well as Sandy. But there was also an older South African couple (Andre and Lysle) who now live in Tanzania. Many Serengeti's later (a very drinkable lager that costs about $1.50), we ordered dinner. I had a spinach pasty with salad which was delicious. I should have left the salad on my plate though....

I woke this morning with an unusual cramping sensation in my gut at about 4 am. This coupled with a migraine did not make for a pleasant morning. I finally made it back to bed at 7am after drinking an electrolyte solution and taking 4 pepto tablets. Fortunately, I feel pretty good now. It's a little after noon.

Some other not so great things about Africa....we have no water at the moment. None. Last week, there wasn't enough to shower, so I had bucket baths - but today there is no water at all. I may have to make friends with more people to see if they have water. I bet there's water at the Fine Artz Gallery....

Karatu - is the little town I am staying in. There is a huge variety of housing here - ranging from the somewhat luxurious house that I am staying in with tiled floors, a housekeeper and a tin roof. Not to mention plastered walls and a flushing toilet (well - when there's running water) with actual beds and mosquito nets and electricity. On the other hand, Karatu is full of little shacks - one room houses that may or may not have windows or roofs, sometimes made of red clay bricks and sometimes made of scraps of wood assembled together. These shacks have no electricity or running water. Women collect water from whatever source they can find in big plastic buckets and hall them around on their heads. They cook over open fires of burning garbage and wood in their front yard. Everyone wears flip flops. There are hundreds of roads in Karatu - none of them paved except the main tarmac road leading to the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater (paid for as a gift from the Japanese). The town stands on red clay dirt. It is very dry here and because of the location, there is a lovely breeze almost all the time. This lifts the red dirt sweeping it into the air and blowing it EVERYWHERE. No matter how many times the floor is swept or the counters wiped off - there is a fine dusting - like powdered sugar - of red dirt. It coats my skin - and stays stuck with the help of mosquito repellent. It's in my nose and ears.

Now that I am feeling much better, I think I will get dressed and walk outside of town to explore some of the many coffee plantations scattered along the main road.

Asante sana for reading!