Pwanini (at the beach)!

My friends and I went on our little get-a-way this past weekend to the beach. Going to the beach is not a really popular thing for Tanzanians it seems, and I don't think many of them know how to swim (my host parents do not), but with the recent increase in tourism, hotels are popping up along the coast. We went by taxi about 30 minutes north of Dar es Salaam to a hotel called "White Sands." The rooms were quite cosy and only $100 each! I love how cheap things are here! In the US the hotel would surely have been a lot more. The accomodations were really quite nice! The best part of the whole weekend might have been the hot, running water in the very long shower that I took. I'm getting used to the bucket-shower idea, but you just never quite get that really clean feeling we're all accustomed to in the states, not to mention that there is no way to wash conditioner out of alll of my hair with just a few cups of water.

We spent Saturday lounging on the beach and taking in some sun. Tanzania lies on the Indian Ocean and it's really, really warm, but not quite as clear as the Caribbean. But from what I've heard, the water off of Zanzibar, which is where we are going next weekend, is as beautiful as any other beach in the world. Our rooms at the hotel had a/c which is dearly missed here by the Americans in TZ, so we spent some time just sitting in our rooms also. We had lunch and some beer on the beach (that is legal here) and had dinner at the hotel's restaurant. The foods not to bad, but I wouldn't exactly come to Tanzania for its cuisine. On Sunday I actually got a pedicure! My feet, well, they've gotten a little dirty since I've arrived. To get through my little neighborhood you walk down a rather long dirt road which is always abound with puddles (the rainy season just ended) and in the begining I was having a very hard time not getting covered in mud. My host-family kept looking at me like I was some unfortunate child who was playing in the mud...

We returned Sunday in the evening and I was hoping my host-mom and the rest of the family would have returned but they are MIA, so it is still me and Lili, my non-english speaking host-sister-in-law. =) I think that my host-mom's flight may have been delayed or something and I'm hoping she will be home today. When I got home last night, the power went out, but only for a brief time. After panicking for a second or two I was able to dig through my things and locate my flashlight. Then I just sat and akwardly talked to my host-dad in Swahili (he's trying to enforce the no english rule on me) about the weekend. A lot of the power here is hydo-electric so it isn't happening often since the rainy season is just ending, but apparently it happens a lot more at different times of the year.

I met a new friend in Savei, the neighborhood that I'm living in. Her name is Lati and I think she is about 3 or 4 years old. One day I was walking back home and I heard "Mzungu" and then "hi" coming from a little girl. I turned around to wave and she came running over and just jumped on me! So I picked her up and we talked a little bit. I can manage talking to small children at least! We were chatting and I went to start walking and she followed me all the way to my house, which isn't so close. Surprisingly to me, her parents barely noticed that a stranger was walking away with their daughter. We were told by our program directors that "it is okay to pick up small children here" and they really mean it. haha So Lati and I were in my little compound talking and then I tried to walk her back, but she just wouldn't leave me side. Eventually her dad came (or someone in her family) and had to take her back home but she was crying terribly. She is so cute and I hope I get to see her again soon! I'm glad I brought those extra Georgetown presents so I can give her something to play with.

In a few minutes, Andrew and I are going to venture into the marketplace with his host-second-cousin-removed, Aveet, who lives with Andrew's host-family. Hopefully I will buy myself some beautiful Kangas and possibly some other souvenirs for my favorite readers! Miss you all (but loving Tanzania)!