The trees in the picture are called Christmas trees - simply because they bloom at Christmas. Actually, the blossoms are starting to fall off, so it's about time there is some Christmas.
I made my arrangements for Mt. Meru. While a lot cheaper than Kili, I tried to cut costs even further by doing it in two days. But they won't let you. The problem is that (an armed) guide is required for the trip. And I guess they don't like rushing things. African way of life. The rifle is required b/c there are apparently occasional Buffalo attacks. The travel guide says not to run away from your guide too far. Alrighty then...Which reminds me - no showers at all on Meru, I guess...
Yesterday I had a fun experience. On my my way home I decided to go a little farther and hang out in the stadium for a bit. It's a really nice, quiet, tranquil place that I enjoy after the dusty and busy downtown area. When I got there a soccer place was taking place and there were quite a few spectators. I didn't know the score or how far into the game they were. But the atmosphere was exciting. The white team was pressing hard and looked in control of the game. But they didn't come too close to the goal. Then the referee whistled the game off (I had only been there for a few minutes, but since there were no flood lights obviously, I knew the game wouldn't last too much longer). What happened next I have only seen on TV so far. A wild cheer erupted. The blue team was cheering and going crazy. Jumping for joy and running around the field like madmen. The players from the white team fell to the ground, deeply disappointed. Some were crying.
A blue player did a somersault to celebrate. The winners were singing. There was a brief brawl when someone stole someone else's banner, but reason quickly settled back in and the cheering continued. I watched the whole thing, glad that I could experience it. As some of the spectators and players left, I, too, headed for the exit.
The send-off I went to was interesting, but couldn't really tell much of a difference to a wedding. There were the prayers, the loud music, the chanting, the goat (although less festively presented as at the wedding-but I do like the "Bon Appetit" part...), the presents that people danced to the front and the food. The only thing that was different was that only the bride sat up front (with bridesmaid Dora). I didn't realize that the groom was actually in attendance until he finally got to walk up to the stage.
Later all the kids had a lot of fun, asking me to photograph them. They then got a real kick out of seeing the picture on the display.
Just when we got to the place it had rained really hard (and I mean really hard!). Fortunately it was dry for the rest of the day, but of course it's all just wet dirt by now and I had a layer of 1/2 inch on my shoes. But nobody cared and asked me to walk through the house with the shoes (so did the others). Even climbed into the car like that - I just couldn't get them clean quick enough.
The ride home was interesting, too. It was crowded and the potholes shook us up a lot. Then we stopped in Himo and Dora and her brother left. Only her brother came back. Strange - Dora didn't even say good-bye or anything. We were still squeezed in the back, but at least Baraka, the three year-old, had now the front passenger seat to himself! If you are worried that a three year-old may strangle himself with the seat belt, don't worry nomore. If a car is lucky enough to even have seat belts, everybody takes great care in prolonging the seat-belts' life by not using them!
Yesterday (Wednesday) I couldn't get my planned interviews done as Mfinanga had to go to Arusha on a short notice. Tomorrow (Friday), I will have to take care of a lot of things, but I am still hoping that M. and I can go towards Rau, which is where I rode my bike last Sunday. Speaking of the bike, it had a slow leak and pumping it up worked fine, except now my 2-dollar pump broke (just a few days after my 2$ lock broke...) It really is tough to try to be a bicyclist around here...And when it rains it pours. Friday morning: Amazingly, it rained all night and now it still rains! This was a good reminder that for Mt. Meru, I need to waterproof everything. Something that after six weeks of sun and dust I really didn't pay much attention to. Who'll stop the rain?
Some more pix: When I got my food there was no more silverware and a little kid showed me how to eat it. But I opted to head to the kitchen and they washed spoon for me...
And here is the food served (besides the goat). From front to back: Banana (ndizi) with meat, rice (pilau, spiced), rice (plain - wali), cabbage (hidden pot) and cucumber.
Groom and Bride:
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