Lately my body has been an alarmingly impressive incubator for unpleasant things. Something is definitely up. Last week I thought I might have malaria again. I’d been really tired lately and feverish and had PLENTY of stomach discomfort. It turned out to not be malaria, but I was starting to think that it might be worth it to investigate into buying some kind of at-home test because the possibility that I might have it again made me feel ridiculous.
Not to complain, but I’ve not had the best of luck lately. The day after I got back from the coast, I woke up to my room and a small lake that had infiltrated said room. The unwelcome flood came from our crap-tastic ceiling in the hallway, which has so much water damage, it looks like it may fall in any day now. Because of a slight slope, my room (and ONLY my room) was the chosen destination for all the rain water. The contractor was supposed to show up on Thursday to fix the roof (he showed up four days later) and apparently he’s “patched” things up, but I’m still skeptical. Then, that Friday, I got peed on by Zulfa, the youngest girl at Amani. I’ve been teaching a few kids how to draw on the computer and let Zulfa watch….on my lap. On Sunday I got harassed in town by two creepy men who were saying nasty things to me (in English) and ended up going home. Anyways, this past week I’ve had an African amoeba in my stomach, so that’s why I’ve been feeling tired and feared it was malaria. Now I have some weird bumps on the back of my tongue….so we shall see. A lot of the kids are sick at work so I’m sure I’ve got some kind of viral thing from one of the buggers.
The kids have finally started class again- thank you lord. Now I finally understand those “back to school” commercials with the dad happily shopping for school supplies while that Christmas song “It’s the most wonderful time of the year” plays in the background. Haha. No, I’m mostly kidding, but it was exhausting trying to keep up with them over spring break. A lot of the kids went home to visit their families, but many were unable to do so, which made my heart break a little. I taught the kids perspective last week which they were surprisingly good at.
This past Thursday I went to an African wedding, which was straight out of “Coming to America,” back when Eddie Murphy didn’t have to play every character in a movie to get it made (by his own production company). It was at the local YMCA after work. Technically it’s called a “Send-Off Party” all about the bride, but it’s a bigger deal than the wedding. Most of the gift’s are for the bride’s new home (my roommates and I gave her some nice glassware). Of course, as expected, the power kept going off and on, off and on. It wouldn’t be African otherwise. Everything was decorated white and gold and there were nice little twinkly lights on the walls and real pink and white roses on the tables. Pretty snazzy! A lot of stuff went on that I couldn’t understand because it was beyond an eight-year old vocabulary. There was plenty of African beer and thick milky Chai tea, and we ate some unrecognizable roast beast with rice, bananas and fruit. The highlight for me was when they brought the “cakey” out. All the cooks were dancing behind it in a funny line, and “it” it turns out, was a roast goat. It still had all it’s fur on but the inside had been cooked, and flowery bushes were stuck in its mouth and rear area, while sliced lemons adorned its sides. Poor lil’ guy. Seeing as I had an amoeba in my tum, I did not go near that goat. There were a lot of dances that involved the bride’s family (the bride, by the way, was my home-stay sister Sophy), like when all her aunties lifted up a suitcase and shouted “ay-yiyiyi!” and brought it towards her. I thought that was kind of sad actually. Another dance was when the female family members took a colorful cloth and shook it around the bride’s mama. I took some photos, and eventually left when I had to parade up the aisle with the gift that my roommates and I brought.
Nothing much else to report….the boy from Amani, Augustino, who asked to live with me sent me another love letter. He's such a good artist and I've been tutoring him recently in English. I really do care about him and would like to stay in his life after I've left Tanzania, but I also worry about getting too attached to the kids.
Anyhow, toodles for now.
Whitney
