We Are Family

My family is here now!

This past week has been a complete blur. Via Via four nights in a row, people coming and going within the house and just the general happiness that is around makes it so easy to just be.

On Wednesday Lauren and Meryl came to Camp Moses and we spent the day just having fabulous talks, listening to music and getting caught up on all of the office work we had been putting off. It was amazing how quickly time flew by. After work, another girl and I met some of our house girls in town for an ice cream sundae. Delicious as always. After that we headed down to the boys’ practice and gawked in amazement. They really are something spectacular. The fluidity of their movements is incomprehensible and they just make it look easy. Daddy had asked a few of the girls to take pictures for publicity and the rest of us certainly didn’t mind pretending that we weren’t enjoying ourselves way too much trying to capture their choreography.

When the practice had finished and we had wiped the drool off of our chins, I went with the girls to get some supplies for their trip to Uganda. Being the resident expert on way too long bus trips I didn’t mind tagging along and giving them suggestions on what keeps your stomach happy when it is getting slammed up and down so viciously on the dirt roads. We went home, had dinner and left again for Via Via.

The boys all met us there and we gave transferred the pictures we had taken. One thing led to another, and before we knew it Daddy was giving us dance lessons and we had turned a cute little restaurant into a salsa class. All of the other people that were there for a casual drink or dinner came and joined in and the party started. We stayed and danced and laughed and enjoyed ourselves until 2 in the morning before calling it a night. I could barely sleep I was so overwhelmed with excitement. Not only would my family be here in less than 24 hours, but also I was realizing how head over heels in love I am with all parts of my life.

Thursday was another quick day at work. Juliet had to go to Camp Joshua so it was just another volunteer and I at Moses. We had a bonding day with our kids, and I started to think about what it’s going to be like to go home without them.

After tuckering ourselves out playing, I came home to finish up some office work. I was so anxious about my parents coming and the events over the last few days that it was difficult to concentrate on much. I watched the clock, said goodbye to some of the girls who were heading out to Uganda for white water rafting and tried to busy myself while waiting for 7 pm to roll around.

Right on time, Agry came to BaseCamp (my house), with his big bus ready to get my family. It was a long and drawn out hour and a half trip to Kilimanjaro airport. It didn’t help that one of the two men Agry brought along to help out with bags was creeping on me the whole time. I ended up telling him I was twenty and married with children to get him to turn around and stop talking to me.

We were early (which Never!!! Happens in Africa.) so we stopped by Agry’s uncles place that is near to the airport for a quick soda. Agry told me his uncle was a guard and the airport and his uncle ended up hopping on the bus with us as we were leaving. We got to the airport and I bounced out of the bus and skipped to the main doors. Agry’s uncle motioned for me to follow him and before I knew it I was standing beside the airplane waiting for them to walk out. Turns out I have mad connections like never in Tanzania.

As soon as I saw them I felt the tears well up in my eyes. It was so surreal to have them in my new home, experiencing what I had lived in for the past three months. Agrys uncle took them to the front of the line, grabbed their passports and got them stamped, then took us to the baggage carousel. Behind us, we left 150 or so people in the line up. Sick connections, I know. Even with our head start, after waiting for 14 suitcases to get unloaded from the plane, we were the last ones to be leaving the airport.

Everything seemed to be way too easy; then we tried to clear customs. They asked for our bags to be opened and that’s where the trouble began. The customs officer wanted receipts for all of the donations that we were bringing into the country or for us to pay $150 USD. A little panicked and not sure what to do, Agry and his uncle stepped in. Agry talked to the man, followed him behind a corner into an office, then emerged again and the problem was solved. We hurried out of the airport, not wanting to wait around for anything else to go wrong.

We loaded the bus and were off. I chit chatted all the way back to Arusha, so excited to be telling all of my stories in person. They were exhausted and perfectly content with my just dropping them off at the hostel and saying goodnight. That’s where my night just started.

I bounded into my house overcome with happiness and excitement and just general positivity, retelling the airport story at least three times, chugging back some Konyagi and getting ready for a night out.

Via Via was even more fun then usual it seemed. Maybe it was the karaoke, maybe it was Contagious dancing and maybe it was just the fantastic mood I was in, but we danced and danced and danced, not making it home until after three in the morning. We made pizza, popcorn and ate cake in our kitchen, giggling about trying to keep up when we were dancing with the boys from the group. Off to bed, catching maybe an hour or so of sleep, before having to wake up and meet the family the next day.

Itty Bitty

Caroline and I were finally at work on the same day! We hadn’t seen each other in almost a week and had so much to catch up on. We spent the day chit chatting and playing with the kids. It was the American family’s last day in Tanzania and LOHADA said their goodbye’s to them.

It was also meat and bread day. I went with Mama Wambura’s son, Jacob, (Soooooo many ‘J’ names here!) to pick them up. We got the meat, and went to get the bread but they were closed. On the way back, Jacob pulled over and said “okay, go slow” and got out of the car. I did the same and climbed into the drives seat! I was really driving in Africa!!!! I drove all the way back to Camp Moses and didn’t even crash! Go me!

After lunch we all piled into the car again and Jacob insisted I drive again as I had done so well the first time. The other girls weren’t too sure but played along. I did great all the way to the bread place and then all the way into town! I dropped them off at different places and handed the keys back over to Jacob. Such an exciting day!

I met with Meryl and Lauren at McMoody’s before going home. We had banana stew for dinner, then got a text from the b-boys to meet them at Via Via again. All of the crew that went to Zanzibar was home and a lot of us went to meet ‘the boys’. We had a few drinks and lots of laughs and I decided I never want to leave! Knowing how soon my family was coming made everything seem so much better. I truly love this place and when my family gets here, there won’t be much at all that I’m missing.

At home, Ronnie gave us bitty names… I’m officially Itty Bitty.

Contagious

Newfound friendships at their best, and boy gossip at it’s highest, I was pumped to go to work on Monday. The American family was gearing their trip down and preparing for their last day in Tanzania. Already set on going to Camp Joshua for the day to scope out the new cute French volunteer, I was happy to see that everyone else at Moses had the same plan, minus the French volunteer part.

We hung around for the morning, updated files and just doing a little work here and there, waiting for the group to be all ready to go. The creepy man who has started donating juice to LOHADA, mostly because of the opportunity it provides him with to look at attractive foreign volunteers, showed up just before we were leaving. He offered to drive some of us to Joshua so that he could ‘see the school’. The girls, wary of the juice man, climbed in Mama Wambura’s car, leaving the boys and Juliet to ride with ‘him’.

Paulo, the volunteer from France, did not disappoint. We spent the day sitting in on classes, playing soccer and I even managed to get the rest of the Sponsor A Child letters finished. Three o clock came quickly and I joined Lauren and Meryl in their trip into town. We went to McMoody’s for a quick sundae (delicious) and then went to see the B-Boys practice.

Some of the other girls in our house had met some of the locals that are in a dance crew, Contagious, that performs at some of the local clubs. I never really understood their fascination with them and had just brushed aside all of their comments. But today, since Lauren and Meryl were already going, and I just happened to be with them, I figured I’d join.

We went into a gym downtown that I had no idea existed and took a seat to watch ‘the boys’ practice. They did not disappoint. All of them were fantastic dancers and completely mesmerized us. The were doing what Daddy, the main guy/choreographer of the group, called contemporary-afro dance. Whatever it was I was impressed! We left an hour and a half or so in, and went to grab dinner at a near by local restaurant. One of the girls had been ‘seeing’ a boy in the crew and wanted to make it back before practice was over. We ate quickly and then got a call from ‘the boys’ to meet them at Via Via for a drink. Off we went and looking back now, this and the preceding events were what have caused the biggest change I’ve seen in myself over the trip.

The three of us girls sat with the boys and had drinks and listened to music and just really enjoyed the surroundings. The sun set and some of them left, the music got louder and I have never talked so openly about the cultural differences with locals. They taught us a bit of dancing and we closed the place for the night.

I have no idea why I was so happy after all of this. Maybe it was because I finally really embraced the culture here, maybe it was because I took the time to talk to locals that weren’t employed by Volunteer Abroad, and maybe it was just because I’ve started to grow up and learn to take advantage of opportunities presented to myself.

Good Vibrations

As a team, we decided that we just wanted a relaxing weekend. We slept in Saturday morning, and then did a workout video on the balcony. Our cleaning lady thought we were crazy as we kicked and sweated our way through P90X cardio.

We all showered and got dressed and headed to town to do some exploring. Not all of the ‘new girls’ knew their way around town so we showed them all of the ins and outs. We had a great salad for lunch and had finished our exploring just in time to make it home for dinner.

After dinner, I was exhausted. It was the first day in a loooong time that I hadn’t had a nap. We agreed as a team that we’d have a quick nap after dinner then go down the street for karaoke. Eight thirty we went down for our nap, and I didn’t get back up until morning. The rest of the girls went out and had a great time. I was just excited when I woke up Sunday morning and wasn’t sick anymore!

Ronnie came home from Uganda on Sunday and made us delicious French toast for breakfast. We gorged ourselves on that and fruit then decided it was the perfect day to go to Kigongoni Lodge. We laid by the pool until five in the evening, then went for Indian food. Delicious to say the least!

The group in the house right now is what has changed my attitude so drastically. The general mentality is so positive and open and it’s infectious. I love being around them and am really happy with the way everything is working out!

Keepin On Keepin On

Wednesday, Caroline was sick and didn’t make it into work, leaving it to be just Juliet and I and some new Danish volunteers at the office. I went to go talk to her about how soon my family was coming, and it ended up turning into one of the best conversations we have had. All of the miscommunications from the past were brought into the open and we realized that that is just what they were. I explained the work I had been doing and what I was planning on doing for the rest of my time here. We finally understood where each other were coming from.

We both saw how important the children are to us and that we want the saw things for them. I’m ecstatic of how things have worked out. The confidence that I had been lacking in all of the work I was doing has been restored. I went home and new that something had changed for me. I didn’t believe it was possible, but I started to love Africa and Tanzania and Arusha and my life here even more.

The next day I woke up feeling really cruddy. I was still excited about the previous days success, but had a nasty cold. I made it to work in the morning but didn’t last long. There was a new family from the states at the orphanage taking pictures and doing videos, along with 3 Danish volunteers. They all looked at me like I was walking dead, and to be honest that’s how I felt. I really didn’t want to risk getting the kids sick and I didn’t know how much longer I’d be able to stay awake, so at 11 I headed home. I got back to the white house, tucked myself into bed and slept until 4 that afternoon. The house was strangely empty, as 6 people had left the day before to go to Zanzibar. I had dinner, and went back to bed, hoping I’d wake up the next day feeling better.

Friday was Marlee’s last day in Arusha. I woke up but still felt crummy, so stayed in bed. I managed to climb out to go for lunch with the girls, but didn’t last long after that. I said goodbye to Marlee, and was left the last of the original five. I had the room to myself! After sleeping with so many people in the same room for so long it was more than strange to be the last one standing.

I started feeling better after dinner, and the new girls and I had a nice and relaxing in night. We made banana splits and pineapple banana muffins and read Cosmopolitan magazines and just had a great girls night. I was finally starting to get to know the people in my house better, and I was happy about the way everything was going. All I needed was to feel better and life would be perfect!

Joseph

Anxious to see how Joseph had done the previous day, I had no problems being at the bus station at seven the next morning. Like a worried mother, I couldn’t sleep the night before and just wanted to know that he was okay. Juliet, Caroline and I, along with Mama Lydia, got onto the bus and went to see our baby. We met Eamon in Moshi, grabbed something quick to eat, and went in to see him.

Juliet had gotten to the hospital before us, and as I walked into the room all I could see was a large lump on the bed where Joseph was supposed to be. Juliet looked at me with her beautiful brown eyes and asked me to give her my hand. My heart has never beaten so fast. I had no idea what she was going to tell me.

Much to my relief, she said, “our baby is okay, Joseph is fine”. The lump was a cage that they had placed over the majority of his body so the blankets wouldn’t touch the wounds. He was very sedated, but he was still my baby and he was still okay.

The surgery had taken 2.5 hours, but was successful. They had cut into his lower abdomen and found that only the head of his penis had been cut off; the rest had simply retracted into his abdomen. They were able to bring it outside and took a piece of skin from his thigh to create a new head. The doctors said they weren’t sure the penis would function at 100%, but he would still have sensations there and he should go through a normal puberty. Success! The only downside was that Joseph would have to stay at KCMC for at least 14 more days to recover as he still experienced great amounts of pain while he urinated.

Happy about our brilliant day, the trip home didn’t seem nearly as long. Even though I had to leave my baby in Moshi, I knew he was going to be okay.

Becoming Normal

One of the new volunteers, Lauren, had been placed at Camp Joshua, so I brought her to work with me on Monday for her orientation. Still not fully recovered from the tiff with Juliet, things weren’t 100% safi at work.

While we were in the office, Juliet popped her head in and casually mentioned that my baby, Joseph, was having his surgery that day. Like it was no big deal. I almost started to cry. She said we should all go to Moshi the next day, and I of course agreed. Then she mentioned that someone would need to pick up the bread for the rest of the children the next day as Mama Wambura (and her vehicle) were still out of town. Great. I was left with the dilemma of whether to go see my child after his surgery or to pick up the bread so 120 children could have their one slice a week.

I, being completely frazzled and much to close to tears for comfort, called Ronnie, the genius-all mighty problem solver, and he agreed that if we paid his gas money he wouldn’t mind picking up the bread the next day. Even though he was sick, he was still a great coordinator!

After Lauren and I had finished at Camp Moses, Ronnie came over and had a quick meeting with Juliet to confirm Lauren’s details and then we went to town. I was more than excited to be the ‘oldie’ for once; showing Lauren the hot-spots in Arusha and helping her get familiarized with the city….

It just sort of struck me that I now think of Arusha as a city. As the hub of everything. As normal.

We all headed home and it was so exciting to hear about the four new girls and their first day of placement experiences. I really feel like I have made a home and a family and that I could stay here for a long time.

Maji Moto

This weekend was a definite turning point for the better. The power was out all through Moshono (the area of Arusha Camp Moses is in) and the majority of the work I needed done was on the computer. I played with my kiddies, avoided any pee incidents, and left around noon.

Our house had planned on going on a big camping trip, and I was excited to get out of the house for the weekend. Meghan had come home from summiting Kilimanjaro the night before and we were set on making her last weekend in Africa a good one!

We got our bags together, made sure we had enough chocolate and graham crackers to see us through a few days, and boarded the dalla dalla. The whole way to the hot springs, Maji Moto (literally translated to ‘hot water’) we sang and sang and entertained the local that was driving us. Only eight of us went down on the Friday, as the rest didn’t want to stay over night. We pitched our tents and started a fire. Joseph, not my baby but our assistant cook at the house, came along with us to make our meals. Life of luxury indeed. Two of the four new volunteers joined us, and I really enjoyed getting to know them.

We spent the night talking and making s’mores around the campfire. It was really just what I needed to set me straight again and give myself a huge attitude adjustment.

The next day we ate breakfast, put on our swimsuits and dove into the hot springs. The water was warm and beautiful and just perfect. We swam and laughed and enjoyed the relaxation that Maji Moto brought us. The other group came around lunch time and by then we had already finished in the water. For the rest of the day, I took pictures and just hung out. This was the first time I’d just relaxed at somewhere other than Kigongoni Lodge or our house. It felt fantastic! We found a turtle and looked at fishies and just loved the day.

As the afternoon wore on, more mzungu’s from different groups in and around Arusha showed up. I grew happier and happier with my decision to have camped out the night before as I got my swimming done in the morning and didn’t feel rushed or obligated to do much of anything at all. The rest of the group all swam till three or four in the afternoon, then we packed up camp and drove away from our glorious weekend.

Sunday was Meghans last full day in Arusha. Our original five was going to lose it’s third member! Meghan and I spent the day doing all the fun things around Arusha. We went and bought her bus ticket to Dar es Salaam, then to the market to get some last minute souvenirs, of course to Africafe for one last piece of cake and then back to the house to let her finish packing. We went to the Japanese restaurant for dinner and made our way home. I had a really good time getting to know Meghan better and really enjoyed our last few days together. It was the perfect ending to a really refreshing weekend.

Really? I Have How Long Left?

The next day I came to Camp Moses and met with Eamon and Caroline there. We sat down to have what started as an innocent talk, but ended in a fight. We began discussing what we really wanted to accomplish with the time we had left and what we had already done. Of course, this led to Joseph.

By now my attachment to him has grown immeasurably. He has really become my own and I feel responsible for everything that happens to him. Juliet wasn’t sure herself and Mama Wambura wanted us to continue sponsoring him because of how many people had gotten involved. Not only were Caroline and I sponsoring him, but also the two Danish volunteers that had been around for a few weeks had become involved as well as the pushy Americans that have since disappeared. They were thinking it would just be easier for them to just be in control. The language barrier was too much and we were all too frustrated with each other to continue the conversation. Showing my not-so-mature side, I left with Eamon and Caroline to go to town and cool down.

We had a milkshake and burger and discussed what had just happened in the meeting. Knowing I still had work to get done, I went back to Camp Moses after we had finished eating. Things were more than tense when I walked in. I spent an hour or so avoiding Juliet, which is not easy when the office is smaller than a bedroom, and going through sponsorship files before calling it quits. More devastated than ever, I went home.

To Moshi With Love

For the first time, Caroline and I ventured to Moshi just the two of us. We were more than okay with making it another short trip; only taking Mama Suzanna and Joseph for lunch and playing with our baby a bit before leaving. We left what we thought would be enough money for the next little while and came back to Arusha. Tired and still full swing with my private pity party, I ate dinner and went to bed.

The next day was Saba Saba, or the seventh of July. It’s a farmers celebration day and most people don’t work. Feeling like I was most people, along with others in our house, stayed home for the day. Ana and I decided to be adventurous and make cinnamon buns. And an adventure it was. In the process of learning to make the buns, we also learned how to make corn syrup and brown sugar, as both are non-existent in Arusha. The three or so hour long process was absolutely delicious in the end. Ana and I are known as the African Betty Crocker’s.

Baking has been a pretty big part of our white-house-on-the -hill life. We’ve made everything from chocolate chip banana muffins to apple coffee cake and now were proud to add cinnamon buns to the ever growing list… and waistline.

Tough Times

Even though Meghan and Marlee were still around, and the new volunteers had arrived the night before, I couldn’t help but feel like holing myself up in my room all weekend, and that’s just what I did. That Saturday and Sunday completely blur together. Somewhere in there Meghan left to climb Kili and I watched the first two seasons of the TV series Weeds. I walked around town like a lost puppy, stayed in bed until ridiculous hours and just felt sorry for myself.
I had heard that things hadn’t gone well at Camp Moses on Friday. From what I had been told (I spent the day saying good bye to Andrea and Cassie), there had been a huge meeting (that I wasn’t told about… my first frustration) that discussed Joseph and who was in charge of the funding and monitoring of his care. The new Americans insisted it was their prerogative to continue with Joseph’s well being, even though Caroline and I had done of the legwork to get him admitted to KCMC. The main issue, I guess, was that everyone wanted to help Joseph and the attention was being diverted from the other 120 kids LOHADA helps. With all of this happening, I dreaded more than ever going back to work on Monday.
With this terribly negative attitude, I did just that. Went to work, was a grouch and didn’t last long. Caroline’s co-ordinator, Eamon, came to Moses to discuss what had happened at the meeting on Friday and to see how things were in general at LOHADA. Five or six new volunteers had also shown up at Camp Moses, and I felt useless. We hung around until noon or so, then Caroline, Eamon and I went into town for lunch.
There were miscommunications left right and center and nothing was being done to fix it. I should’ve been on the ball at this point but was too pre occupied with being homesick. I was frustrated that it felt like no one was listening to my opinion and it just seemed like no one wanted to change anything or strive for what I saw as improvement. The pole pole nature of everything had gone from enjoyable to the source of frustration in a matter of days. I was clearly on the African emotional rollercoaster that I had been warned about.

It's Hard To Say Goodbye

The next few days, Andrea and Cassie started to pack their bags. Sad to see them leave, I decided a work-from-home day was in order. Andrea and I went to Kigongoni Lodge (they have wireless internet so I did get some work done!), and got ourselves pumped for the Canada party we were hosting that night. All of us girls took our time getting ready and put on our red and white; so proud to represent Canada in Africa! All of the law interns from the ICTR came to our house (they had all made friends with Ronnie) came over. We had a Canadian musician only play-list and danced our night away to the sounds of The Barenaked Ladies, Justin Bieber, The Tragically Hip and Bryan Adams. In front of the house, Ronnie set off the fireworks that he had bought and we celebrated the great nation we were from. After that, we loaded ourselves into a rented dalla dalla and headed to Via Via to share the Canadian spirit. We danced even more and made our way home in the wee hours of the morning.

We all woke up feeling like champions the next day. We went for breakfast at Africafe and wished that the clocks would all stop. Andrea was going to be the first to leave, departing just after noon. We all moped around our room, Andrea and Cassie packing up two months worth of memories. Agrey, our taxi man, pulled into the drive and we loaded her suitcases in. Proving myself as the baby of the house, I teared up and said goodbye to a great friend. The rest of us sat around for the rest of the day, in disbelief of how fast two months had gone by. We went for dinner to our favorite restaurant; savoring every bite and not wanting to go back home. On the way back, I realized that in the past two months, Cassie and I had not spent one night apart. On all of our trips and the whole time in the house we had shared a room. At home, Agrey came once again and took away another friend. Meghan, Marlee and I, the last three of the original five, sat on the front steps of our house and tried to come to terms with how little time we had left and how much had already gone bye.

At this point I was ready to come home. The thought that Andrea and Cassie would be seeing their friends and families in less than a day, and would be going back to normal made me resent my surroundings. I was tired of being shouted at walking down the streets and I craved the personal space that all of Arusha seemed to lack. I just wanted normal.

Back To Reality....

Bright and early we all met at Friend’s corner. I was late, as usual since I’ve adapted so well to the African pole pole nature. Since I hadn’t been back to Camp Moses since my trip to Zanzibar, I was a little behind on what was all going on with regards to the care of our kiddies. Two extra girls were waiting at the corner and I was told they were from a separate organization that was interested in taking care of the cost of Joseph’s post-operative care. I had my first maternal instinct ever when I saw these strangers holding my babies and pretending like they knew them when I was positive they didn’t. I just wanted to take Joseph and Bryson from their arms and hold them and protect them and make sure they were safe.

We loaded the bus and I wasn’t surprised when the new girls, who were American, ensured the babies sat on their laps and insisted on giving them too much sugar. The most frustrating thing was that they didn’t acknowledge how much Caroline, another volunteer, and I knew about these kids already and they didn’t bother to ask what we had already done for them. They just assumed we were all starting from square one. I napped as usual for the remainder of the trip and gladly got off the stuffy, stinky bus when we came to Moshi.

On their last trip to Moshi they had already gotten an ultrasound for Joseph and we were ready to admit him. While we were waiting around and getting all of his papers in order, the American and I started talking. We talked about the organizations we had come with, how long we had been in Tanzania for (I was at 2 months, herself, 2 days), and then we got onto the topics of university. I told her I was going into my second year, she insisted that I wasn’t, and then asked how old I was. After I told her my age, she said, “Oh wow, you’re just a baby. You don’t really know what’s going on, do you?”. From that point forward I really didn’t like her. Not only did I not like her, but also I felt for the first time since being in Africa that I needed to prove myself to someone.

Frustrated with her, I left and went to pester Dr Afrika into coming to meet us. He ensured that there was a bed for Joseph in the urology wing of the hospital. We got Joseph and Mama Lydia settled into their new bed before worrying about Bryson. We paid the 65,000 shillings for Josephs stay and said our goodbyes. Starving, Caroline and I grabbed some lunch/dinner while the American volunteers went with Bryson to the eye clinic. If they had listened before, they would have known that he had already been to an eye doctor and had no problems with his eyes. Dinner was a little tense when they came back with Bryson and we attempted again to explain what we had done. With full bellies, we made our way back to the bus station and came home to Arusha. Frustrated that a) it had been a 14 hour day and b) that I had experienced ageism in Africa, I called my girlies and had them meet me at Africafe for a hot fudge sundae. Two of my girls had just gotten down from summiting Kilimanjaro so we all had lots to talk about.

We went back to Moshi the next day, relieved to finally be able to go at 9 am (I’m really not a fan of early mornings). Andrea had finished her placement and was looking for something to do, so came with Caroline and I to Moshi. I slept the ride away and was so overjoyed to see that my baby was still okay at the hospital. We bought Mama Lydia and Joseph lunch, made sure they had plenty of fruit and water in the room and enough money for food until Monday when we were planning on coming back. Relieved at the idea of a short trip after the marathon of a day we had the day before, we headed back to Arusha. After dinner, to celebrate a good day, we all went to the movies to see Prince of Persia. Terrible movie, but still fun!

It was heart wrenching to leave my baby behind at KCMC, but I knew this was the first step into getting the right care. So much emotion was intertwined throughout the day, it didn’t feel like I was in Africa anymore. The more reflection I do on my trip and the changes I’ve seen in myself I realize how much I love the culture here. It has really become a part of me, and I hope I can bring the ‘pole pole’ or slow and relaxed methods back to my life in Canada.

Stone Town

Sunday morning, with very little sleep, I woke up determined to fully embrace the last day I had as a beach bum. I made my way to the beach, memorizing the brilliant blue of the ocean and the soft squish of the white sand between my toes. Nothing felt as perfect as the heat of the sun beating down and the ocean breeze blowing over. Begrudgingly, Cassie and I packed up our stuff and left Kendwa Rocks at 11 that afternoon. We got a taxi and headed to Stone Town.

The narrow, winding roads and brilliantly aged and intricate architecture made it feel like we had driven into a completely different part of the world. After our taxi driver expertly navigated the streets to our hotel, we dropped our bags and anxiously headed off to first find some food, then to explore.

While we were in Kendwa, we carefully studied the map of Stone Town, debating which hotel location would be most suitable to our plans. We decided on Mazsons, which was located fairly centrally. Our plan of attack was to start at one end of the town, close to the ocean, and walk alongside the water, venture into a few museums and do a bit of souvenir shopping. We figured that we would make it to the restaurant we wanted to have dinner at around 6 pm or so, as it was on the complete opposite end of town. After our delicious Italian lunch, we set out to accomplish just this.

As we walked, we were constantly side tracked by little shops and fantastic views. After finding the Old Fort and a few museums as well as the rose garden we noticed that we had only walked about 20 minutes, and were already halfway through the town. In another 10 or so minutes, we had made it to the port which was also where our restaurant was.. So much for the hours we thought we would be walking. Looks like mom's map reading skills didn't come through in my genes. Layner, guess you got 'em.

Since we had rushed ourselves a bit, worried we wouldn't get to the restaurant before dark, we back tracked a bit and successfully shopped our way through the twisted town. I bought spices galore and real vanilla, Hammer pants and some amazingly scented teas and coffees. We dropped off our bags at the hotel, did a quick change, and walked to Mercury's Restaurant for dinner.

Freddy Mercury, the old lead singer from Queen, had supposedly been born in Zanzibar. The restaurant Mercury's capitalized on his name and provided a perfect ocean view sea-food experience. Cassie and I watched the sun set (oh so romantic) and the ferries come in, while Germany (I think) was defeated in the World Cup. After dinner we found the night market. It was set up in the central park type area of Stone Town, and probably a hundred or so vendors had set up food stations all around. They sold everything from fresh seafood to Zanzibar pizzas, which were just crepes folded and filled with chicken, beef, and even Nutella and bananas. Even though we had gorged ourselves at dinner, Cassie and I still managed to devour a dessert pizza.

Content but exhausted, we sunk into our beds and fell asleep in our first air conditioned room since Rwanda. The next morning we ate breakfast and wandered around a bit before grabbing an iced coffee and a taxi. Off to the airport once more, our mini vacation was over. After an hour of waiting in a disgustingly stuffy and humid airport lounge, we boarded the tiny plane and waved goodbye to the most relaxing four days of our journey.

Our favorite taxi man was waiting for us when we landed in Arusha. We were greeted into the town by disgustingly congested roads and the hottest weather we had seen for almost the whole time we've been here. Stinky and all travelled out, we grabbed a burger at our favorite cafe and made our way home.

I realize how far behind I am on keeping this updated.. But I'm working hard on getting myself all caught up! I've got some great stories from the past couple weeks. Can't wait to share them!

Kendwa

Thursday morning Cassie and I grabbed our bag(s) (one backpack each, we've gotten really good at packing light), hopped in the cab and headed to the airport. Airing on the side of caution, we got to the airport an hour and a half or so early. The airport is about the same size, if not smaller, than the one in Penticton. One runway, a few planes sitting here and there, and no indoor waiting area. We 'checked in', which entailed showing the piece of paper that said our flight times, and sat in the little waiting area beside the tarmac. Our backpacks had little tags put on them and sat beside us, waiting to board.. We went through security/a metal detector and walked over to our plane. Cassie and I gawked in something that resembled confusion as we took our seats.. We could literally reach in front of us and touch the control panel. It was even more surprising when the last of the nine passengers got on and sat in the co-pilot seat.

It was a beautiful, bumpy and fast flight to Zanzibar, over the Indian Ocean. As we drooled out the window at the crystal blue water, it felt like we were heading to the Caribbean and not the coast of Tanzania. As soon as we touched down and the pilot opened his window, we were overwhelmed by the heat. Finally! Lately, the weather in Arusha had been calling for jeans and sweaters. Not the Africa you'd expect. Anyways, we got off the plane, grabbed our bags and slid into a taxi.

An hour and a half later, we got to Kendwa Rocks. For $30 a night, the two of us stayed in paradise. At least a mile of white sandy beaches was less than a minute from the door of our room and the resort's bar and restaurant sat right in the middle of it all. Cassie and I dropped our bags, threw on our bikinis and headed to the water. Food, of course, was our first mission. After stuffing ourselves with pizza and sprite we went to the beach. We soaked up every last bit of sun before it set, then called it a day. After a long, hot shower, we changed and headed for dinner. 'World Cup Fever' had definitely infected all of Kendwa and we ate our dinner to the persistent buzz of vuvuzelas. We headed to bed early, ensuring we'd be up with the sun, ready for a full day of beaching!

Friday morning we headed down to the beach to scope out what we could fill our days with. After breakfast we went over to the snorkeling place and lucked out that they had ordered extra food for the boat that left at 9:00, meaning we could head out! We tried on some flippers and climbed onto the dhow; the traditional African fishing boat that looked like it could capsize at any minute. (Papa, it was pretty cool and made entirely by hand.. They are still used today for fishing. You should look it up!). Not even ten minutes into the ride, Cassie and I were asking for the sea sickness pills the guide had told us they carried. Luckily, I nipped my tummy issues in the bud, Cassie wasn't as fortunate. After almost two hours we finally made it to the site where we would snorkel. It was right beside a private island, where you could stay for a measly $2,000 a night.

On the boat there were about 17 or so other people. 8 were going to scuba dive, 5 of us were snorkeling and the rest were guides. We watched as the divers suited up and jumped in, then followed behind them. Turns out I don't like snorkeling at all. The whole not being able to breathe through your nose thing really freaks me out. After being in the water for about 5 minutes, I decided it wasn't really for me. I opted for just the mask and the fins. One of the guides took my by the hand and convinced me to follow him to a reef. He told me when to put my mask down so that I'd see some fishies. It was just like being in Finding Nemo. Yellow fishies, blue fishies, clown fishies and parrot fishies everywhere! We swam right through schools of them.. or at least that's what it seemed like through the magnification the mask provided. I lasted 10 more minutes or so before hauling myself back onto the boat. Cassie and I did a bit of suntanning until the rain came, then we hid for cover. After it passed, I climbed up onto the roof and got one of my first marriage proposals! Pretty exciting. Down below, Cassie wasn't as lucky and was definitely feeling the effects of the ocean. Despite her being sick, we ate lunch and took one more little dip before having a nap while we waited for the scuba divers to come back from their second dive.

Even though the trip back was much quicker, as the waves had calmed down, we still felt like kissing the ground once we landed on the beach. We turned in our flippers and grabbed a beach chair to enjoy the last hour or so of sun the day had in store for us. We had a quick dinner and once again headed to bed early; we needed our beauty sleep for the Full Moon Party the next day.

Saturday morning we didn't skip a beat on our way from our beds to the beach. One book, a little bit of rain, and a lot of sun later, I finished my first full day without a burn! I'm finally getting the hang of the African sun I guess. Before we went down for dinner, Cassie and I booked our hotel room in Stone Town for the next night and tried to take a quick power nap. Unsuccessful in this, we headed down for the big Full Moon buffet. While eating dinner, we joined in cheering for Ghana as they played against the United States, and got up and danced with everyone else when they one. The win led into a high energy evening, with a mix of people from all over the world. Zanzibar is apparently a European tourist hot spot. The dance/Full Moon party was just that, dancing under the full moon until 4 in the morning. Tired and tipsy, Cassie and I headed to bed.

KCMC

6:15 came a lot earlier than I wanted it too. Agrey, our favorite taxi man, had agreed the night before to come pick me up and take me to the bus station. Half asleep the six mzungus, Juliet, Mama Lydia and Joseph, headed off on our little adventure. We pushed our way through the Tanzanian men yelling "Moshi, Dar, Moshi, Dar, where you going mama, where you going sista", and climbed on what looked like a safe bus and took a seat. Before the bus pulled out, I was fast asleep.

Two hours later we arrived in Moshi. Hopped off the bus, got on a dalla dalla and made it to KCMC, Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Center. KCMC is the closest thing to a western hospital that I have seen so far... And this is my third one in Tanzania. Still not sure if I would want to get treated there if something were to happen to me, so let's just hope nothing does. We found our way to urology and took a seat.

After waiting around for about an hour we finally approached a doctor to see what we should really be doing. They informed us that there were never clinics on Wednesdays and we'd have to come back on Friday. We went to the reception desk to confirm and they said no, clincis were only on Thursdays. After talking to three or four other people, we confirmed that the clinic was indeed on Friday and that we would not be able to be seen today.

In a last ditch attempt at making the trip worthwhile, I approached a doctor and asked if there was anyway that our little guy could be seen before we left. Apparently being white has more pull than I thought and before I knew it we were in an exam room with a doctor. Joseph was so good as we splayed him out on the table. The doctor pressed on his lower abdomen and looked around a bit before saying that he believed it was an inverted penis. By this time, I had been pushed to the back of the room and was getting frustrated that the doctor was not seeing what the nurses had previously pointed out to me. I piped up and told him to look at the scar tissue. With this comment, the sea of white overbearing people parted and I made my way to the kiddie. I pointed out the scar leading from his anus through his testicles. The doctor said "oh, I think you may be right". I think that's the moment where I lost most of my faith in the doctors here. He called two more doctors in and they all looked at my baby, then agreed that exploratory surgery was going to be necessary.

The new doctor introduced himself to us as Dr. Afrika and was the one to give us a cost estimate. He said that around 150,000 shillings should cover the bed and surgery costs, and that we should come back Friday to try and secure a bed for our little man. He gave us his cell phone number and asked us to text him if we had any questions. The only catch was we had to talk to him in French. Dr Afrika spoke was from Rwanda, and spoke mostly KiRwandan. After that his best language was French, then Swahili and his English was only good enough to be spoken face to face. Once again, I wish I'd payed a little more attention to Mme Aubin.

We left KCMC happy that at least a little had been accomplished. We loaded ourselves onto a dalla dalla, onto a bus, and fell asleep. Three or so hours later, I made it home! My body was definitely not used to getting up so early so I just crashed. The rest of the group had agreed that they would go to Moshi again on Friday with Joseph and hope for the best. I, on the other hand, was off to Zanzibar.

Moshi

The week leading up to my trip to Zanzibar was definitely an interesting one...

Come Monday I headed off to Camp Moses to make a plan for the week. Mama Wambura was there when I got there and I told her how Bryson's appointment had gone the week prior and how something really needed to be done about Joseph. After that, Juliet and I chit chatted throughout the day, and she showed me the referral that was written for Joseph to see a urologist almost 8 months ago. It seemed like my persistent nagging had finally paid off, and they (Mama and Juliet) were starting to see how much I care about these kiddies and want to help them.

Juliet and I decided that Wednesday would be the best day to go to KCMC. KCMC is a big hospital in Moshi, which is the next big town over. It was said to be only an hour and a half away by bus. The only thing Juliet seemed to have a problem with was money. They had none. zero. zilch. She explained that there weren't any shillings for the dalla dalla, none to pay the mama's (Moses has 4 mama's during the day and 2 at night, Joshua has 2 full time mama's) or the teachers, and most definitely no money for a trip to Moshi to see a doctor. She explained that it wouldn't cost anything to see the doctor because we had a referral, but it would cost 4,000 shillings there and back for the bus. 4,000 shillings is just over 2 USD. I told her that I was sure my mom would have no problem sponsoring the bus trip. We agreed that the next day I'd do the orientation for some new volunteers and get everything in order for our trip.

It would've been easy to just reach into my bag and hand over the money for the bus. To make it seem like no big deal. And really, it's not. But this sort of thing has been happening since the day I arrived. Oh, we need a few thousand shillings for this, and shillings for the bus, and shillings for bread. I'm almost more than fine to hand it over, because what's a few bucks here and there? Turns out, after a while it's a lot. More than the money, it's the idea that they're getting that they can just simply ask the Mzungu for whatever they need whenever they get themselves in a pinch. This time I made sure it was different. By showing them that I needed to contact outside sources, and search for the money, I hope to change their view of the quick fix and show them how to fix some stuff on their own. You have to draw the line somewhere, and it's not always the easiest thing to do.

Tuesday I came to Camp Moses to finalize the plans for Moshi, and took a new volunteer to Unga Ltd to see Camp Joshua. It was an uneventful trip for the most part; did the tour, sat in on a classroom and watched the kids play a bit of soccer before we decided to head back to town. Over lunch, my phone rang. Earlier I had texted (yes, I have a cell phone in Tanzania.. most people do (locals included!) Much cheaper than in Canada though!) Juliet and asked her to remind Mama Wambura to pick up the bread. Juliet was calling me to explain that Mama Wambura had, yet again, failed to tell anyone she would be out of town and had taken her vehicle with her. This was the only vehicle that was around to pick up food. Juliet said that I needed to go and get the 10 loaves of bread that SunKist donates weekly. This left me with a little problem as there are no dalla dalla's that run to the factory, and although I have a cell phone I don't have a car. Try explaining all this to the new volunteers that were having lunch with me. "Well you see, we don't know how the children are going to get the 1 slice of bread a week because we have no car and Mama has disappeared". Little do they know that this is perfectly 'normal'.

After a few phone calls, my co ordinator agreed to take me to the factory. The only thing was he only has a motorbike. He emptied his big backpacking bag and we were off. Ten loaves of bread got stuffed into the bag and we dropped them off at Camp Moses. A few more people had congregated in the office there, and Juliet explained to me that they all wanted to come to Moshi the next day. I said alright, explained they were going to need to help with costs, and it was all set. We were to meet at Friends Corner (a downtown landmark) at 6:30 the next morning.

Catch Up!

After the long day with Bryson, all of us girls got a little dressed up and went to the mzungu hangout/bar Via Via. We danced and blew into vuvuzelas and had an overall great night. Ronnie only had to 'rescue' us on the dance floor a few times. We made it home by 2; overall a success.

The next morning no one was really up for work and I had a meeting in town, so we had a nice little sleep in before starting our days. I met with Jennifer (a previous volunteer) and we chit chatted a little more over what exactly went on at LOHADA and what really needed to be going on. Bottom line, I've got a lot of work to do.

After our meeting, the other girls I room with came and joined me for brunch. We sat around for a few hours then headed home. After dinner we all decided a movie would be a good way to end the day, and the week. We went and saw Date Night; movies here come out around 2 months later than they do at home... Looks like Sex and the City 2 will have to wait for the flight home.

On Saturday most of the house headed off to climb a volcano. It's about three hours outside of Arusha and has the coldest lava of any volcano in the world. I'm saving this trip for when my mother, the geography teacher, gets here!

While everyone was away, we relaxed. Saturday we did some souvenir shopping and had our favorite meal for dinner; chapati. After dinner, we went to Cassie's orphanage, armed with popcorn and pringles, for a Disney movie night. The kids were ecstatic and we left them all sugared up and ready for bed. Back at our house, Andrea and I watched the Lion King. It's crazy how accurate it really is! Props to you, Walt.

Sunday was an even lazier day that Saturday. We went to Africafe (pretty clever) for brunch and then lounged around home for a while. Andrea and Cassie, with the other two girls who didn't go hiking, went to Kigongoni Lodge, and I stayed at home. This was the first time I was actually all alone in two months.

When the girls got back, we had breakfast for dinner and devoured the baking I had done earlier in the day. Andrea and I opted for another Disney classic after dinner; The Little Mermaid. This weekend of relaxing was definitely needed, as we all had big weeks ahead of us. Andrea and Marlee would be attempting to summit Mt Kilimanjaro and Cassie and I were headed to Zanzibar.

Wooo, I'm almost all caught up now! This last little while has been crazy and has definitely opened my eyes to a whole new side of Africa, and myself! More on that later, as well as my trip to Zanzibar and Moshi!

Bryson

A few weeks ago, Ronnie (the Canadian co ordinator here) gave me a referral that had been written for one of the kiddies at my orphanage, Bryson, to see an eye doctor. When you meet him, it's obvious that there is something a little off kilter with Bryson. Hard to put your finger on at first, but after a while you can see that he is not developmentally where he should be. His pupils are constantly dilated and he runs crookedly with his hands outstretched in front of him. We were told that he had spent the first month or so of his life on his back and in a dark room. It was assumed that the problem was mostly in his eyes. That is what I was determined to figure out.

I got the the orphanage in the morning and asked Juliet to let one of the mama's know the plan for the day. Around 10, mama Suzanna and I left with Bryson. Once again, we were a spectacle on the dala dala; the white girl and an older woman carrying a baby. One in a traditional Khanga, one in jeans, and the other without shoes on a back.. I'll let you guess which is which.

We got to the clinic and met up with Ronnie. The eye doctor saw us right away. She was a middle aged Tanzanian woman who seemed to know what she was doing. Bryson sat on the lap of the mama as the doctor held objects in front of him, seeing how well he could track. I really had no clue what was going on and couldn't determine from watching what the prognosis would be. In the end she said that no, the problem was not with his eyes. They are developmentally behind, but no problems seemed to be present. She said that he was mentally disabled. Right away I asked what we could do, but in Africa there really isn't much. She just shrugged and gave us a name of a pediatrician who we would have to hunt down.I really wasn't sure how to take this news. It was almost a relief to have an answer, but with that answer so many more questions arose. I guess from here we just wait and see...

There is so much that I wish I could do here, it's getting harder and harder every day not being able to have a quick fix to the problems that are constantly presenting themselves. One step at a time is the best I can do.

Tharcisse Renzaho

Wednesday (the 16th of June... I'm a little behind!) was just a great day all around and led into a bubbly and beautiful Thursday morning. We had all told our placements we were taking the day off, so when the morning rolled around we slept in, gathered our passports and headed to the ICTR building to watch a trial.

The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda is held here in Arusha. This is where all the trials for people who were found to have been involved with the genocide are held. The trials are all open for public viewing; all you need to present is your passport!

The ICTR is a little village in itself. Not entirely sure what all goes on in there, but there are a lot of interns around Arusha that are there working.

We found one appeal that was underway, each grabbed a set of headphones and took a seat. The appeal was for a man named Tharcisse Renzaho.

Tharcisse was a Rwandan governor who set up roadblocks, supplied the genocidaires with rifles, fired government officials who opposed the genocide and ordered the murder of the journalist Andre Kameya. He was sentenced to life in prison in June 2009 and we saw the appeal to this decision. Throughout the appeal they mentioned how he had instigated the invasion of Hôtel Des Milles Collines; where we had stayed not even a week prior. To hear the names of places is one thing, but to have been there, know what they're talking about and be able to create the proper mental image is another completely. I really wonder how someone is able to defend a man like him, and how he has already been acquitted of several of his crimes. I guess you do what you gotta do to get the job done.

After the trial, we had lunch at our favorite café and Cassie and I booked our tickets to Zanzibar! We were scheduled to leave the next Thursday.

Back To Business.. Or Just Work

The Final Catchup! Been a busy week, here's what I've been up to!

When we got home on Friday, the house was definitely a little busier. Eight new volunteers had arrived, and settled in, while we were away. It's strange to come 'home' to find brand new faces that are starting to fall into 'your' routines. We were hoping to be perceived as these mystical and oh-so-worldly creatures, but we fooled no one. Delirious from lack of sleep and overall overwhelm-ment of the trip, we must've given a great first impression before we crashed at 8pm.

Saturday was spent at Kigongoni.. A nice way to ease back into life in Arusha; lounging by the pool all day, rehydrating ourselves (try this - beer and sprite, surprisingly delicious). Didn't even burn! Must really be getting the hang of this African sun thing, that or the switch to 45 spf did the trick. Isaac made us a great dinner (we're starting to get more fruit and veggies now!!!) and once again we were the first to bed!

Sunday the gang was heading off for the waterfall hike, and three out of the five of us old timers stayed behind. Meghan, Andrea and I had a great sleep-in and took our time heading downstairs to prepare our breakfast. Good thinking the day before had us pre buy a ton of fruit, so for breakfast was the best fruit salad you'd have ever seen, along with the mandatory and always delicious banana pancakes. They will never get old. After breakfast we strolled down to the Maasai Market to do a little souvenir shopping. I got my aunties their little gifties and bought myself a few paintings. I even had a painting specially done for me, which I picked up on Monday. I am just sooo domestic. After the market we had a few hours to kill; guacamole seemed like the best choice. We walked to the nearby fruit/veggie market and got all the ingredients and enough veggies to make a superb veggie tray. Aside from the pancakes, the day had almost no significant carbs! That was a first for sure. After dinner was all cleaned up, Cassie and I made banana chocolate chip small cake-ies (muffins).

Monday we went to work. It was weird having to go back after taking so much time off. I took one of the new volunteers to Camp Moses with me, as she needed to do her orientation to LOHADA (the 'head office' ... really just mama's desk... is at Camp Moses) before starting work at Camp Joshua. We walked in and Teacher Juliet took me by surprise, asking me to give the orientation.. This was all fine, and I just explained the background of the organization and what their hopes and ambitions are, etc etc. I gave her some information to look over and went to find my little guys. I'd missed Bryson and Joseph!! After a good little catch up (as much as you can with 2 year old Swahili speaking boys), I went back to check on the girl I'd left in the office. We chit chatted a bit until a group of 7 or 8 people came into the office; led by a local but the rest were caucasians. 10 minutes or so after the had arrived, Juliet led them back to my part of the office and said "Oh, this is our Project Co-ordinator, Lindsey!"... this was definitely news to me. But a promotion none the less! Then she went on to say "have a seat, she'll do your orientation". Sweet. We toured around and I did the best I could for this group of Americans. They'd be working with LOHADA for a month or so, splitting time between Moses and Joshua.

Later in the afternoon I went downtown to meet up with Cassie and go to the market to pick up my painting. We had a much needed cool down at Africafe and then headed home. Needless to say, yet another early night!

Tuesday Moses, Nelson and I went to pick up the bread for the orphanages, as Mama Wambura was out of town and no one else, other than Nelson, had a vehicle. After a few wrong turns, where I ended up being right in the first place, we made it to SunKist and picked up the weekly donation of 10 loaves. The rest of the day was pretty uneventful, until after dinner. Realizing that we had taken Wednesday off work, we decided to take advantage of the night. We called up our favorite taxi driver and headed to the movies. We saw Shutter Island which is surprisingly good, coming from me who will normally only watch romantic comedies. We made it till 11 o clock or so before calling it a night. Wednesday was going to be our big ICTR girls day!

Milles Colinnes to Kampala Coach

Kampala Coach, the bus company we used to get to and from all of our major destinations, is nothing like Greyhound.

After visiting the memorials outside of Kigali, we headed back into town to check in at our new hotel. We had booked this one before we even left Arusha, knowing the history that this place held... That and it just happened to be one of the only 4 star hotels in Kigali....

The Hôtel Des Milles Colinnes, or Hotel Rwanda, housed something like 600 Tutsi's during the Rwandan genocide. The hotel manager was a Hutu but had a Tutsi wife and wanted to protect not only his family but his people as well. Calling in all of the favors that were owed to him by prominent figures in international society, the manager was able to keep the Milles Colinnes a reasonably safe and invasion free place for the majority of the genocide.

We were not disappointed when we arrived at the hotel! Having carried our backpacks with us all day, we were filthy, sweaty and exhausted tourists. The concierge and receptionist greeted us with enormous smiles and handed us a cool cloth and a glass of fresh fruit juice while we checked in. They chuckled at us when they asked for our luggage and we just sort of shrugged and explained our backpacks were all we had. We embarked up to our rooms and collapsed on the queen sized bed and basked in the air conditioning! We were in heaven. I decided later to venture a bit around town and the other girls went to lay by the pool.

Just before dinner we headed up to our rooms, and flicked on the TV. I think only my mom would know how elated I became when the Grey's Anatomy season finale part 1 was on. Naturally, the four of us crowded onto the bed and didn't even question leaving the room for food until the show was over. For dinner we decided to head to a nearby Chinese restaurant, and devoured all of our food, including the deep friend bananas we got for dessert. We all slept like babies that night.

In the morning we woke up early, not wanting to miss a minute of Milles Colinnes luxury. The continental breakfast did not disappoint with five different types of fresh fruit juice, full fruit spread, eggs benedict, sausage, omelette chef and who knows what else. We gorged ourselves and then threw on our bikinis (not the greatest combination) and headed to the poolside. We soaked up the sun, (and didn't burn!) and grabbed a quick lunch to end our stay.

After we checked out, we went to the final genocide memorial. Because of the road construction it took us a little while to get there, but that only made it seem more worth while and captivating when we arrived. The Kigali Genocide Memorial was the most tourist-y of the memorials. It was complete with audio tour, and was sparse on the human remains. It taught me more than the others, going into depth of the pre, during, and post genocide situations.

The most heartbreaking part was the children's room. It had huge posters of different children who had lost their lives in the genocide, and descriptions of the young people they were.. For example one said "Name: Eric, Favorite Toy: Bicycle, Favorite Food: Chips beef and eggs, Best Friend: His sister, Behavior: Calm, Killed: Gashed with a machete."

After the memorial, we went to the bus stop to wait for our bus back to Arusha. We got there at 530, with our tickets say we were to depart at 6pm. Of course this was pretty far fetched, nothing in Africa is ever on time. We grabbed some fries and beer and sat and waited. Finally at 8pm the bus rolled in and we were off. Kampala Coach was going to be our best friend for what was supposed to be only a 30 hour trip.

We all fell asleep quickly, and didn't wake up much except for the occasional border crossing or dropping-people-off-pee-break. The bus was full the whole way, so you can imagine our surprise when we woke up at 645 the next morning in Kigali and we were the only ones left on the bus. oops. We scrambled off, half asleep, and tried to explain to the guy at the desk that we were trying to get to Arusha. He said oooh Arusha, okay hop on the bus in front of your old one. So we did. Then when the ticket checker came by us, after the bus had left the station, he said nope wrong bus and proceeded to call someone. This someone came and got us off the bus and explained that it was going to Nairobi and wouldn't leave for Arusha from Nairobi until much later. Instead, we needed to wait in Kampala until 1pm for our bus to Arusha. So we did. We found a little cafe in a Mzungu mall and just hung out. We walked around, stopped at a little market, and finally 1230 rolled around. We found our way back to the bus station only to be informed that the bus had no room for us and instead we were going to be put on the 4pm bus. Back to the mall we went. We ate our third meal of the day at the cafe, they loved us, and wandered around feeling sorry for ourselves. The break in Kampala was a nice way to break up the million hours we were supposed to spend on the bus, but a nine hour stop over is a little much. Kampala is a beautiful city though, and I'd love to spend more (planned) time there!

Back on the bus we went, and we were more than lucky to have no stops that lasted more than 20 or so minutes the whole way home!!! After crossing the Uganda/Kenya border, we learned that the Kenyans stop all the busses, bring them to a police station (different from the one we were stopped at on the way to Uganda), and inspected to ensure the busses weren't hijacked. We all got off, had our purses searched, and were on our way. Uneventful, but it instilled a bit of fear in us girls who had bus-jackers as the last thing on our minds until then. The rest of the ride home was extremely bumpy, with us getting air off of our seats on a couple of larger bumps. We were relieved to arrive in Arusha at 11am on Friday. Stinky, hair matted, exhausted and much more worldly than when we had left, we must've been quite the sight to see. The whole trip only took 38 hours, and it didn't even seem that bad! Kampala Coach was our home, but I never hope to see the inside of one again. Needless to say, Cassie and I opted to fly to Zanzibar next weekend...

Nyamata & Ntarama

I've been putting off this post for a while now.. I really don't know how to describe the emotions this day brought about within me, and how to explain what I saw and experienced. Here goes.

We got up early and happily checked out of the hotel, knowing that the night that lay ahead would be much more comfortable. After realizing we really actually had no clue where we were going or how we were getting there, we headed downtown to try and find someone to point us in the right direction. Luckily we found just that!

A man at a travel agency told us the names of the memorials, two out of town and one in town, that we wanted to see. He said we could rent a car for 30,000 Francs, or about $60 USD, or take a taxi for a smaller fraction of the price. We knew we could do it cheaper. After all, sisi ni waafrika. We are African!

Really unconfident in the directions and other information we'd been given, we figured we'd settle it once and for all and went to an internet cafe to research what we should've done the day before. In just 10 or so minutes, we found out that yep we'd been given the right info all along. The people at the cafe were more than helpful and pointed us to the local bus/dala dala station where we could find a bus to take us first to Nyamata, which was about 35 km outside of Kigali. We got the the station and payed 600 Francs (just over a dollar!!!) to go all the way to Nyamata. We were stoked. About an hour or so later we arrived in what we figured was the right town.

Quick (and extremely limited) background to the Rwandan genocide. The Belgians colonized Rwanda and divided the people into two main races, the Hutu's and the Tutsi's. They were divided on physical characteristics, the Hutu's (I think) having lighter skin and smaller noses.. the Tutsi's were darker and had wider noses. This alone I find incomprehensible. When the Belgians were there, they preferred the services of one of the races, I can't remember which. When they left, they left a different one in charge (I think this is close to how it went). All hell broke loose as each race wanted revenge on each other for inequalities suffered over the past years. Genocide was eventually declared on the Tutsi's, who were dubbed cockroaches by the Hutu's.

The strangest part (or what I found strange at least..maybe not so much strange as intriguing) of Kigali was the fact that no one really seemed to know what we were talking about when we asked where the memorial's were. I'm still unsure of whether this should be accredited to the language barrier or the fact that the genocide is not talked about openly, and that the memorials were not put in place for the benefit of the locals. I'm thinking it's a mixture of both.

We were told to walk about five minutes down the highway and we'd find what we were looking for. Sure enough, we came across a weathered sign pointing the way to the church that had been turned into a memorial. Nothing could have prepared me for what I experienced next.

We up to the church and a local guide approached us and told us he would give us a tour. The second you walk into the church you are overwhelmed with the sight and don't know where to look first. Laid out on the pews were the bloody clothes of the 10,000 people who had been viciously murdered there. This was not a big building by any means, and I am still flabergasted and a little unsure of how exactly 10,000 people fit inside. We walked to the front of the church and were asked to observe the blood stains that still remain on the ceilings and walls. The door to the church had a gaping hole where a grenade had been thrown and bullet holes littered every available space on the floors, ceilings and walls.

We walked to the back of the church where on tarps lay the skulls and other bones of several hundred people. The guide explained that in this spot, children were thrown against the wall to be killed, and if not killed on impact were used to test the sharpness of the machetes. The more swings it took for the head to become severed, the duller the machete was said to be. I still don't know how I can even type words like these. How this actually happened and wasn't just some crude fable is beyond me, and I still haven't come to terms with what I saw.

Next, we were invited downstairs where some of the possessions of the victims had been preserved, along with more skulls. There was a single coffin which held one young woman who had had a stick shoved through her vagina and pushed as far up as it would go. Her coffin, we were told, represented the atrocious and cruel ways so many lost their lives.

We went outside and stood over two mass graves. They held the bones of over 45,000 people. I stepped down the first flight of stairs and attempted to enter the room with the skulls, but couldn't manage. I observed from the landing for a few minutes before I just found it to be too much. That many bones in one place is the most indescribable sight. I really don't know where to begin. What I have the most difficulty coming to terms with is the way two races who had lived in harmony for so long simply turned against each other. Hutu's and Tutsi's, neighbors and friends, suddenly mortal enemies. Doing anything to eliminate the other.

We were brought to two individual graves, one was of a nun who had tried to seek help for those who found refuge at the church. We stood in silence for a few minutes before signing the guestbook and leaving our humble donations and heading back down the dirt road. No one said much as we made our way back to the bus stop.

Emotional charged already, we were not in the mood to argue and have difficulties finding our way 5km or so up the road to the second memorial, Ntarama. No one seemed to know what we were talking about, we were flustered with the language barrier and we just didn't know what to do. I felt like a complete fool, sauntering into this country and expecting these people to understand our English. When we figured we had drawn enough attention to ourselves and were extremely unsuccessful in finding a way to Ntarama we just started walking up the road. Soon enough some bikes (yes, pedal bicycles) pulled up beside us and said they would take us to Ntarama for only 500 Francs. We agreed and all hopped on our own bike. Not only were we a little extra chubby from all the chapati we've been eating, but we also had all of our backpacks with us as we were in-between hotels. These little biker men were troopers and huffed it all the way up the hill and to the memorial. We were lucky to have found them as the memorial was waaaay out of the way and I really don't think we would have found it on our own.

When we got there, we saw a lot of the same mzungu's we had seen at the first memorial. All of them were there in their private cars. I have to admit I felt a little smug about the fact we did it cheaper and more 'local-ish'. You have to admit, it is kind of impressive.

These memorial was very similar to the first one we went to. Again, the church was presented in the same way, with the clothes and bones right in front of us. Seeing it for the second time didn't make it any easier. 5,000 people were murdered in this church.

Out back we were taken to a building that had previously been used as a Sunday School. The lady led us to the back and said "See the stain on the wall? That's from the babies that were thrown against it and killed."

We went into a hut behind the school and were told it used to be a kitchen. The bones of the people who were burned in it were still on the floor.

I don't know how, after all of this, we hopped back on the bicycles and went back into town. How is it right that we could just leave all of that behind? I felt like there is so much more I needed to do, needed to see, but really there wasn't. Something that traumatic doesn't seem like it should be able to just be walked away from. How were we expected to continue on with our day after walking through the death site of hundreds of thousands of people? Somehow we did.

We got on the bicycles.

Then on a bus.

And found our way to Hôtel Des Milles Collines, better known as Hotel Rwanda.

Welcome to Kigali, Land of No ATM's

Marlee and I in Kigali!

Still bouncing off the walls with the adrenaline from our jump, the rest of the day in Jinga, Uganda, flew by. Meghan and Nelson left to go back to Arusha in the early afternoon, and it was just us four girls left for the rest of our journey! Marlee and I explored downtown in the late afternoon, talking about the extraordinary differences we had seen in just Tanzania and Uganda alone. In Arusha, we usually walked down paved roads, not the dirt roads Jinga had. Jinga seemed to me more of a tropical paradise, more relaxed and less city-like than Arusha. It was really like comparing apples to oranges. The similarities seemed to stop at they are both African countries. The differences were amazing, seeing as only Kenya divided them.

We carefully timed our dinner, making sure we'd be full but not needing to use the washroom during our bus ride to Kigali, Rwanda. We hopped in a taxi just before 11 on Sunday night and went to the bus station. The tv in the station was turned onto Grey's Anatomy, yep I was stoked. This made the 45 minute late bus seem almost enjoyable. We boarded and scrambled to find our seats, but to our frustration they were already occupied by a less-than-willing-to-move local. After several unsuccessful attempts of asking him to move, as these seats were ours and we had the tickets to prove it, (the bus was moving by this time) I went to the front of the bus and got the attendee to help us out. The local begrudgingly was forced to move and we snuggled into our seats.. None of us really knew how safe it was to go to sleep, especially since we hadn't exactly made friends with our seat neighbors.

After a few hours of on and off nervous sleep, the bus came to a halt. Still half asleep, none of us really payed attention to why we were stopped, as this was a frequent occurrence. You can imagine our surprise when we fully opened our eyes and saw that a man with a large gun had made his way to the back of the bus and was standing over us pointing to our bags and motioning for us to open them. Too nervous about what he could possibly do, we obliged. I was mostly just worried about him taking my cameras... I knew I'd be wanting to take a lot of pictures over the next few days. All went well with the searching and after everyones stuff had been gone through the bus was off.

After the most bumpy road you could possibly imagine (all unpaved of course), we arrived in Kigali at about 1130 Monday morning!! Drowsy and a little uneasy to be setting foot in completely unknown territory, we made our way off the bus. Unsure of even where to begin, we figured it would be best to exchange a little bit of money and grab a taxi to a hotel name we had found in Lonely Planet. One of the men who worked at the bus station helped us out big tim, finding us a taxi and making sure we got a decent rate to our hotel.

We all stared in awe as we made our way up the road to Hôtel Isimbi. Rwanda is truly a country of a thousand hills. The city of Kigali, being no exception, seemed to just be one large hill itself! Everything built into its side, and the road twisting around it, the hill seemed to go on forever. We arrived outside of the hotel and walked up to the reception. Because Rwanda's languages are Kirwandan and French, we were at a complete loss in the communication department... I really hate to say it, but maybe I should have payed more attention to Mme Aubin.. That was really hard to even type. We finally got across that we needed two rooms for the night. We got our keys and tromped our way up the six flights of stairs to our humble abodes. Humble isn't quite the right words.. Each room had one double bed and a bathroom, and that was about it. Two of us went to each room and collapsed onto the beds. Knowing we didn't have much time to waste while in Rwanda, we headed into the city to do some exploring about an hour later.

It is the strangest feeling, being somewhere you and those you are with know absolutely nothing about. We had no map, no guide, no clue really. But we did it! Whatever it is I guess....

First things first, we needed money. We found the Bank of Kigali, figuring it was our best bet for an ATM. We quickly learned that all the ATM's in Kigali were down and that we had to go up to the third floor of the bank to have the teller do the withdrawal manually. After talking with some girls who were from Canada and the US and had lived in Rwanda for 7 or so years, we learned that the whole country doesn't take international debit cards. Sweet. I was happy I had my visa. Until I got to the teller and the big fat declined showed up on the little screen. I didn't even know what to do. Overwhelmed with exhaustion and frustration and confusion and all of these emotions that I had no idea how to deal with I just felt like screaming and crying and just laughing all at once. I let a few tears slide and figured I'd just call VISA and find out what was wrong. When I took out my phone to dial the customer service number, of course I found out my Tanzanian SIM card wouldn't work in Rwanda.

Mission number two was to get a working phone. Finding a SIM card wasn't hard, as they are sold on every street corner, and I was lucky to have a couple of extra USD to exchange for Rwandan Francs. I got my phone working, bought a couple of minutes and was set. We found a Mzungu cafe to grab some lunch and were all good. After being assured by the amazing girls I was with that it didn't matter what lunch cost, we were all to order exactly what we wanted. They'd spot me the difference till I got my money junk sorted out. Almost unanimously we ordered big fat bacon cheeseburgers and milkshakes to boot. While we were waiting for our food, the first phone call I made was to my mom.. Looking back on this, it probably wasn't the best decision. At 4am her time, I think the last thing she was expecting was a call from her daughter in Rwanda. It didn't help matters that as soon as I heard her voice I began to ball. Everything I had been feeling for the last few days seemed to just release at the smallest reminder of home. After assuring her I was okay and that we were all safe, we tried to figure out my credit card issues. One phone call to VISA later and I found out I had officially max-ed out my card. Shit.

We toured the city a bit more, then realized we were all too exhausted to appreciate much. We headed back to our hotel to find it had no running water.. So much for a refreshing shower. After a quick lie down, we headed downstairs for dinner. Orange Fanta was once again our savior, and we devoured the food as soon as it was placed in front of us. After dinner, and with much difficulty, we found out the names of the memorials we wanted to see the next day and had some idea of how we might go about getting to them. Off to bed we went, preparing ourselves for the emotional day that we knew lay ahead.

3, 2, 1.... Bungee!!

Saturday and Sunday were the two most extreme days of my life. Hands down.

After a quick breakfast, we were ready to begin our day of rafting! Before this, I'd never done anything like it before, only heard about it from my parents. I was pretty excited, and at the time had no reason to be nervous. We were given a quick safety briefing at the hostel, threw on our life jackets and helmets, and piled into some trucks with about 50 other mzungu's. We drove 20 or so minutes, the arrived at the point in the Nile River where we'd begin our 30 km journey. Since we were a group of 6 and there were only groups of 7 allowed in the rafts, we being the Canadian pushovers that we are, split ourselves up and paired with two other groups of four. Cassie, Andrea and I went with two guys who roomed with us at the hostel and their two friends, all who were from Colorado. Meghan, Marlee and Nelson went with another group and we were off!

I was the only one in my raft who had never rafted before, so the nerves began to set in early. The first thing we learned was how to hold a paddle, the second to never let go of your paddle, and the third to try and always hold onto the boat. So much to think about! I was a little flustered. Before I knew it, our (we think he was Kenyan or Ugandan) guide Alex, had us tipped over and into the water. Already panicky, there was no way I was going to be able to hoist myself back into the boat. The first time the boys hauled all of us girls back up, and after that we were determined to do it ourselves! We paddled around for a bit, then hopped out to swim down the first rapid, that was only a class 1. After this one, we were all able to lift ourselves into the boat no problem! Ready for our first real rapid, we were off!

The first rapid we had to paddle through was a class 3, and I was terrified. We made it through that one, but flipped on the next. Flipping really wasn't as bad as I thought it would be! Having my confidence restored, I felt like the class 5 rapid we were about to attempt was a piece of cake. We did brilliantly! Well.. the boys did... I called 'get down' for myself, and hid in the middle of the raft while the boys kept paddling. The other girls didn't paddle much on the rapids either so I didn't feel too bad. We did a few more rapids, flipped once, got scared and jumped out once when I thought we were going to flip, then reached a flat stretch for lunch. We all were given almost a whole and extremely delicious pineapple along with some Glucose Crackers. After lunch time flew by, we went backwards down a waterfall and saw some of the villages who are situated along the Nile. Before I knew it we were heading into our last rapid.. Much to my relief, we had gone the whole day without seeing a crocodile and no one had gotten injured more than a broken nail and a bloody nose on one of the boys. As we approached the last rapid, we were warned that if we were to flip we needed to swim hard and to the right or else we would be caught up in the class 3 rapid below. It began to rain and the water was getting choppy. Alex told us we needed to paddle hard through it or else we wouldn't make it. More than a little nervous, we flew into the rapid. I even have picture proof that I paddled the whole way through! We were the first raft through and did not flip. An amazing day!!

After we walked up and loaded up into the vehicles, we went to the main hobig bbq dinner. I'll skip the part where we drove on wet dirt roads and skidded into a few banks. Oops. TIA.We ate overlooking the Nile, and it was breathtaking! Headed back to our hostel with the others who went rafting and played some cards. It was nice to just hang out for the evening and talk to some others who were doing a lot of traveling. Two of the guys we met up with were doing an around the world trip, and the two others had come and met up with them and had already climbed Kili all together. I learned even more about Africa's history and shared some different opinions on western lifestyles! All in all, an excellent day!

Sunday morning we woke up a little nervous. Today was bungee day! For breakfast I ordered banana pancakes after much contemplation... In Africa, you never really know what you're getting when you order it. Much to my relief, three fluffy pancakes along with maple syrup soon after arrived. Delicious! We packed our bags and headed down the road to our bungee spot. We walked into the lodge and saw the spot we'd be jumping from. 45 meters above one of the rapids we had gone down the day before! Intimidating to say the least.

We weighed in and headed up. Three of us stayed at the bottom to get pictures of the other two (Nelson wasn't jumping), and then we switched. My stomach started to twist as I climbed the stairs to the platform. We snuck a peak over the edge... 45 meters is really high up. I told the other girls that I'd like to go first, not sure if I'd go through with the jump if I didn't! I edged my way over the the end where I sat in a chair and had my feet bound together. I was assured I was more than safe and that there shouldn't be any doubt in my mind that I could do it.. After all, I'd already seen two of my friends go before. The guy running it told me that when I got to the edge and he counted down I was to spring forward and dive like Pochahontas. I got up and hopped my way to the edge. I peered over and almost puked. My whole body went numb and I was convinced that I couldn't do it. I stood on the edge for 2 and a half minutes freaking out.. Doesn't seem like a long time, but it really is. The guy coaxed me through and explained that if I were to get all undone I'd have to do the walk of shame and wouldn't even get my money back! Pfft, I was determined to show him who was getting their moneys worth. I steadied myself as he counted 3, 2, 1, and on bungee I jumped.. More like stepped. But I pulled myself into the dive position and plummeted into the river below. What an exhilarating feeling! I can't even begin to explain the different emotions running through my head as I fell. Of course I was more than safe and a raft zoomed over to pick me up as soon as I stopped bouncing up and down. A pretty cool day, but not something I want to do again!

Red Dirt Road..

Thursday we were all more than anxious to get our journey started.. The four girls that I room with, our Swahili teacher/Tanzanian friend Nelson and I were all in for the trip of our lives! Even though it is Africa, we made sure we were at the bus station at 3, even though check in time wasn't until 330 and the bus wasn't supposed to leave until 4. We sat impatiently chittering about how excited we were and all the amazing things we were going to do.. Then we started getting antsy.. 4 o clock came, no bus. 430 came, no bus. 5 pm, no bus. Finally 515 the bus rolled around the corner and we all hoped on. Nelson had been smart and booked our tickets far enough in advance that we were all in the front seats, with plenty of leg room. We were in for a long trip. As we sang along to the Shaggy and Sean Paul that were played over the loud speakers the bus ride didn't seem that bad! We caught some quick zee's and before we knew it we were at the Kenyan border. Things went lickety-split, we got our visas, experienced our first of many squat toilets, and were headed for Nairobi. All the way, we followed a long and unpaved red dirt road, that has now turned me and most of my clothes that strange color that won't come out.. and never again will I complain about speed bumps in Canada!

Chilly, but still in good spirits we had another pee break in Nairobi (this squatter was so gross and sketchy it puts my Ecuador bathroom to shame, and that's saying a lot...) around 2 in the morning or so and were off to the Ugandan border.. Not more than three or four hours later and we were at our third or fourth police stop. Side story - the police in Kenya are just an extension of the corrupt government.. They'll do anything for an extra buck or two, including stopping busses and asking for a bribe. They lay down spikes across the road and don't let anyone by until they feel they've payed enough. This one however, was a different story.

A guard hopped on our bus with a huge gun and sat down right in front of us. He directed us down the road, and at this point we had no clue what was going on and we were just excited to get moving. Until we found out we were headed to the police impound lot. They parked our bus and any other poor suckers who happened to be in public transit in the same place and time. We were all waiting to get 'inspected'. Three or four hours in, nap time was exhausted and it was time to find something to do. Kampala Coach (the bus company) sprang for Fanta's, so we grabbed a few and headed for the squat toilets. Back to the bus we headed and were more than pleased to hear that the inspector was on his way. After seven long hours, a man in a white lab coat showed up claiming he was the inspector and took a look at our bus. Didn't open the hood, didn't go inside, just walked around. I'm assuming after this the bus driver payed his dues for whatever the inspector found to be wrong and we were on our way!

We crossed into Uganda around 4 in the afternoon and were almost to our destination, Jinga. Because of the Kenyan delays, we weren't sure if we were going to make it in time to do the bungee jump. We got into Jinga at around 530 and met with the guy who would take us to our hostel. After booking our tickets to Kigali for Sunday, one day later than planned, we were off to start our adventures! We checked into the hostel and were informed that we would have to wait until Sunday to do our bungee. Because we were so exhausted from our extremely long day of travel, we were fine with this.. plus it meant staying an extra day in Uganda!

After a briefing by Nash, the Kenyan who worked at the hostel, we were stoked to dive into our amazingly inexpensive but delicious burgers. Uganda is the cheapest country I've spent time in so far! 2,200 Ugandan Shillings = $1 USD, and a burger and fries was only 6,000 shillings. Water was 500 shillings and 750 mL of beer was 2,000 shillings. We were in heaven. After demolishing way more food than necessary, we clambered into bed. More than excited, and a little nervous, for the rafting we had in store the next day!