One last hoorah!

It was necessary to post one last blog to share with you our disastrous end to the trip... 

After arriving in in D.C. at 8:00.... 40 minutes earlier then schedules... we thought things were looking good for our last journey before being home. We made it through customs in a timely fashion after claiming our luggage. It was necessary to stop at the first Starbucks we saw before heading through security and on to our gate. Since we had already had lunch (according to our schedule), we didn't need breakfast but we grabbed some Subway for later and hung out by the gate. Wi-Fi was available so we did some facebook updating and internet surfing. Across from our gate was a 10 minute manicure store, so I decided to hit it up for a quite polish :) Amber, Marilyn and I took turns taking our "baby wipe" showers in the bathroom stalls. We got into some fresh clothes and before we knew it, it was time to board. However, we were still about 40 minutes waiting for the "crew" to arrive from a previous flight. We were told they were coming from gate C and would be here anytime. Restlessness set in, and then it was time to board. The plane was TINY compared to the large international plane we had just come from. I'm talking 1 seat on one side, 2 on the other.... TEENY! We were settled with our seat belts fastened when the stewtest came over the PA saying that the air conditioning wasn't working so it was going to delay us a bit longer. Sighs were heard throughout the cabin and cold water was handed out throughout the isles. Next thing we knew it, we were de-boarding the plane because they could not get the air conditioned fixed and didn't want us sitting on a blazing hot plane while they worked on getting it in working order.

This was beginning to look and sound vaguely familiar. Let me remind you that our flight was canceled last year due to storms. We took our seat at the gate and were told it should only be another 30 minutes. 30 minutes turned into an hour, and Marilyn had the bright idea to go ahead and get in the customer service line just in case. Sure enough, our flight got canceled!!!! We were beside ourselves. During our wait, however, a gentleman sitting next to me phoned the 1-800 United number and managed to get put on another flight leaving at 6 from Dulles. Without hesitation I too dialed the number and managed to snag the last spot on the flight. I felt awful that I was unable to get my other too traveler on the flight, but Marilyn was in line and Amber was in the bathroom so I only had my confirmation number :( Luckily, Marilyn was next in line the customer service line, so she was able to book the first flight out in the morning for both her and Amber. She also rated a hotel, meal voucher, and shuttle for the night.

Amber and Marilyn waited around until I boarded my plane, which was also delayed an hour, and then headed to catch their shuttle to the Hilton A-Loft hotel. The flight took off without any more delays. I was much in need of a cold one, but unfortunately did not have any cash and they didn't take credit cards :( Happy to be home, I was greeted by my mom and Zuri at the airport. Tears filled my eyes, I was ecstatic to see them both and also happy to get a text from Amber saying that the hotel was super nice ($349 a night!!!!) and they were stuffed full with wonderful American food :) Off we went to home where I was more then excited to sleep in my own bed. We made a quick stop for a late night dinner and then it was bed time for me!

This morning, I left for the airport around 7 and crossed my fingers that things went smoothly for the girls this morning. They left the hotel at 5am and had to wait in the line for security for over an hour. Good thing they were 2 hours early! Upon their arrival to the gate, there flight had been delayed 40 minutes. A slight freak out occurred but thankfully they boarded and took off without any more complications! Charlie, Sam, Brenna, and I greeted the tired travelers, exchanged goodbyes, and picked up our luggage!

Though our trip ended with unwanted complications we are all back home safe and sound now! Be looking for many albums on facebook and wish us luck as we rest up and get ready for the coming school year!

Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed!

P.S.  I currently am dealing with the itching of 35 bug bites, including one on my nose, one on my fore head, and 3 on the back of my hand!!!!! They loved me this year! Amber only has 6 and Marilyn ended the trip with 4! Not fair! I am just glad to be back with the Mosquitoes that DON'T carry Malaria!

The home stretch...

We are currently awaiting our flight to Kansas city in the Washington Dulles airport. We are more then happy to be back on American soil :)

Our traveling actually began yesterday morning with an early flight from Dar to Arusha. Little did we know this process would be so costly. We were supposively unaware that we could not each have 2 pieces of luggage unless the airline was informed before hand. So we had to fork over 310,000 shillings which is roughgly $195. Yikes. Needless to say we were not happy campers.

At least there were no glitches in the flight. We made it to Arusha several minutes earlier than expected. Since we had 4 hours to kill before heading to Ethiopia, Marilyn had plans to visit Patandi Teachers College, while Amner and I scheduled a lunch date with Efraem for one last goodbye. Our rides awaited us among arrival and we quickly dropped our luggage off at the day room at KIA Lodge.

Once to Patandi, amber and I made a brave attempt to travel by "dala dala", the Tanzanian public transportation. We waited on the side of the street only minutes before a "mini bus" pulled up. The locals refer to them as mini busses, but picture a soccer mom mini van pimped out with graffiti and Swahili slang! We piled in amongst many other individuals to make our way into town.the bus quickly filled up, and before we knew it there were 20 other Tanzanians up for travel. I had a young girl sitting on mymlap, reaching to hold my hand, and Amber had another that couldn't take her eyes off of her. Though it was crowded in the 16 passenger van we managed to enjoy the experience and get off at the right stop. We tried communicating with Efraem to explain where we were, but with a lack of street signs it was very confusing. We finally just had to hand the phone over to a local to give directions. By now, we were down to about 30 minutes to enjoy a quick drink and chat with our dear friend. After our goodbyes were exchanged :( we decided to grab a taxi back to Patandi due to our time constant and the fact that the "dala dalas" made frequent stops.

Marilyn was just minutes behind us. We hopped in the car and headed to the airport for our 3:15 check in time. Marilyn shared with us her experiences of enjoying lunch along side Lake
Duluth and touring the ministies teachers college. She was shocked and what poor shape the
college was in and stunned to find out that there earliest text book was dated in 1983. What
help they are in need of!

We made it back to the hotel with a few minutes to freshen up, grab our luggage, and head to KIA airport for Ethiopia. Amber and I had no eatin much and Marilyn had to endure grizzly goat meat so we grabbed a bite to eat and then boarded shortly after.

The 2 and half hours to Ethiopia were nothing compared to the 17 hours that lied ahead. We had a few hours to spare in the Ethiopian airport so decided to grab some water and braid the girls hair. To do so, Amber had to brush through her matted mess of hair. She obtain so much she was able to form a small hair ball and left it for someone to find and make a voodoo doll out of.... Sorry folks we are a bit delirious :) and sleep deprived. Not only was Amber's hair entertaining so too were seeing all of the couples bringing home adopted Ethiopian babies. Joy filled their faces and everyone was goo goo gaga over the adorable children.

It was time for the dreaded boarding... Amber and I were luckily next to each other again, while Marilyn was up closer to the front. The flight began with a round of Dramamine for all! None of us were feeling well and also wanting some good sleep during the evenings flight. We were served a meal an hr after boarding and then shortly after fell asleep for awhile. It never fails that they come around with another meal just as you are in a deep sleep. The flight went smoothly thanks to our several rounds of Dramamine and ibuprofen, people around us probably bought we were major pill poppers, but at least we were resting comfortably :)

The landing was a breeze and now here we are eating on some subway and waiting for our flight to MCI in 3 hours. We are tired, dirty, and ready for a good nights rest in our own bed. We hope you have enjoyed hearing about our experiences in Tanzania as much as we have enjoyed reliving our adventures through story telling.

Plans are already in the makings for next years trip so stay tuned!
Kwaheri!!!

Karibu Tena!

As the saying goes, "all good things must come to an end!" and our adventures in Tanzania came to a truly amazing end this morning. We slept in, had our last fix of the Swahili Sweet Pancakes and headed to the Autism Unit around 9:30. It was the first day Amber was able to join us. Mama Ella would not let Amber get away without saying her goodbyes! We were joyful to have her finally joining us. Upon our arrival, we were greeted by Abdala and Alpha. Alpha is particularly fond of Amber so it was no surprise that he followed her around most of the morning.

We exchanged our Shikamo's and Harbari's and then had plans to show the teachers how to use the sensory items we have toted along this entire month. We bagged them up and then began taking them out to use with the children. It was so interesting to see how each kid was stimulated by a different object. Gedion was infatuated with the noise sticks that had beads rolling down inside of it, Irene, who is obsessed with balls, fell for the Velcro toss and catch set, and Karime's favorite was chasing the bubbles. It was a true joy to see the smiles on both the kids and teachers's faces. The teachers were just as interested in the unique items we had collected as the kids were. Each one took a child and began showing them how to use the items. It was special and really made it worth the extra pounds added to our luggage to see how much the enjoyed the sensory items.

After "play time" we headed inside the classroom for Chai was the students and teachers. It was quite special to have them offer us Chai with bites, fruit, and biscuits. The school as it is has so little, so for them to share this small token with us, meant more then they probably understand. However, more then the bites was the next token that was shared with our team... Mama Ella read the most heart felt letter I have ever heard. She stated that on behalf of herself and the entire staff, they were so thrilled to have us come back to the unit and share more knowledge. They feel that we have prepared them for yet another successful year of teaching and welcomed us back for years to come. To show us just how serious they were about welcoming us back, they had three of the students present us with gifts.... A t-shirt that read "Karibu Tena Msimbozo Mseto" or "Welcome Again to Msimbozo Mseto" we were ecstatic to receive the shirts and know that they really do appreciate all of the information and items that we have brought to them the past two summers. It warmed all of our hearts and made us feel as though we were having chai and bites among family!

Until next year, we have said our best wishes and God Blesses to the center, the students, and this evening to our dear friend Christopher. Though we are sad to leave, we are anxious to get home, and know they we need to rest up before returning again. There is must to be done regarding special needs awareness in Africa and I think we are well on our way to building a strong team to help change the way children are educated here :)

Our plane to Kilomonjaro leaves at 9:30 tomorrow so we are headed to the airport bright and early. We are expected to land in Ethiopian around 7:30 before heading off to Washington D.C. 10:30. Once to D.C. We've got a few hours to kill and then are heading to KC for a much needed reunion! Yah yah yah! I can just hear my bed calling my name :) can't wait to hug my little baby Zuri!

Love and thanks for reading!
Marily Kaff, Amber Olson, and Nicole Maupin

T minus 2 days!

As to be expected we are all ready to be home. Amber's stomach is still in pain, Marilyn has been worked to the bone, and I am now with sore throat and a nasty sinus infection yet again! We cannot wait to sleep in our own beds and see all of over family members and friends! It's not over yet though...

Amber has stayed back, again, the past fees days, but is usually feeling more up to speed around 2 when we hav finished and are ready for some grub. It is nice to have here join us and we know that it is good for her to get some fresh air. Marilyn and I have been busily working in the autism unit at Msimbozi Mseto, screening child after child and then training teachers for about an hour or so. Yesterday, we started doing some parent interviews, which has proved to be quite interesting. Marilyn put together a questionnaire to determine parents in Tanzanias thoughts and knowledge about autism. We met with a mother yesterday who is a doctor and who's husband is a psychologist. It was fascinating to hear her tales of keeping her child hidden from society until eventually her husband broke it to her that her son had autism. She expressed that she was in denial for a long time and depressed through much of his toddler period. Both her and her husband care so much for their 6 year old and have gone to great strides to improve their sons quality of life.

Today, while Christopher and I screened several children, Marilyn interviewed the oldest student at the unit's father. We met with this gentleman for quite some time last year to discuss the possibility of a vocational program in Tanzania for children with autism. He was and is stills concerned that their is no where for his child to gain independent living skills. Hs son being 17 is in dire need of an alternate placement since he is several years past the age for a primary school placement. Looking through Marilyn's notes there were several hinge from their interview that stuck out to me.... The first being that the father thinks that the reason children/people with disabilities exists is so God can express and shoe us how and why he made people different. There is a reason behind everyone being who they are. The second being that his son with disabilities has taught him not to take his ABILITIES for granted! It more then struck a cord in my heart!

After working the morning at Msimbozi, we headed to the second autism unit that Christopher introduced us to on Monday. We thought we were going to be speaking to 5 to 10 parents of children with autism and then doing a short teacher training. When we arrived we found well over 50 parents ready and waiting for us to speak. Marilyn had a slight freak out but I assured her it is what we were here for and that we could make it work we just needed to get an agenda down. We quickly discussed what we would overview and the headed into the filled room. The parents and staff were very receptive and appreciated our information very much! They had very good questions regarding capacity building and how go train both teachers and parents to work with students with specific needs. Overwhelmed at first, we did our best to answer questions and give help where it was needed.

Exhausted we headed to the Chef for some authentic chapati and beans, a light snack since we have Tanzania Night this evening! For the most part we are packed with the exception of an outfit for tomorrow and one for traveling Friday and Saturday. Souvenirs fill one of both Amber and I's suitcases. We are anxious to give our treasures and can't wait to be feeling better.

Expect one or two more posts and perhaps some pictures of our work at the units this week! Until then, kwheri!

Full immersion......

I know some of you have just been dieing to hear about our African Church experience, and boy what an experience it was!!!!

Amber was still feeling ill and Lily, our hotel quest relations personnel who invited us to her "born again Christian church", suggested that she stay home since there would be a lot of people there.

So off Marilyn and I went... Lily was to pick us up at 10 am, of course being on African time, she rolled in about 10:40 with her boyfriend and his friend. We started for the church, but had to make a stop for the girls to get in a taxi. Lily then explained that her church did not allow un-married couples to arrive together at church. The taxi drove us into a neighborhood with dirt roads and many small homes. We got out and could immediately hear the gospel music. People where streaming into the church. Lily took my hand and we were directed to sit up front. By this time, Marilyn and I were so stunned at all that was going on around us, we weren't really sure what to think or do. Their was loud music being sung, people with flags that said "Pray for Africa" parading around and about 750 of our closest, new, friends! Their were people in the upper balconies, people outside watching the stage on projection screens, and many of the elders sitting on the left of the stage.

Background information: This Sunday's celebration was to celebrate the Pastor's wife who is 58's, 5 month old baby girl! The story of Sarah and Abraham was shared and voiced throughout the ceremony. It was considered the miracle of God, that after nearly 20 years of marriage the couple was now being blessed with a child. Pretty amazing really!

Now for the breakdown of the ceremony...
11:00-12:30 Music, choreographed dancing,  and comedy
12:30-1:00 scripture readings and thank you's by the Pastor and his wife
1:00-1:30 offerings of about 4 different varieties (we were more then confused.... we went up to give our offering the first time around, but then weren't sure what to do for the next 3)  One offering was offered to the baby, one to the church it self, one to the bishop, and one to the sermon givers.
1:30-2:30 full on, fire and brimstone sermon by two twin brothers from Uganda
2:30-3:30 singing, praising, baptisms, and individual blessings of each and every child under 1!
3:30-4:00 introduction and speeches by each of the elders

We had had our fair share of fun at about 1 after the entertaining singing and dancing. You don't realize how much it takes out of you to listen to people speech a different language for 4 and half hours! Marilyn and I were literally shaking from no food or water in our systems since 9 that morning. Lily had to leave around 2 to go and pick a client from the airport. We felt rude leaving but were seriously exhausted from our morning/afternoon of church. We decided to sneak out when the clock hit 4pm. We weren't exactly sure how we were going to get home since we had no idea where we even were and where their would be taxis, so we just started walking back the way we came in. Minutes after our departure a gentleman stopped us and told us that "Tina was coming!!" Tina?? we responded... "Ya, Tina Tina!" I remembered that the lady sitting next to Marilyn during the services name was Christina. Christina was instructed to keep an eye on us while Lily was gone. We started walking back towards the church, to find Christina standing and waving for us. We were caught!!!! We had left without "permission." I had felt rude, but had truly had enough for one Sunday. To our surprise and it must have truly been a God-send, Cyprian, our driver,  pulled up with Lily in the car. Lily immediately demanded that we stay for the "feast" that was going to be held after the service. We explained that were were very tired and wanted to get back to check on Amber since we had been gone longer then intended. We have never been so happy to see Cyprian in our entire lives! It was truly a miracle that he showed up at the exact time that we were in need of a taxi!

 Marilyn Dancing and Singing Praises with Christina

Baby Naomi that I held off and on throughout the 4 and 1/2 hours! It kept me entertained :)

What an experience! It was truly something to be seen, heard, and experienced! Even though it was very tiring, and at times VERY loud, we are so thankful that Lily invited us and that we got to share in an authentic cultural experience!

Side note: Sorry if this description was confusing! It is late in the evening on Monday. We have taught at two different Autism Units, visited the Ministry of Education, AGAIN, and visited with a seamstress who is making Marilyn and I outfits (tops and skirts) out of our Punda Milia (Zebra) Kitange we purchased a few days ago. Needless to say, we are all worn out, ready for our room service, and are itching more and more each day to sleep in our own beds :)

I believe we requested peanut butter sir!

Funny story for the day....

Amber is STILL not feeling up to par. She has been diligent about taking her prescription of water with electrolytes and pain Meds, but they just haven't kicked in quite yet.

Marilyn and I had plans to do some more screening at the Autism unit, so we hit up breakfast at the Peacock before heading out with Christopher and our newly found driver Cyprian who has been so kind to take us anywhere and everywhere we have requested the past couple of days. He was so kind hearted as to not charge us for the ride to and from the hospital yesterday.

Anyways... Back to breakfast at the hotel.... Marilyn, Amber, and I have all been enjoying the Swahili Sweet Pancakes with freshly prepared peanut butter and bananas. Such a yummy combination. The past couple of days, however, there has been no peanut butter out. Being the ugly Americans that we can all be sometimes, we have requested the peanut butter and they have brought out a small dish for our dining pleasure. This morning, again there was no peanut butter so we called one of the gentlemen over and politely asked for a small portion of peanut butter. The gentlemen looked at us with a perplexed look and said "sure sure" and off he went into the back kitchen. 5 minutes later and already one pancake down, he returned and assured us that they were preparing it and it would only be a few more minutes. Marilyn and I had a laugh because we have often said "things in Africa take TIME" we also found it a bit strange that they had to "prepare" such a condiment. We again joked that maybe they were having to grow the peanuts! All this joking soon came back to bite us in the butt, when the man emerged from the kitchen carrying a PINA COLADA. Language barrier indeed!!! We laughed and laughed and the waiter could not understand what was so funny. We didn't want to hurt his feelings so decided to dowthe drink together and head to the school. Nothing like a little cocktail at nine in the morning!

We are excited to sleep in the next couple of days before starting at the school again on Monday. Stay tuned for this weekends adventure and we plan to tour the Tanzanian brewery and visit Coco Beach.

Emergency!

The past couple of days have been interesting, to say the least!

The three of us showed up at the Autism Unit around 8:30 am on Wednesday. This was the time Mama Ella requested we be there to greet the students and share in morning "Jambo Time." Much to our surprise, she told us that the Ministry required our presence. Hence, began the bureaucratic debacle! Amber was not feeling well, so she was taken back to the hotel and Marilyn and I were left to defend our American selves! We don't necessary like being pulled away from working with the students to meet with the government officals, but we realize that its necessay for us to be in attendance in Tanzania. After stubbling our way to the office of education, we came to find out that the right individuals were not present  in order for our meeting to be held properly, so we had to postpone the meeting until the next morning at 8am! This only infuriated us more! So, we headed back to the school to discover that Ella wanted Marilyn and I to screen a new student that was being placed in her unit. Now this was something we were excited for! We made a great team and had a lot of fun assessing the young boys abilities and strengths. It was evident that he was in the right center, but there was definately room for academic progress!

Ministry Visit #1

We ended the morning with a relaxing lunch at City Garden. Samosas and buttered Naan hit the spot!

Back to the hotel we went to check on Amber and rest for the remainder of the evening!

6:30 am came quick!!! Amber was still miserably sick, so Marilyn and I, once again, made our way to the ministry... joined by our comrad Christopher this time! For those of you who are not familiar, Christopher is a young professional business student, whom we use as our translator. He has been a great asset to our team, in terms of communication! Being the teachers that we are, we were right on time, but were told that the working day did not start until 9 am. Maddness struck, not only had we wasted a visit yesterday, but now we are going to waste another hour and half waiting for the work day to start!!!

We were finally met by Mr. Kulwa, the director of special education. Him and another colleague basically talked in circles about the exact things they shared with us last year. This time, however, they were surprised that we were actually back in Tanzania. This has gained their "trust" and they now have requested that we come back and teach a session at Petandi (special education teachers college in Arusha). We assured them that this, however, would not be possible without some assistance, funding wise. They were again shocked to discover that we had arranged our visit out of our own pockets! We left confused and hurried to the school to assess/screen another new student and do some teacher training on "visual schedules".

After training, we stopped for a quick traditional lunch consisting of chips miyi (fries in eggs), ugali, and beef sauce. Then it was back to check on Amber at the Peacock Hotel. Christopher and I talked Amber into visiting the private hospital near our hotel to rule out any parasites or Malaria. Marilyn was exhausted from the mornings adventures so she decided to stay and rest while we ventured on to our next adventure!

Much to Amber's dismay, we entered the Aga Kahn Hospital. To paint a mental picture, this hospital was filled with women, men, and many many children in its open air facility. Though it was clean, we were still a little un-easy to be in an African hospital. After visiting several different "station windows" we made our way to the "emergency and casuality" department. Don't worry folks, Amber is now an official member of the Aga Kahn Private Hospital. Her initial visit fee was 32,500 shillings ($22). Can't beat that! The doctor took us into the room and after briefing Christopher of Amber's symptoms so he could translate, he began explaining to the doctor what was going on. The doctor quickly replied "may I talk to her." We felt a little silly, since the doctor spoke pretty perfect English. He was very kind and suggested that we get some blood and stool samples taken to see what the problem was. After an hour of waiting at the lab and 66,000 shillings ($50) later, we received the results and headed back down to emergency room to visit with the doctor again. He shared that their was neither a viral or bacterial infection and requested that Amber take a prescription for pain and a prescription to gain back some lost Electrolytes. Relieved, we took our touristy picture by the hospital sign and headed to the Duka la Dawa (Pharmacy) for the meds ($20)!

Waiting for the doctor to see her with Christopher and her new membership card :)

What a day!!!! We couldn't wait to get back to the hotel for our jammies, some TV, and some room service. Amber was instructed not to eat "fatty foods" so has decided to stick to her favoriate mashed potatoes and rice diet :) Poor thing. We sure hope she starts feeling better soon!

We have plans to do a couple more screening tomorrow, a teacher training session, and then a late lunch at Addis in Dar. Addis is an authentic Ethopian restraunte that we very much enjoyed last year. We cannot wait to go back and eat with our hands :)

We will keep you up to date on this weekends events! Be praying for Amber's recovery!
Kwaheri!

WaLimu tume rudi... The teachers are back!

We began our first day at the autism unit in Dar this morning. It appears Marilyn had quite the adventure in Kenya, so we slept in and headed to the school around 10am. This is the primary school that we spent two weeks in last summer. All of the teachers were excited to see us again! It was great to see Mama Ella's friendly face (the head teacher and developer of the center). We were also happy to see that many of the same children were still in attendance from the previous year.

After exchanging hellos and welcomes we headed over to the head masters office for a quick over view of what we would be doing in the next five days or so. We aren't exactly sure the topics they are wanting us to cover so after observing for a bit we taxied to slip-way to discuss our plan of action.

Marilyn had visted with Mama Ella while Amber and I played with the kiddos. She was able to get some broad topics narrowed down, so we delegated out some tasks over a Tusker beer and some grub by the ocean. It was then shopping time again to pick up just a few more trinkets here and there. Some of us ;) are afraid we are going to have to buy an extra suitcase just for souvenirs.

Speaking of too many souvenirs, I have failed to mention that while we awaited Marilyn's return on Monday, Amber and I were in search of "kiitange" (traditional printed African fabric). Amber's mother has plans to make some quilts and clothing so we needed several different patterns and colors. Long story short we have ended up with 9 different prints and roughly 70 yards of fabric to work it. Good luck Linda :) Robn has already enjoyed her go around with the fabric we brought home last year, but we are so thankful for our stylish authentic skirts. God only knows how much our suitcases will weigh on the trip home. The fabric is much thicker and heavier then our textiles.

We are planning for a full week of teaching but are hoping to get to the beach this weekend.

We shall be in touch!

Wazungus in Red!

We did it! We attend our first Africa futbol game!!!

Amber and I both woke up not feeling to hot, but we managed to get to the Subway down the street for some grub and then got ready for the afternoons event! The hotel Manager was supposed to pick us up at 1pm for a ride so we waited in the lobby until about 1:30 before deciding that maybe he forgot about us. Because the game didn't really start until 4, we made the decision to go lie down until 3 and then go. Not surprising that we then got a call on our hotel phone at 2 asking if "we were ready to go?!?!" We hopped up and met up with Lillian, the manager (who's name we still don't know), and two of their friends! We piled in the toyota and headed to the National Stadium in our personalized Simba Jersey's!

Their were people every where. The streets were filled with traffic and Africa's in both yellow/green and white/red. We were in for a real treat, not to mention a cluster! With our VIP bands, we got to park within the gates, instead of walking from who knows how far away! We took several pictures and then headed inside to our seats. Amber and I were a bit nervous with all of the unfamiliar individuals so close to us! As we were walking to our seats, groups of African's were shouting, Wazungus and then pointing for us to come sit by them. We just chuckled and kept up with Lillian and the others. The game was intense throughout. Neither team scored, so it went into extra time. Yanga ended up scoring in the 16th minute of extra time which ended the game with Simba fans sulking.

The afternoon wore Amber and I out, so for the 3rd night in a row we ordered room service and watched our African Soap Opera :)

Marilyn returns this evening. Amber and I have plans to go hunting for some Kitange (printed fabric) and then head to Sea Cliff where we spotted a Mexican Restaurant. Tomorrow we will begin helping out at the primary school in Dar. We are anxious to see of some of the same kiddos are there from last year!

Hope all is well! Pictures aren't wanting to load today, so we will try to get them up later this afternoon!

Beef, it's what's for dinner!

Amber and I finally found a cheeseburger!!!! After Marilyn, Amber, and I skipped all around town to get a passport document signed for Marilyn's son, Sam, we sent her on her way to the airport for Kenya and decided to check out "Sea Cliff Village." We were told that this place was similar to our favorite location, Slip-Way, where we enjoy pizza and shopping, so we caught a taxi and headed that way. Upon arrival, the first thing we noticed was the huge westernized super market and several restaurant signs. We were starved from our earlier adventures so decided to go into the cafe'. We knew we had made the right choice when we saw Samosas and Beef Burgers on the menu. The two of us enjoyed a cocktail and indulged in the cheese burger we had been longing for!

After our scrumptious meal, we walked around for a bit, tried some Aero Chocolate (chocolate with bubbles inside... pretty tasty! Very airy!) and then our Taxi driver took us on a hunt for some Simba Futbol Club Jersey's. We were a bit nervous when our driver told us "this was not a safe neighborhood no matter what color your skin is. Stay in the car, I'll be back." He then proceeded to leave us in the unlocked running car. A slight freak out occurred but he was soon back and had us down an alley for the jersey's. Festo... the cab driver, also mentioned that we should get our names on the back. We couldn't argue so he led us on another chase to find the shop for personalizing. What a day... we headed back to the hotel to do some laundry.

Last year our laundry experience consisted of washing our clothes in the tub with dish soap, this year we got smart and brought Tide Detergent. Washing was much easier but we quickly ran out of places to lay and hang things to dry. In the mean time, we order room service late in the evening and settled in to watch some good ole' African soap operas. Similar to home video, we had our fair share of laughs. Before we knew it was 11 o'clock.... the lastest we have stayed up yet! We must be settling into the time change... after two week :)

Amber and I slept in.... if you call 9 a.m. sleeping in. We weren't sure what the day would hold but we headed off to Tinga Tinga first to pick up some customized items. Then, we had the driver take us back to the slip way for more shopping and eating :) We have been told that "that's all American's like to do!" We spent the afternoon sipping cocktails by the ocean and enjoying another round of Samosas. (Moms: We are going to have to find the recipe)

It was time to head back to the Peacock to check on our Simba vs. Yanga tickets! Turns out, we are VIP A for tomorrow game. Tickets only cost us 30,000 shillings which is roughly $20. Not only do we have VIP tickets, we also have a personal escort from the hotel that is also accompanying us to the game. No worries, we should be in safe hands! Not to mention we are going to be looking stylish in our personalized Simba jersey's and white skin! No one will mess with us!

We look forward to sharing our experiences at the Simba vs Yanga Game!
Usikumwema (goodnight!)

HOLY FIREWORKS!

Our first night in Dar proved to be an eventful one!!!.... to say the least :) We started off with a hectic trip to our hotel from the airport. With all of our luggage, we had to take 2 taxis. Marilyn hopped in one and
Amber and I took the other. 2 minutes out of the airport gates, our driver, Wallence, informed us that he "had to go back" and something about his cell phone being left with some lady. We assured him it was alright, after a slight freak out by the both of us (cultural misunderstanding #1). Traffic was HORRIBLE! What should have taken 20 minutes took almost an hour. The Peacock immediately felt like home away from home. We unloaded our suitcases, got laudry ready for them to clean, and ordered room service.

We were exhausted from travels so after dinner, we hit the sack!.... 12 am, and we were all awoken by loud gun shots? suit cases down the stair case? fireworks? We weren't really sure what was going on!
Amber looked outside and could see fireworks. We weren't really sure what they were for, and they seemed to go on FOREVER! Marilyn finally took it upon herself to call down to the front desk.... this would be how the converstaion went:

Front desk: Hallow
Marilyn: Umm, yes, what are those fireworks outside
Front desk: Fire where????
Marilyn: No, no, no, what is the noise outside. The fire WORKS?
Front desk: Ohhhh, it is Tanzanian Independence Day
Marilyn: (hardly able speak from laughing so hard) Oh ok thanks. Good night!

*CULTRUAL MISUNDERSTANDING #2!!!! Who knew Tanzanian Independence Day was just 3 days after ours!!! The three of us laughed for what seemed like ever. It was quite hilarious in the middle of night! Now we knew, and were able to catch some zzz's after checking out the thousands of locals gathered in the park across the street for the celebration. Apparently even the president of Tanzania was present!

After our adventurous night, we decided to visit some of our favorite places in Dar. First on the agenda was Tinga Tinga Art Gallery. Lots of souveniers were boughts and we headed to Wonder Welders to discover that it was closed for the holidays. Bummed, we set off for the Slip Way, our favorite pizza place and shopping along the Indian Ocean. The ATM's were first on our list at the Slip Way due to the major damage that was had at Tinga Tinga. Our afternoon of shopping was tiresome so we ventured back to the Peacock for another round of room service after a stop at the downstairs bar to catch the end of the Castle Cup, semi-final game. Simba, one of the two Tanzanian teams was up against Sudan. The locals that it was soooo funny that wazungus were cheering on the Simba team. We learned that there would be 3 more games held in Dar as part of the Castle Cup. Since Marilyn will be leaving us for a few days to visit Kenya, Amber and I decided that we wanted to attend the final game on Sunday. Simba is for sure in the final, and this afternoon we plan to tune into the other semi-final game to see if the other Tanzanian team will be against Simba on Sunday! We are very excited to be amoungst the chaotic crowds at the National Stadium in Dar. We also have plans to pick up some Simba "gear" before we go to the game.... just to help us not stick out TOO much :) I am sure that fans will still be in awe that there are wazungus cheering on the Simba team.

That all for now. We are heading to lunch and then saying bon voyage to Marilyn as she makes her way by plane to Kenya until Monday.

Kwaheri!

X-Rated Photos, for Adult Eyes Only!!!!!

Safari Pictures

Ostrich laying down, taking a load off.

We love the fact that each Zebra's butt is different!

Mama and baby tembo

Punda Malia crossing

Twiga licking himself after eating some leaves

Pretty bird

"What are you looking at?" Cape Buffalo

Nyani- baby baboon

Posing for a photo

Grooming- "Mom, quit picking at me!"

Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil

Tarangire Sunset

Mama and baby Impala

Husband and wife Twigas

Tembos drinking down by the river bank

Rolling in the mud

Flinging the mudd

Tembo love :)

Shrew

This is what you get to see at 6 in the morning when no one has driven on the roads yet, Elephant trunk tracks!

King of the Jungle

RAWWWR!

Female Nala's lying in the trees

Hippo Pod

Traditional Masaii Shoes made from tires.

Check those holes out Cody Maupin!!! Mom better not catch you doing that!

Joining the Masaii women for some traditional dancing

Black Rhino Spotting.... only 9 left in the world and we saw 2!

Look at that beautiful beast RIGHT by the car!

sooooo close!

Young Simba

More hippo pods

Cheeta prowling

Mount Meru, Arusha, Tanzania 2011