...was very uneventful.
Saturday we slept in for a while (til 10 and sleeping that long was a struggle) and basically did nothing all day.
We had wanted to go exploring but it rained most of the day and while we could have used our raincoats we were lazy.
For the little time the sun was out I sat out on the porch and cracked open the GRE test prep book I lugged over here with me.
In the evening the
US people who are staying here for a while arrived...they are part of the Henry M.(?) Jackson Foundation (or as Melissa and I first thought, the Andrew Jackson Foundation) that is a major donor for the projects that go on here.
We had a big dinner with fruit salad and rice and chicken and beef stewish and such.
The samosas were the best part because earlier in the day all I wanted was a fried wonton...the samosas tasted quite similar actually.
Liss and I wrapped up the evening with a game of Scrabble (I dominated).
Sunday morning we got up and went to mass which was quite the experience. First off it was in Swahili and I understood maybe ten words of the entire thing. Mass was supposed to start at 10, which was when we got there, but the previous mass had not even let out...we didn’t get back to the house (which is a 2 or 3 min. drive) until 12:30. The service was way more enthusiastic than most masses I have attended in the US. By far the best part was the music which involved a whistle being used as an instrument, a tiny organ that doubled as drums, and lots of dancing-while-singing. I also determined that I will never complain about the kneelers in church at home after using ones that were just wood. I have bruises.
Today (Monday) was a pretty eventful day. When we got to work we were told that we had to go to a staff meeting with everyone else to meet the wazungu (white people). Side note: the visitors were driven to work while Liss and I had to walk...not that we mind since it only takes 10 minutes to get to the office. Anyways we went to staff meeting where, along with everyone else we had to awkwardly introduce ourselves. Luckily we didn’t have to stay long because we were heading back to KIHUMBE (the NGO we visited on Friday). We spent most of the day going around with one of the home based care volunteers (he spoke very little English which made things very entertaining). His job is to go around and visit HIV positive individuals in the community to make sure that they are doing alright, have enough to eat, etc. The people that he visits have sought out KIHUMBE for the services and support they provide. All of the homes we visited were within walking distance of the KIHUMBE offices (although it felt like we walked forever) and we visited four altogether.
In each of the homes we were invited in to sit down and had the opportunity to ask questions. It was a really neat and eye opening experience, especially when the standard of living is so drastically different from what it is in the US. At the last home we visited, we were given tea and potatoes and I was trying hard to be polite and not freak out as I sat there and thought, what if this makes me sick...I am no where near a decent bathroom and I have no immodium. Luckily all was fine and my stomach didn’t have any issues. After the visits we went back to KIHUMBE where we spent a while talking with a girl who is at Colby but who is from Mbeya. It was fun to discuss what we were seeing and local atmosphere with someone who is a local but has the American perspective as well. We wrapped up the day by meeting some of the kids who come to KIHUMBE for lunch on school days because they are unable to be fed at home. Overall it was a good day but doing visits can be very sobering because you know that the people you are interacting with—mothers, fathers, and children—are carrying around a death sentence. At the same time, however, they are healthy and seemingly happy which makes things easier to handle.
I think that is all there is to report right now...I am hoping the wazungu get here soon so we can eat the massive spread of food that Jenny has made (including amazing fruit salad)...
