Finally, a post

From Angela: Adding to this blog turned out to be far more complicated than I expected. We have very slow, occasional, dial up service at our apartment and internet cafes are not a good option. We'll come to Scott's office when we want to post something. His office is a series of small metal buildings with tile roofs surrounding a very attractice garden courtyard. It is very nice by Arusha standards and it turns out his office is actually a corrugated metal shipping container. Who knew?

Africa is so much more Africa than I expected. I was completely overwhelmed on the first day and by the morning of the second Annie started throwing up. We eventually took her to a medical clinic that was very nice. They said she had an infection and put her on antibiotics and she seems to be getting better. She now looks even skinnier than before. We have had to force her to eat pesto noodles, Twix bars, Gatorade and milkshakes. Charlie said she should eat them because at home she wouldn't be so lucky.

While Annie and I stayed home and recovered, Charlie, Scott and Doug worked at Manyara Ranch (owned by the Tanzania Land Conservation Trust) and saw a variety of animals: zebra, lion, elephant, giraffe, wildebeast, Grant's gazelle, impala and ostrich. They saw a boarding school in the center of the ranch (900 students - 90 per PHE size classroom)to the perimeter. Very primitive. Four kids to a desk. The Maasai graze cattle over long distances across the savannas. Their red and purple robes are impressive.

Arusha is a fairly large city. The main roads are paved but everywhere else is dirt. There are people walking everywhere. The kids were fascinated by the women carrying things on their heads: large baskets of bananas, enormous plastic bags and 5 gallon plastic buckets. The people wear all variety of clothing. There are women in traditional African dress, strange combinations of used Western clothing, and people in traditional Maasai dress. There is the smell of something burning at all times. Sometimes it is just women roasting ears of corn on the side of the roads, sometimes burning grass or garbage. It always changes. There are not as many tourists as I expected to see. Most seem to be European or South African. Most of the Americans get off the plane, re picked up by guides, and go to the bush.

The poeple are very friendly. We are picking up a few Swahili phrases. Enough to get by. Our Apartment is OK, very quirky. I'll describe in more detail another time. Clean, but no where for the kids to play. So we are looking for something else.

Today was our first day out as a family. We went to a swimming pool, playground and sportsbar complex. We were the only Americans. The kids played with several other kids who seemed to speak a variety of languages. Charlie said one girl said to him, "Hello, Noseltweek." We have no idea what they were saying, but they seemed to play okay for a while. The more I get out, the less intimidating it is.

This kids did not want to write because they are playing in the circle drive in front of Scott's office while the Maasai guard watches them. We will add pictures the next time. I hope to add more on Monday. Tomorrow we are going to Arusha National Park.