I wake early, and have a lonely breakfast, missing the companionship of Christy and Tuma. At 9, I meet up with Mathew, random Tanzanian street-hawker-artist turned friend. We had chai and chapati, and then he gave me a little gift - a bracelet with my name woven into it! Then I bought a bunch of his batik paintings. It was interesting to just ( Read more... )

Clean hair. A sore right-butt cheek. A hard-boiled egg and half a pankeki in a zip-loc bag. A folder on my desktop full of bongo flava music. A brown APW t-shirt ( Read more... )

Tonight is my last night in my own tent. I have to wake up early on Tuesday to catch the car down to Loibor siret, to catch the local car back to Arusha, so I’ll spend that night in Kelly’s room. The sun streams along its path today, and it seems I have barely woken up but it is dark again. I did some laundry today, while the guys did the rest of ( Read more... )

I wake up when I feel water dripping on my face. At first I think I’m imagining it; I raise tentative fingers to the mesh of my tent. It’s real; it is rain. Christy and I agree later that it’s not REAL rain, but instead just condensation from a wet clouds’ descent. But when one of our guards comes around the corner holding a rainbow-striped ( Read more... )

My day begins with a new pair of contact lenses. Oh, the joy of being able to see everything without eyeball pain! It begins cool and overcast, with eggs and toast and my cup of Africafe.

The morning of leadership training begins without a hitch (aside from the fact that I pretty much have to drag Tuma into the classroom to get him to join). Huff. ( Read more... )

About halfway through the morning, I consider the countdown of days on my calendar, and debate the wisdom of even counting down. I’m not sure if I value the days more because they are disappearing, or if the knowledge of their passing just adds a sense of stress and urgency that makes it harder for me to enjoy where I am. Judging by the clenching ( Read more... )

I stick my head out of my tent early in the morning to see what the rustling noises are downslope of me, only to find myself staring at a small herd of zebra. We all freeze, eyeing each other for a minute that feels like five. Then they turn and clop off, nonchalant ( Read more... )

Sunday is easy and calm, full of productivity and warmth. We make brunch for Buddy and Laly - open-faced cheese, tomato and bacon sandwiches. They are delicious and decadent, and we are full of the day’s freshness ( Read more... )

Last night the wind whirled hard against the walls of my tent, keeping me from an easy sleep. I woke several times, in wonderment that it wasn’t morning yet. The day feels fresh and clean, despite the dust coating every breeze ( Read more... )

Just another day in the bush (office). It was very productive, if disconnected, thanks to a hiccup by Vodacom that knocked out signal between 11pm last night and 2pm this afternoon. As soon as it came back, all the committee members from the natural resources meeting next door could be seen wandering outside, phones plastered to their ears. As for ( Read more... )