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.