Lewis Arrives for a Visit

On Tuesday, Lewis and Michela arrived, Michela for a visit and Lewis to assist with some business work that needs to be done at the school.  Form 4 finished their last exam this morning, and they'll be leaving over the next couple of days, so they were happy to see Lewis one more time before leaving.  Some who live locally he will be able to see again on future visits, but some who live many hours by bus away it will be harder to keep in touch with.  Many of the students were hanging out in the library after finishing the exam, so he stopped here first when he walked up to the school to greet them.

 

Hedgehog!

Tammy has a special talent that many of you probably don't know about. 

She is an amazing hedgehog-finder. I have lived here for a year and a half and I've never once seen a hedgehog outside.  Then again, I don't tend to be out after dark much.  But she finds them all the time.  She loves them and often tries to make a pet of them, but that has historically not worked out well because they either escape and run away or well, they had dogs. 

She found one on her way back to my house tonight; Deborah and I agreed she could keep it for an hour.  It was really cute, and it seemed more resigned to being photographed and adored than particularly scared. 

Having Fun with Guests

Look who's back in Tanzania!  

The Short family moved away from Tanzania in December, and have been spending a few months visiting the church in Milan (which is where I first knew them; we worked together there from 2007-2009).  However, Tammy had a few things that needed to be finished up here in Tanzania, and they needed to make a trip out of the Schengen area (Europe) so as not to overstay the 90 days that Americans are allowed to stay without getting a visa.  Lewis had already come at the end of January and brought Rebecca with him, and Michela visited some family friends in Scotland for her trip out. So, that left Tammy and Deborah, the youngest daughter.  They arrived in Monduli on February 19th, and will be staying with me for the few weeks they are here. 

Tonight, Deborah and I cooked a big meal of fried chicken, gravy, fried potatoes, and corn, and then we played Phase 10.  It's fun having someone around who likes to play card games! 

Yard Work Without a Yard

You would think, seeing as my house is completely surrounded by pavement and I have no yard at all, that I would have no need to do yard work.  Unfortunately, you would be wrong.  My driveway and patio are all covered by paving stones, which are not grouted in between, so weeds grow up quickly between them after we get any rain at all.  

Fortunately, there are bored children around willing to work for soda money.  Tammy sent Deborah and Camara (a high school student) over on their bicycles to help me pull the weeds.  They worked hard! I hadn't cleaned out the weeds since the rainy season ended in June, so they'd been growing for a good three months.  

Studying the Eastern Hemisphere

Since May, I've been meeting three or four times a week with the Shorts' younger two daughters to help out with their homeschooling.  I am teaching them history and geography; they have a curriculum from Sonlight that I really like the format of.  We're doing the Eastern Hemisphere curriculum. 

I really like this study because it goes fairly in-depth in the history and culture of countries that American schools don't usually spend much time on.  I remember doing a lot of American history in school, and world history usually seemed to be more just history of Western civilization.  Admittedly, it's been a while since I was in school, but I don't remember doing more than glancing at anything outside the US other than Egypt, Greece and Rome.  I also really like the study because I've been to some of the countries we're discussing, so I can share my experiences, and I'm learning a lot, too, as we study the ones I haven't been to or spent little time in.  

Each unit involves labelling a detailed map, doing a history timeline, discussing cultural items such as religion, art, music and current political structure.  We also have pages to fill out about famous sights in each country. We started with China in May, and then their Aunt Alethea took over while she was visiting in the month of June finishing up China and talking about Taiwan, and Tammy did part of the India unit with them while on a trip to Dodoma. In July we've covered the Koreas and Japan.  We're finishing up Japan now; the photo is from an activity page for Japan.  The girls each made a dictionary of Japanese words and decorated the front with a symbol of Japan--Deborah chose Mt. Fuji and Rebecca chose cherry blossoms.   

Next up: Russia! 

Running from the Clippers

Somebody made the mistake of complaining in Tammy's presence about their nails.  She pulled out some clippers, and you would have thought the boys were a bunch of three-year-olds, not high school students.  They ran. 

She caught up with them in front of the boys' dormitory, though.  Bahati looks extremely worried as she takes a go at his nails. 

Somehow, nail-cutting has become a spectator sport today. I guess none of us had anything much better to do between church and lunch on a Sunday. 

Of course, if someone sees that I am taking pictures, they have to pose, or ask for selfies. 

Michela's Birthday

On Sunday afternoon, we went to the Njiro complex (a shopping center on the other side of Arusha) for lunch to celebrate Michela's 16th birthday.  All four of her grandparents are still here visiting, so we had quite a crowd!  We ate lunch at the food court (yay for Chinese food!) and had cake and presents.  I hope 16 is a great year for her!

I got her real presents, too, but put a few new forks in as well.  We have been joking about the difficulty of finding a clean fork with so many people around!

Michela is cheered on by her grandmother, Sharon Short. 

Happy Birthday!

Rebecca's Birthday

Veronica, Radhia, Jackline, and Rebecca

There's a tradition here in Tanzania that people dump water on the birthday person.  I know I've mentioned it before, but I had another chance to witness it on Rebecca's birthday.  She was prepared: she packed a change of clothes and a towel before going up to the school, and her friends did not disappoint her.  I think the second set of clothes might have ended up rather damp as well.  Remind me to hide on my birthday...or at the very least to not carry my phone or any papers around! :)

Rebecca's birthday fell on Thanksgiving Day again this year (tends to happen occasionally with a late November birthday), but we stopped to sing and present her with her gifts before we left to celebrate Thanksgiving at the Duncans' house.  We were in a rush, as always, so she took the gifts with her in the car to open.  She absolutely loves Agatha Christie mysteries, so she was really happy that I'd found one she doesn't have!   She also took the opportunity, since it was her birthday and she could get away with it, to wear a long, flowy flowered dress.  One of her favorite presents was a pair of high heels; she's definitely the sister most into glamour these days. 

Tammy and I decided Lewis needed some quality time with his children since he's been working a lot lately.  Or at least that was our excuse to stick him in the back. :) 

Birthday Fun

 On November 3rd, we celebrated D's tenth birthday.  Please don't tell her I'm posting pictures...

First, we went swimming; I didn't get pictures of that part.  Then, we had lunch at her favorite restaurant in Arusha, formerly known as the Fish and Chicken Restaurant.  It has a new name, but it hasn't caught on with us yet.  We had a pretty good crowd; the Shorts, Beth and her kids, Elipendo, Margaret from Karatu, and two friends from our neighborhood, Deo and Mary. 

We then went over to AIM mall, where the kids played at the arcade and we had cake that Michela had made and presents in the food court.  It was a good day of friends, family and cake! 

In Tanzania, the birthday person cuts the cake and serves it to their guests. 

Cake time!