Jan 13,2010

Hi everyone! I hope everyone is well. I appreciate all of your e mails,its great hearing from everyone. Things are going well here. Monday I had a great day with the kids and was busy the rest of the day walking around town. Most of the girls in the house found material to have skirts made for them from the local Tanzanians. Im still searching for something I like, so many choices, It just would be fun to have something to bring home.
Tuesday was a holiday here so there was no school in Tanzania. CCS planned a trip for us to Marangu and the Malaysia waterfalls. They really are trying to get us to experience as much as possible which is great.Marangu was about an hour away. We stopped at a village of the Chagga Tribe. Another very educational experience. Much like the homes of the Maasai it consisted of a center room which they called the kitchen but the roof was much taller.There were two platforms for sleeping one for the mother and girls and one for the father. when he is home, and boys.They also had a very small stable inside the home where they kept their cows. The cows would never be left outside for fear of the Maasai warriors stealing them. They said that the Maasai felt that all cows belonged to them so they would just steal the cows from anyone and everyone.Unlike the Maasai who only ate meat, blood and milk the Chagga tribe ate anything. The Chagga people produce beer that is called Chagga beer, it is made from millet and is very potent. Everyone around here loves it but I havent gotten up the nerve to try it yet, not sure I will either. Something about drinking something when you see how they make it.
The Chagga plant all different kinds of plants around their home for protection. They have pineapple plants ecause the prickly leaves will sto snakes from getting in their home. They also have a plant that is called a Yaka plant. When they leave their home the person will pick a leave from the Yaca plant and tie it in a knot then place it above the door of their home so that there are any visitors they will know someone is not home. If they just fold the leave in half and place it above the door it means they are around the village somewhere and to wait for them, they will be right back. They also use the leave of the yaca plant as a peace offering if you have a disagreement with someone.
The member of the tribe that showed us around was called Joseph. He showed us many different tools that they use now and what they used in the past. He was such an interesting person, very gentle and proud.
After the tour we went to have lunch at a very nice resort that was at the base of Kili. It was a little funny to see something so modern and westernized in the middle of everything. I can imagine that this is somewhere that Andy would love to stay at! No squatty pottys for him. After lunch we headed to the waterfalls. We had to hike in, as we were hiking we would pass through Chagga homes along the way. Getting down to the falls reminded me so much of our trip to Hawaii and a little of my last hike with you Judy!! This time I was a little better prepared. The falls were just fantastic, so much water it was deafening. The climate is changing here in Tanzania, much more rain than normal, the sun hasnt been out much but the people dont mind the rain, they are usually in such drought. The only thing with all the rain is that the roads are horrific to get around in and the drainage is practice nil. The water from the falls is all the meltage from Mt Kili. There were some great swimming areas, very similar to Livermore Falls back home so they were safe to swim in. It was a great day, im so appreciative to be able to be doing all of this.
After dinner we went over to meet some people that are staying in Hostel Hoff, this is a kind of hostel where mostly Europeans stay. The people staying their seemed really nice, we are all planning on going out this weekend at do some shaky shaky! Of course Im still the oldest one by far and feel like mama duck with her chicks following but everyone is treating me really great. You all know I can run circles around everyone!!! I forgot to tell you I was the first one back up from the falls which was no easy climb!
Today at placement one of the girls, Marissa, from CCS came with me. She will be with me for the remainder of the time because there werent alot of kids at her placement. I think there most be a full moon or something because the kids were off the wall!!!! We were breaking up more fights and wiping tears most of the day. Going to have to do some organizing with our time to keep them occupied for tomorrow.
This trip has been everything and more so far. Not sure if Im making any sort of impact on anyone but it certainly is making an impact on me!
Im planning on hanging around the home base this weekend, want to do some exploring around town and really meet people. Time is really flying by. CCS has another day trip planned for us next week to Arusha and next weekend planning on going on a coffee tour where we can do the entire process of coffee making from picking the beans to drinking the coffee, should be interesting.
Have a great day and Ill talk to you all soon!!!!