To 2007, mwaka mpya

Karibuni this UPDATED Snapfish link to see some highlights of 2006:

http://www1.snapfish.com/share/p=318141166091766388/l=234932978/g=13602658/
cobrandOid=1000001/otsc=SYE/otsi=SALB

Included are:
*Striking water at CHASAWAYA orphanage with its new well
*Young kids at work in Manga, herding cows, collecting firewood
*My Form 1 girls at my house holding pictures of their sponsors (Dudley, Mary Tait, Marsh, Suz and Thad), writing thank you letters, reading health magazines and celebrating the end of the school year with a Coke
*Some of my health club members before a skit at local primary school
*Artichokes do grow in TZ! At Permaculture workshop in Mafinga
*Our Teacher's Training in Njombe, showing participants and condom demonstration
*My neighbor's wedding, the wedding truck (which transported all her family from her home village 70K away), and Grandaddy pancakes the day after
*Hiking at a fellow PCV's site in Masimbwe, finding a waterfall and eating sugarcane in Kinikilele
*September Fest Peace Corps gathering in Songea
*Dar moments
*Sunset at the Iringa Rocks, a favorite reflection spot

The rains have arrived and are in full effect. I’m relishing in the patter on my tin roof, which reminds me of the Highlands, North Carolina area, especially Camp Merriewoode because the rains come with such intensity particularly after lunchtime and nothing ever gets dry during this season! I’ll never forget my moldy camp towels that would just sit on the line outside my cabin, waiting desperately for some sun that never came for long enough to dry them out. I’m thankful (along with my entire village) though that the rains came earlier this year, and especially in time for our village fruit seedling planting.

The rains have also meant wild mushrooms have been sprouting like mad. Each afternoon, kids return with the treats spoked on sticks as they return from grazing their cows out in the bush. They even manage to sell them for up to $1 each as they're quite a rarity. I enjoyed a lesson by my friend Monica last week in cooking the wild mushrooms into a tasty sauce with tomatoes and onions, the perfect accompagniment for-you guessed it-ugali. She kindly delivered a huge one to me yesterday when I was hosting Amanda. We made the most incredible creamy mushroom sauce over pasta. Delightful.

Favorite PC stories of 2006-
My friend having a dead man’s head rest on her shoulder for an entire road trip to Dar es Salaam (a mere 9 hours)...7 elephants raiding my friend’s village of Masasi (down south near Mozambique), killing one old woman and injuring others...can you imagine? Just another day in the life...

A few lessons learned in 2006-
That what you’re eating doesn’t really matter if you’re in good company...water is sacred and should be conserved in any way possible (once you have to carry it on your head you realize this quickly...you don’t need an egg carrier (even though it’s on PC packing list) when you can just pack eggs amidst nuts and stick them in a bag/pot...you don’t need Gore-tex when you got vitenge (African heavy duty fabric) - warmer than it looks and rain-proof someho...jellyfish do circulate the waters of Kipepeo but a little vinegar and time will do the trick...nothing is more satisfying than baking your own brea...fire ants (siafu) can be repelled with kerosene-and so can snakes:)...I will never fall sleep if I know a mouse is in my room somewhere...a cricket’s cry is deceiving (thought I had birds/bats in my room for weeks until we found a family of crickets hiding behind my wardrobe)...solar charging is the answer or “dinctum” if you will...a solid quiet time and/or good music can change my entire outlook on the day...music is essential for the soul (plug that in again...God is everywhere-and maybe has more opportunity to show himself here (everything is "mungu akipenda" or God-willing)...BBC makes me happy and I will never again get such quality world news, especially of the African continent...ironing and hair blow-drying is overrated (haven’t done either once in the village-it’s been 1 year 1/2 now...I vastly underrated the value of old friends, accountability and fellowship! Miss ya'll...

Happy holidays to all and may 2007 be even brighter,
Tait