This is Africa, Part 2

Today has been an exhausting day, so I’m reverting back to bullet points to document today’s activities.

• At WEECE, we continued working with the girls on business tools and Excel. Today we taught them the importance of doing inventory counts in their store, and actually started our initial inventory count. While the English skills and Excel skills are slow coming, I think the girls are really starting to understand many of these business tools!
• Our afternoon activity included listening to a lecture about the education system in Tanzania. Our speaker was awesome! His name was Basil Lema. He is a former teacher turned politician, lobbying for changes in the school system, such as how budget is used as well as changing public primary schools to English language rather than Swahili (Secondary schools and Universities here in TZ only teach in English). He was a really interesting man. He gave us his business cards and personal email. This is one guy I’d definitely like to keep in touch with!
• I did my first load of laundry today. By hand. In the hot African sun. I am so happy that we have readily available washing machines back in the States!
• I went for my first run since coming to Africa. It was hot, muggy, and miserable…and it felt great! Brando and I ran together down the ~1 mile road to the highway and back. The road is more of a VERY rough trail with rocks, divots, holes, tiny children, sheep, goats, chickens, cars, school kids, and women carrying large loads of food on their heads. I got many weird looks from the villagers….I don’t think they get too many female runners in spandex in these parts. Although I was a bit out of place, I’m hoping I somehow inspired one of the female school children walking down the street. If this Mzungu girl can run with the boys, why can’t I?

I was also thinking today of some other random musings about my experience thus far in Africa.

• The children here are fascinated by Mzungu hair! Even the older girls at WEECE always want to touch it.• Mosquito nets are a pain in the butt to tuck into the sides of your bed each night, but they work!

• While our home base is in a Village (Karanga), it sounds more like a farm. Right now as I sit in bed getting ready to go to sleep I can hear cows, stray dogs, bush babies, and sheep. In 6 short hours (4am) the roosters will start crowing again.
• Everyone, even in Africa, listens to American pop music. We asked our cab driver to play some Tanzanian music, and he turned on American hip hop music and said that was what most people listen to.
• Mzungu bathrooms make me so so happy. WEECE, the campsites we stopped at, and many other “public” restrooms only have the dreaded hole in the ground.
• You can tell how well off somebody is by looking at their shoes
• Tanzania is a very harmonious country. Tribes are friends with other tribes, rich live next to poor, and different religious beliefs are very much tolerated.

Lalafofofo y’all! (Sleep like a log, y’all!)