Ride in

The ride in wasn't much different this morning, but I had another one of those "I'm in Africa" moments. The ride in was filled with farmers which is typical during the rainy season. Because most of them get off at the same large farm it is not uncommon for the dala to make that stop the end of his route and return for another route. As I waited for the next dala to take me into town I was struck by how beautiful it was to see the people in their colorful clothes, carrying their jembes and waiting for the next ride. The blue sky contrasted nicely with their dark skin but of course I didn't bring my camera and probably would have felt odd taking the picture were it available. When the dala going to Moshi did come I was lucky enough to sit in the front seats. Usually these seats are preferable because though you are crammed four in a row like the rest, you get to see out the front window and there are less hassles with people leaving and entering the dala. Today's ride was special because not only was I in the front but they didn't try to add an extra passenger, so there was ample room and the normal seat felt spacious. Part of this "I'm in Africa" moment is undoubtedly because of the recent departure of the British volunteers.

The British girls left yesterday and saying good bye was harder than I expected. Granted my expectations were pretty low, I spent very little time with them during their four month stay. The last two weeks our relationship improved from just being amicable to being friends. It also forced me to confront the fact that I will soon have to be saying good bye to the students and packing my bags.

One boon of their departure is the box of food they left me. It isn’t much different than common box donated to a food drive, but find myself peering into it like a new toy chest. The most precious items are a brick of butter and two spice grinders filled with garlic and red chillies respectively. The stocks and dried soups will provide special meals for months and I already
enjoyed some penne pasta. I made the mistake of confusing an unlabeled soup package for a mac & cheese package, and ended up preparing penne casserole.