We were "pole' pole'" (slow) this morning. Due to lack of sleep for some and an overwhelming first week we managed to make it through breakfast and out to Cypriam by 8:15... 30 minutes later than expected! Traffic was minimal on this lazy Saturday morning but parents greeted us with eager faces upon our arrival.
We formed a circle of desks and began by telling the parents how excited we were to be here and how much we wanted them to know we appreciated their time. Ella then suggested that we move to our office and meet with parents individually to answer any questions or address any concerns. What seemed like such a simple task turned out to be quite the challenge. We had originally planned to leave the school by noon in order to make it back to the Peacock for an afternoon of shopping at local art exhibits, however, parents kept pouring into the unit. There ended up being over 18 parents that wanted to converse with us. Within the first couple of meetings, most of us were in tears and it was apparent that most had the same general concerns. They were worried about what was going to happen to their children once they turned 16 and could no longer attend school. Many were having troubles getting their children to pee on the toilet and feed themselves. It was eye opening to hear that these parents half way around the world have some of the same concerns as parents in America. We were showered with blessings, thank you's (Sante' Sana's), and smiles of parents that were so elated to hear that their was hope for their children. It was hard for our group to keep the present in mind as we were so anxious to get started obtaining materials and planning for future endeavors to Tanzania. It was clearly evident that a second trip was in the eyes of each one of us... this time, however, a longer stay was in order.
Feeling terrible for having to leave, Cypriam was waiting for us, as we hurried out of the Unit through horrible traffic to meet Kairm (our JM Tours Driver) who took us to find the Tinga Tinga Art Shop. The 5 of us had so much fun viewing the art work and even more fun bargaining with the artists for their work. Each of us managed to walk away with something including some colorful personalized name plates, large canvas painting for ourselves and relatives, and some fun platters and pencils.
Not having eaten but a "bite" since breakfast we talked Kairm into finding us a place to eat dinner early. We drove around for a bit but eventually stopped at a local authentic Tanzanian Restaurant. None of us knew what to order so we took a look at what others had and ordered based on what we could see. We enjoyed yummy Chapata (Africa flat bread), white sticky rice, prawns, peppered steak, chicken, and Mel even ventured out and tried some Goat meat. After dinner, Melanie headed for a nap, Tonya for the computer to Skype her family, and Amber, Nicole, and Marilyn decided to head over to the next door market for some extra beans to stuff our "weighted bear". They came back with adventurous stories of hundreds of chickens in cages. rows of newly picked veggies, and baskets of fresh fruit!
Our plans are to move to the island home tomorrow where we will spend the next week while still taking the Ferry across to visit the school. There, we will have an in home cook and access to the beach, which we are told is only a walk away. We will likely not have access to Internet, therefore we may not be able to update the Blog daily. I know that is disappointing to you buuuut hopefully we can make plans to visit an Internet cafe and keep the tales coming! If not, be prepared to read a novel come Friday :) Melanie and Marilyn are already in bed, so Amber, Tonya, and I are off to get our things packed for tomorrows move to the Island.
Kwa-Heri
Mada
Lots of Love!
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