Tanzania is Your Country

We had the Amani picnic on May 26^th, we went with the entire kids and staff to a nearby Lake. We had sack races, tug of war, eating contest, etc. It was a good, tiring day. It’s really strange at Amani now, we only have 26 kids! A lot of the staff members are on vacation as well, it’s so quiet. It’s break so a lot of the kids are back with their family for a couple of weeks. This week we’re making jingles out of soda caps, a bit challenging since most of them can’t tie knots, but there’s so few of them I can just take four or five at a time.

This is one of the new kids, really annoying, and annoyingly cute.

I’m going to a wedding this Saturday! Really excited, I’ve heard they’re completely different than western weddings. I always see wedding parties in the roundabout near where I live, I have no idea why they go there. They dance and take pictures and videos, then get in a car decorated with ribbons and drive through town, followed by a band playing from the back of a pick-up truck. I hear the wedding bands every weekend from where I live, and pretty often during the week as well.

I start traveling on Monday, I’m going to Victoria Falls and will be traveling for two weeks. I head to Dar es Salaam on Monday, an eight hour bus ride. I’ll stay there one night then catch the TAZARA train. It’s a two day train all the way through Tanzania and Zambia. I’m traveling with three friends, so we were able to book all four beds so we have a room to ourselves. First class has four beds and a table, and food delivered if you like. I’ve never been on a train for two days at a time before, not sure how it will be. The train goes to Kapiri Mposhi, where we catch a two hour bus to Lusaka, then a six hour bus to Livingstone. At Vic falls I’m hoping to white water raft, river board, zipline, and fly over the falls in a microlight. I don’t think I’m brave enough to bungee jump or gorge swing, but we’ll see. I’ll cross the border into Zimbabwe as well, probably just for a day. I really won’t have much time there, it takes so freakin long to get there and back and I only have two weeks. And the train only leaves twice a week, so I have to catch it back on Tuesday. Only the weekend at the falls really, and hopefully, if the train isn’t delayed, I’ll be back in Moshi on Friday.

Then I only have one week left in Moshi! Really, really sad about it. I love Moshi, and the kids, and my friends here. Walking around town today (souvenir shopping for family) I kept running into people I know, literally every ten minutes or so, I love it! The kids know I’m leaving soon, I’m definitely going to cry when I say goodbye to them, and I think some of them will as well.

Michael: When do you leave?

Me: July

Michael: No no no, August.

Bakari: No no no, October.

Michael: No no no, December. America is not your country, Tanzania is your country.