Blogs from Tanzania, Africa - page 314

Life after the campaign seems to whirlwind down back into somewhat of a normal routine pretty quickly. You breath step forward and move on. There have been follow up studies going on all over the city and people continuing to bring in their completed correspondence lessons to move on to the next level of study. The next school quarter for the Bible Students is back in full swing. Brent will be teaching two different classes at the Andrew Connally School of Preaching in Kisongo on Mondays & Fridays he has Daniel and Ezekiel and then he is also teaching the first class for the ACSOP students on Marriage and Family so he will be quite busy this quarter. The Rachels family has arrived here in TZ and are staying at the house here with us ... read more

Still alive, and doing well. Summitting Kilimanjaro and viewing game in the safari have taken all of my time in the past 2 weeks. East Africa is not known for its internet capacity so this is my only chance to tell my tale. On route to China now, which means only 1 week left in this 2 months journey. San Franciscans, I'll see you next Friday! Below is a daily account of my climbing journal followed by brief descriptions of the safari. Unfortunately I did not have the time to learn and appreciate Tanzania's amazing culture and history, aside from a quick stop at a remote Maasai village, which reminded me much of Tibet villages, especially in smell. Kilimanjaro Day 1 - Machame gate / 18km, 4.5 hr, 2980m highest alt Machame route is the ... read more

Im back! From washington dc to new york to amsterdam to nairobi, nairobi to samburu national park in middle kenya to lewa downs rhino sanctuary next to isiolo town from where you can see mt. kenya to massai mara. this was the luxery part of the journey so far. ive seen all of the animals. (kweli kabisa) I could describe all of these experiences, but already they seem far away and my head is clogged with new things. At Lewa Downs the whole birthday court of Nancy (turning 80--the point of the trip in the first place) attended the meat eating ceremony of Karamishu, a Massai friend of Nancy. We slaughtered two sheep and a cow. the massai drank the blood from the cows neck--literally. two men held down the cow and pushed on it so ... read more

Apparently I will be able to say this in the near future. Do not ask me how this happened. We will all own part of this piece of land as it is being given in thanks for the time and money that has gone into the new day care centre. I thought this was a joke but no - Joakim (LETOA project coordinator) is deadly serious. I am not sure what is to be done with the land yet but it will be worked on and (again apparently) we will all have a place to stay should we want to come to Africa. Bet you weren't expecting that one! Everyone really is so thankful for what we are doing. It's almost embarassing. I can't remember if I told you or not but one of my ... read more

After customs?? (aren't we still in Tanzania?), we were lead to our hostel for the night by a local tour guide, and made arrangements to do a spice tour the next day and then head north to Nungwi Beach. The hostel was comfortable (hot shower), and set in a great location for exploring the narrow winding streets of Stonetown. 1st stop was a water front restaurant for a late lunch where the food was good and cheap. We then wandered aimlessly admiring the canvas paintings, carvings, bracelets etc in every store. Eventually we hit the markets which was Kra-zeeee. Anything and everything was offered for sale, and we even passed through the meat and fish market... complete with the flies! Mmm mmmmm. The Spice tour was very interesting as it started in town viewing a couple ... read more