second go

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so i spent about an hour updating my blog a couple days ago and then i got timed out or something from the server. so i got frustrated and left. but im back. to update again hopefully successfully this time around..

lets see. its been quite awhile. the newest of the news is that we have welcomed jayce and cessie into singida. cessie going to a brand new site in ihanja and jayce replacing pendo at ilongero. we had our meeting yesterday with the director and other important people. i had to chat and explain stuff to their village leaders. answer questions. then we went shopping. i feel slightly ridiculous because last year i went shopping. they just each got a bucket some bread and pb and j. but they are coming back next week. so thats fun.

also i had the chance to visit a maasai village. did the whole sleeping in the mud hut on cow skin beds. that was fun. our hut was not circular but rectangular. and the baby cows, sheep, and goats along with chickens slept inside. and a little fire was kept going throughout the night to keep warm. i drank so much milk i thought i was for sure going to have stomach issues but surprisingly i didnt. and it was definitely the best chai i had in country. we also slaughtered a goat. and maasai are known for their diet of meat, milk and blood. so i tried that out. i even ate some raw liver. again shocked that it didnt do anything to my system. but very interesting. and hopefully next time i come into town i will be at the posta internet (this is where i originally tried to update my blog-it is hi speed internet, the likes of america so i feel uploading pictures should be breezy).

next week i will be heading back to dar for my midservice conference. that should be fun. as our conferences in january were separated, this will be the first time to see everyone from my training group, or whats left of us i should say. we started with 49 and i think 14 people have made the trip home for various reasons. it will be a nice vacation for a week. we have all of our medical appointments to go to at first. then a behavior change seminar. and i dont know. it should be fun. but difficult. ramadhan started yesterday. and i decided it was a good year to try out the fast. so im fasting. muslims and christians do it throughout the world to empathize with the poor-feelings of hunger and thirst. and also to keep in check that sin of gluttony. and its just a good mental exercise. so im trying it out. yesterday wasnt too bad. and stephanie is planning on coming to my village to celebrate Eid-the day the fast breaks. and were trying to get muslim outfits made-pants, long shirt, and headscarf.

also lets see. my library should be finished by october. i have given money to get wood. and that should be here within the next week. and then shelves should be built relatively soon. so thats all very exciting. the books will soon have homes. (a very special thanks to all those who have donated books) not that they arent being used already. a group of primary school boys have been coming over to my house the last month. wanting to learn english. so we read books together. and i translate. and they bring little notebooks and pens and write down the words. i think we are going to start doing math as well. in addition to all that kids have been coming over to use the soccer ball pendo left me. so thats been fun as well. except it popped last week. but that shouldnt be a problem now...

i was upset and had to have a 'talk' with the primary school headmaster. when my parents came they brought soccer balls to give to the village and to each of the schools. one for boys and one for girls. and talking with my neighbor mariam the balls still hadnt been given out. so she asked about them and the headmaster was demanding ten bucks for each ball. which is ridiculous as they were gifts. so i had a chat with him one day. just acting confused because everyday kids were coming to my house sad because the secondary school got balls and they didnt. and i didnt understand why they hadnt been given out yet. he gave me the excuse that they were doing indoor exercises. but a couple of days ago mariam said that they were given out at the morning assembly. so thats good.

speaking of school. it is almost september but im happy to say that i feel like i am finally in the swing of things. in that me and my students finally understand one another. and i leave the classroom feeling like a teacher. not a prat. or a schmuck. haha. good words. but were doing well with each other. weve come a long way together. and i know that before i said i didnt want to teach next year because i wanted to focus on the health center. but who knows. and the kids have been especially good at doing their homework because kids who do their homework get stickers. so thats been fun. and graduation for the form 4s is coming up soon. i just bought them all these little leis. plasticky things that are real popular. i feel bad because i missed the primary schools graduation. they did it on friday right before ramadhan began but i had to come into town to meet the new kids.

another exciting thing. well exciting for me. i have hired a mama to cook lunch for me monday-friday. since there is a lot of construction going on in the village there are a lot of workers so the restaurants are expanding. and mama gaspar just opened up within the last few months. and that was going well. its rice and beans and meat if available with something from the greenery scenery. spinach or cabbage. and its enough for me and for ruka. so my lazy bum doesnt have to cook generally. and then i get my milk delivered at night so i can make a cup of chai or oatmeal and give the rest to ruka. except now im not sure whats going on. i tried to pay my food mama and she said i was short money. and so we were off but i was positive i had paid her. so i went home to think about it. but was going to give her the money because i had it and whatever. but a few days later when i went to pay her she was all boarded up. and a man told me that somebody stole all her money so she followed them to town but this person escaped to arusha. i dont know. but i feel like this is the answer to why i thought i had paid her. because i had. just given it to someone else. oh well. hopefully shes doing alright. ill see her tomorrow back in the village.

speaking of money. so a few weeks ago one of the mamas that i had taught at the end of last year stopped by my house. sans baby. which is very odd. so i asked her about it. and i guess her baby died in june. they took him to the hospital (not just my health center) and he was vomiting and having diarrea. and he died. i had no idea. i felt terrible. and she told me she wanted to go back to dar to work, which is what she had done a few years ago. and i asked her what about her husband. but i guess they separated after the baby died. he was an old man anyways and this girl is my age so in my opinion it gives her more options. so for the first time i gave out money. i gave her the fare to dar plus a little. so hopefully she figures stuff out. and has somewhere to go.

also. my teacher friend whe just got married in april. she was sick last week and stayed home from school. then had to go to the hospital. and she had a baby but the baby died. i had no idea she was even pregnant. but it is fashion to wear the big mu mu dresses. but i felt terrible. but she is doing alright. still grieving. but this allows her to follow through with her plan of going to college in september. although i do not know if she will follow through with it. her sister got into university in dodoma which is exciting. i dont know.

the last few weekends have been full of weddings. and that has been fun. watching the women cook all the food. and all the singing and dancing. my friend korie came down from katesh to visit. and she is a lot more loud/outspoken than i am. so i was thrown into dancing because she was just jumping around. i was slightly offended when my favorite mama, mama regin, told me in a shocked voice that i could dance. like she couldnt believe. shes been watching me dance for the last year. that wedding was interesting. in the fact that the bride was only 16. but i guess it was her choice. and shes moved to town with her husband.

my bwana mifugo (vet) and his wife are on their one month vacation. theyve gone back to their house in shinyanga. but before they left we watched indiana jones. my parents brought some vhs tapes. and that was fun. hollywood/film has come a long way since the late 80s/early 90s. and it gives me hope that tanzanian tv will improve. except tanzanians enjoy it so i guess it doesnt need any improving. they love the random english dubbed soap operas and their komedi shows. gah.

oh. something important. i have finally received my grant money. for my solar grant for the health center! weeeee! except the timing is not exceptional as i will be going to my midservice conference next week. but woo. the only thing is i dont think it will be through the ngo solar aid. i talked to them a couple weeks back. they received forms from both the health center and secondary school and both seemed like good candidates. the only thing is singida is the fourth and last region they will be working in. so they wont get here until late next year. which still gives hope to the secondary school. but the health center, we are going to have to go to arusha or dar to purchase solar. but hopefully that grant will be finished by october. thats exciting. woo again.

also just in general there seems to be a lot of construction going on. on the road on the way to my village/arusha they have set up a camp. to pave the roads. there are all sorts of different kinds of trucks and makeshift housing for the workers. so the chinese are here. and thats exciting. and new shops keep springing up. and theyre paving more roads in singida town. i dont even know what to do with mself. haha. stephanie and i like to sing/chant 'singidas moving on up..moving on up' id like to see it in 5 years. or ten years.

stephanie and i have been watching heroes. she has seasons 1-4 on dvd. and pendo just sent us a box from america. with essentials. mac n cheese. and cookie mix with icing. plus sex and the city the movie. so we lounged last night. and overindulged. a wonderful evening. and tomorrow i will be heading back to the village for a couple of nights then off to msc. still cant believe its been a year...

hope everyone at home is doing well. and ive had a few requests for my address again:
po box 645
singida
tanzania
east africa

thank you!

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