On campus again!

We got back from Moshi on Monday. The week away was a nice break and very relaxing. Mama Macha is an American woman who married a Tanzanian and has been living here ever since. Despite the fact that he died four years ago she has continued to reside here. Most of her time is spent in Dar, but her husband is from a village just north of Moshi where his families land is - which is where she took us.

I am really sad that her husband is already dead because I would love to meet the man that married this woman. She is absolutely crazy (I say that with lots of love!)! She has an amazingly loud personality with has an infinite number of stories to tell - and there's no stopping her. I have a really hard time distinguishing whether she is serious or joking, which can make for some interesting conversations... Half the time I think she is serious, but I can't help from laughing anyway! I'm not quite sure how Chris' family met her, but I'm so glad that they did!

From the beginning I knew that our trip was going to be good. On the bus ride to Moshi Liz and I had been talking about how we had to get a ride in the back of a truck at some point before we left the country. About half an hour later we get off at our stop and as we're stepping off the bus Mama Macha points out our ride - a pick up truck! I almost peed my pants!

We must have been a ridiculous sight - 10 white kids piled in the back of a pickup driving up the mountain. It's a pretty common mode of transport here, but not one frequently used by wazungu...

We got there just as the sun was setting which is prime time to sneak a peak at Kili. The peak of the mountain is almost always covered by clouds during the day, so you have to try and catch it at either sunrise or sunset when the clouds are briefly burned away.

(I present to you Mt. Kilimanjaro...)

The family that Mama Macha rents her condo from in Dar es Salaam is also from this area and owns a hotel which sits at the base of one of the hikes for Mt. Kilimanjaro. Friday we went to go visit their place and hike up the gate for the national park. Aaand as friends of the family we were all offered special rates for accommodations at the hotel and fees for the climb - good people to keep in contact with!

After spending time at the base the group dropped me off at the bus stop where I caught a bus heading to Arusha to visit my cousins Kris and Rebecca. It was a short visit but I'm really glad that I had the chance to see them both. Kris heads back to the states next month but I may try and get back to Arusha and visit Rebecca and their son Nate later on.

We spent two weeks in the Arusha area at the begining of the trip but didn't actually see much of the city so dinner Friday night was especially sweet. We went to a place that is Indian restaurant by night and an auto parts store by day... amazing!

Saturday Kris and Rebecca dropped me back off with the group and we spent two more days relaxing in the hills before returning to Dar.

Campus is slowly filling up with more and more students as we get closer to the start of classes.
The days have been pretty busy with journaling and other assignments due for my program, along with having to work out rooming. Because we want Tanzanian roommates all of us living together have had to spread out.

Unfortunately I got the short straw and had to switch rooms. I got bumped from 7th floor to 2nd which means I have less of a hike everyday, but I also loose the view from my balcony and the amazing breeze... Liz and I are the only ones that had to move down and we've decided that it means that we're going to end up with the coolest roommates. It's only fair right?