Arusha, Tanzania: Imagine a really nice city in the middle of Africa.

Friday was good.  Had a brief orientation, made up a schedule for next week, and worked some with Sr. Bahatti in the communications office on some funding requests.

Yesterday, Saturday,  I took the day in Arusha.  Now that I am staying in Africa I need to get some various things to put my life in order.

I wandered the main street and discovered that here they have a working postal system!!  Imagine that.  This city makes me really happy.  They have nice electronics, stationary, really beautiful fabric and clothes, all for reasonable prices.  There isn't an insane amount of traffic, like in Kampala.  Here you can cross the street and not fear death every time!

I enjoyed my day wandering, I got a little lost, but Arusha is not very big.  As long as you keep walking you'll find you way!  My best purchase was a jar of RASPBERRY jam!!!  I was soo excited, I paid the fairly high price (in TZ standards) for it.  But when I got home and tried it... it is seriously HEAVENLY.  Possibly the best raspberry jam I've ever had, and a small taste of home!

Because of the Jam, I went of the great Raspberry hunt.  I wanted the real berry!  After a looong and drawn out search, during which I managed to seriously confuse a large number of Tanzanians, I did not find raspberries.  But the adventure was pretty momentous!  (it involved the local markets, weaving in and out of stalls, trying to communicate... crazy)

But the whole adventure proved one thing to me.  You can grow raspberries in Africa.  And I fully intend to do it!

Arusha is a tourist starting point, a place from which many people go on Safari.  But it is also very diverse in it's population.  There are a lot of people from the Indian subcontinent.  I met a very nice Indian lady at a lovely (not crazy priced) stationary shop.  It was so nice to have kind, humanly interaction! We had a nice chat

The one major draw back in Arusha is that they all seem to think I am a Rosta.  Dread locks in Africa are often associated with Rostafarianism (sp??).  It hasn't really been a problem, until now.  The thing that gets really annoying is not the men who just yell at you, but the ones who decide it is a good idea to follow you.  Yesterday, this happened twice and I got super in their faces about it.  I really really don't like being followed.  It makes me really uncomfortable.  My reaction was sufficient to scare them away... though I did have to seek shelter in a shop at one point and felt obligated to buy something.

My favorite people here are the Masi.  They are beautiful.  These are people who still live a traditional life style, generally are semi nomadic cow herders.  They have totally refused to conform to current norms, and even speak their own language.  What has surprised me the most is the number of YOUNG Masi I have seen.  They wander town in traditional dress, the men with their sticks, the women with their amazing, awesome, huge jewelry.  When we look at each other it is with a mutual semi awe!

I have become friends with a Masi mother and her small child. I discovered today that they are staying in a small store room in my hostel!  Which is why I've been seeing them so much... The mom is pregnant, and perhaps is due soon.  There is a hospital close to my hostel.  We can't communicate at all, I don't even know if they speak Swahilli.  But the little girl loves me, and the mother always smiles at me.  Today I got a hug from the little one. She is sooo sweet!!

I have become good friends with the kitchen staff... as usual!  Yesterday, they took me to the tailor to get my first dress made.  I'm excited.  He charged me a good price and I think we had semi effective communication as to what I want.  We'll see the out come!  I will probably get one more dress (more casual) and a skirt made while I am here . I like their fabric better than in any other country I've been in and they have good styles for dresses.  It was super cute... Heppy, the cook, as we were walking, said that she really likes me (in broken, unsure english).  I love African Friends!

Because I am living here long term now, it is important that I start looking "smart".  Africans put a lot of importance on personal appearance, though I have no idea how they manage to stay SO smart and clean, considering how they live!  But because I'll be in a position of leadership from Sep to Dec, I think I need to up date my wardrobe.  Besides, my clothes are disintegrating.  USA clothing is not use to brutal hand washing!  So I am going to do a bit of maintenance here in TZ, because I don't know how much time I'll have when I get back to Uganda.

I think that's all for now!  More when I start working with the AIDS team!