Snow Capped Meru

After a two a two week dry spell which I am told is a long time, it has been raining for 48hrs. Solid spurts at a time anyway. The kind where you find your self up to your knees in water one minute then twenty minutes later it has all disappeared. The great part of the rain was that it gave Meru a snow cap which has looked ‘Alp’ like for the last couple of days.
The president dissolved Tanzanian government a few days ago. As I hear very little local news I only learned that this morning. I understand he was funneling money out of the country in the Billions and now the government owe an NGO a large sum of money. A few of the vollies are worried that it might turn into Kenya but given that the ruling party has an approval rate of 98% I think we should be ok.
I had my first Tanzanian engagement party on the weekend. An American guy who works at St Jude is marrying a local massai girl. The ceremony was at her house where they put on goat and of course coke cola. The ceremony it’s self was quite funy. He had to stand up in front of everybody and state his ‘business’ to her father. Then he played a game of African modified hide and seek where he had to find Mary (Bride) who was hiding. The highlight for me was when the MC was telling Rob (Groom) that ‘You have been like a cheetah or a lion on a kill and now you have got your fresh meat’. It was completely wrong on so many levels. Good fun and that was just the engagement party.
I visited an orphanage which is located right next to the Arusha tip about 30min drive from the school. There are 31 kids there with two sisters looking after them. 9 of the kids come to st judes the rest attend local schools. They range in age from 4 – 17. The st judes kids who live out there are so happy in and out of school and really enjoyed showing us around explaining how they cook and clean them selves etc. They are all from varying circumstances from being abandoned by their parents to both parents dying form what ever illness or disease they obtained. There are many kids from orphanages at the school but I would never be able to pick which ones.
I went to my first rugby training on Thursday and then again last night. The field is almost on the exact opposite side of Arusha from me. I got a Dulla Dulla in to town where a Dutch guy who plays picks me up to go out there. The field is part of this sporting country club complex owned by an American which is amazing. Good bunch of blokes of a varying back ground. A few Tanzanians, a lot of long term expats, some 2nd generation Tanzanians and some blow in’s like my self. Is good fun to go out and have some male company and get out of st judes. Moshi have pulled out this year so there is only two teams in Tanzania Dar es Salam and Arusha. That is a bigger bus trip than Moree to Qurindi or Bathurst to Naramine.
The African Cup of Nations Semis have been played and it is an Egypt Cameroon Final which was disappointing as I would have like it to be Ghana Ivory Coast. I don’t think any wants to see Egypt win again.
Only have half a day today and then we are sending kids home at lunch to write exams. Then they are taking all of the Moshono (my campus) staff over to the brand new campus at Usa River for drinks and a meal. I am looking forward to the staff football game which apparently always gets very competitive, not to unlike the kids really.
Until next time.