Last night for some reason it was lizard central in our room. I am not usually bothered by having one there because they eat the mosquitoes that can give me malaria. Three on the other hand was a bit much. One disappeared and we are not sure where it went. One Bariki got outside and one was left for me. I called him George, he was so smart that I felt like I was having a battle of whits against this lizard and losing.
At one end of our room is a window with curtains on it and that is Georges favorite place to hide. So as we laid on the bed I waited quietly for my opportunity to remove George for the night. Out from behind the curtain he would pop his little head. George received his education first hand not learning from his little reptilian friends. You see He has 3 and a half legs and a stub tail. These war wounds have trained him to be smarter then the average lizard. So as soon as I saw his head and his 2 front legs I jumped out of bed. He was like lightening as he turned tail well stub and hid again around the window.
So I laid back down and waited. Eventually out popped his head again and all I did was push my feet against the mattress and he was gone again. This I found fascinating and frankly very entertaining so I tried this three or four more times. Every time stating how smart George was.
But now it was time to up my game. So I got up and sat on the edge of the bed waiting. Out George came and I jumped up once again and once again like lightening he was gone. So I went over to the window to look for him. really where could he have gone. But he was like a magician, he was no where to be found. So I got a spoon and tried to run it all along the edges of the window slidy parts. But it was all done in vain.
So I waited again thinking if I was standing then I would be fast enough to knock him off the wall with the spoon and direct him outside. As we laughed I turned to Bariki to see if he was as entertains as I was. As my back was turned George came out of hiding again to eat a nearby fruit fly. Never going far enough away from his hiding spot to get caught by me. At this point I just started laughing. Thinking maybe I should just leave him alone for the night. But come on I was not going to be out smarted by this lizard. So again I opened all the curtains to look for his hiding spot. This time I used a flash light thinking it would scare him enough to come out. Spoon, flashlight and a laughing girl, not enough to catch George.
Anyway after about a half hour of laughter, feeling totally dumb against George and tired of looking for him I gave up. Decided that I would let him stay another night eating mosquitoes for me. It had nothing to do with the battle of whits that had just taken place. The one of which I apparently came unarmed and badly lost. It was out of the kindness of my heart that I ALLOWED George to stay in for the night. And I am pretty sure I will ALLOW him to stay tonight as well.
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Prayer....
Prayer is a funny thing. I guess not prayer itself but what the enemy does to try to stop you from praying. Yesterday I decided to dedicate the day to prayer and fasting. It turned out to be mostly fasting.
The day started like this. I slept in. Then thought oh I should study Kiswahili just for a bit. Hey I have been studying maybe I will play the game on my phone just till 12:30 so only for like a half hour.
Go in room to pray, well it's only 12:47 I could play just a bit longer. NO, NO I want to pray. Maybe I would do better back outside. AH that's better. I think I will worship a bit first (not a bad thing by the way). 12:52 que phone. Christina is at a kids camp and wants me to come out with Beatrice while she teaches the kids. Sure that would be great. She calls back and it is all set up. Beatrice will pick me up at 1:45. It is now 1:06. Crap. Not literally more like oh crap I only have 40 minutes. Pee. Literally. Go get cloths from the line. Fold cloths talk to Bariki who encourages me to stay home. Telling me if i set aside a day for prayer I should follow through with my plan.
Good idea. 1:29 call Beartrice and Christina to tell them I have changed my mind. Change back into lounging cloths and finally settle down to pray. On the way back inside to pray I make the mistake of glancing in the mirror. "Man, my eyebrows are out of control!" "Is that a white hair in my eyebrow?" Wow I am either getting older or I am really stressed out. Probably both. hahahah." "That pimple is huge, but Bariki did not have to point it out yesterday, Uh I know it's huge."
Okay gotta pray, I'll sit down on the bed. I fold my hands and start to pr... "Uhm my hands look exactly like my mom's and mu aunt's." "I really gotta trim my nails." What's that red dot on my wrist?" "oh great now it's itchy." "I wonder how long it would take me to pull out all my leg hairs one by one?"
FOCUS!!! I'll sing a bit to get focused. 2:12 I am ready to pray now. 2:20 prayed and brushed my teeth. "There that feels better." Pray, pray, pray, please Lord help me pra... "Hey look Mount Kilimanjaor is not covered in clouds. I should go take a picture." 2:38. Talk to BAriki about the pictures I just took. Pee. Okay now it is time. Holy Spirit please help me focus on prayer.
Just breath. Breath in "Abba." Breath out, "I belong to you." Calm my mind. "Abba, I belong to you." "Jesus blood, never fails me." Then I prayed for like a half hour till I had a 20 minute nap. From that very true and detailed account of my day of prayer you are able to see how powerful it is. How effective prayer is for changing things and how the spirit is willing bu thew flesh is weak. Also you are able to see how much the enemy hates it when we pray. So he decides he will give us a temporary case of attention defiecit disorder.
More stupid then any of that is that I knew what was going on and couldn't or more likely didn't stop it. I cheated myself and I cheated God. Betcha He was looking forward to some Father-daughter time. Don't think He doesn't look forward to spending time with all of His children.
So if you learn anything from my story learn that prayer is powerful, effective and a beautiful way to communitcate with your Dad upstairs. The enemy knows this better then we do sometimes and will do to stop us. Seriously like I would ever pull out my leg hairs one by one.
Prayer is a funny thing. I guess not prayer itself but what the enemy does to try to stop you from praying. Yesterday I decided to dedicate the day to prayer and fasting. It turned out to be mostly fasting.
The day started like this. I slept in. Then thought oh I should study Kiswahili just for a bit. Hey I have been studying maybe I will play the game on my phone just till 12:30 so only for like a half hour.
Go in room to pray, well it's only 12:47 I could play just a bit longer. NO, NO I want to pray. Maybe I would do better back outside. AH that's better. I think I will worship a bit first (not a bad thing by the way). 12:52 que phone. Christina is at a kids camp and wants me to come out with Beatrice while she teaches the kids. Sure that would be great. She calls back and it is all set up. Beatrice will pick me up at 1:45. It is now 1:06. Crap. Not literally more like oh crap I only have 40 minutes. Pee. Literally. Go get cloths from the line. Fold cloths talk to Bariki who encourages me to stay home. Telling me if i set aside a day for prayer I should follow through with my plan.
Good idea. 1:29 call Beartrice and Christina to tell them I have changed my mind. Change back into lounging cloths and finally settle down to pray. On the way back inside to pray I make the mistake of glancing in the mirror. "Man, my eyebrows are out of control!" "Is that a white hair in my eyebrow?" Wow I am either getting older or I am really stressed out. Probably both. hahahah." "That pimple is huge, but Bariki did not have to point it out yesterday, Uh I know it's huge."
Okay gotta pray, I'll sit down on the bed. I fold my hands and start to pr... "Uhm my hands look exactly like my mom's and mu aunt's." "I really gotta trim my nails." What's that red dot on my wrist?" "oh great now it's itchy." "I wonder how long it would take me to pull out all my leg hairs one by one?"
FOCUS!!! I'll sing a bit to get focused. 2:12 I am ready to pray now. 2:20 prayed and brushed my teeth. "There that feels better." Pray, pray, pray, please Lord help me pra... "Hey look Mount Kilimanjaor is not covered in clouds. I should go take a picture." 2:38. Talk to BAriki about the pictures I just took. Pee. Okay now it is time. Holy Spirit please help me focus on prayer.
Just breath. Breath in "Abba." Breath out, "I belong to you." Calm my mind. "Abba, I belong to you." "Jesus blood, never fails me." Then I prayed for like a half hour till I had a 20 minute nap. From that very true and detailed account of my day of prayer you are able to see how powerful it is. How effective prayer is for changing things and how the spirit is willing bu thew flesh is weak. Also you are able to see how much the enemy hates it when we pray. So he decides he will give us a temporary case of attention defiecit disorder.
More stupid then any of that is that I knew what was going on and couldn't or more likely didn't stop it. I cheated myself and I cheated God. Betcha He was looking forward to some Father-daughter time. Don't think He doesn't look forward to spending time with all of His children.
So if you learn anything from my story learn that prayer is powerful, effective and a beautiful way to communitcate with your Dad upstairs. The enemy knows this better then we do sometimes and will do to stop us. Seriously like I would ever pull out my leg hairs one by one.
WOW it has been to long and so much has happened in the last 15 months. I am sorry to all of you who followed my blog and enjoyed reading it. I am here again in Africa and it is still an adventure. Everyday in fact is a new adventure. Where do I begin when you haven't heard anything in so long.
I will start here. The reason I stopped blogging last year was we had a home invasion and my computer was stolen. Everyone had told me how much they enjoyed the blog and how they thought it was so funny. After that I wasn't sure if I would laugh again let alone make anyone laugh again. But God heals and it has been a process and a half and the process is still going on.
After the robbery we were able to come to Canada for a visit. It was nice having Bariki there to see the world that I come from. To experience so many things for the first time. The time there was also a challenge as we both tried to cope with what we had gone through in our own different ways. But we managed okay and made the best of our time there. In fact my family even helped me arrange a wedding there. It was wonderful. We laughed, ate such wonderful food, laughed and danced till I could not stand anymore.
Then he left. He went home July 14th 2009 and I was not able to see him again till February 25th 2010. People ask the question how is married life? I would answer great, we never argue, we always say beautiful things to each other. But I would like it better if we were in the same country.
And now it is Canada day 2010. Big shout out to all my felow Canadaians. Have fun tonight but play safe. I am sitting in an internet cafe in Moshi Tanzania trying to figure out what is important to tell you all and what insn't. We spent a month in Kenya where we learned to wait on immigration, to hate chicken and chips after eating them everyday and to go out in the rain just to see the women wear shower caps on the streets to protect their hair form the moisture.
So I will blog again soon and till then I will keep my eyes open for the little things that make me laugh.
I will start here. The reason I stopped blogging last year was we had a home invasion and my computer was stolen. Everyone had told me how much they enjoyed the blog and how they thought it was so funny. After that I wasn't sure if I would laugh again let alone make anyone laugh again. But God heals and it has been a process and a half and the process is still going on.
After the robbery we were able to come to Canada for a visit. It was nice having Bariki there to see the world that I come from. To experience so many things for the first time. The time there was also a challenge as we both tried to cope with what we had gone through in our own different ways. But we managed okay and made the best of our time there. In fact my family even helped me arrange a wedding there. It was wonderful. We laughed, ate such wonderful food, laughed and danced till I could not stand anymore.
Then he left. He went home July 14th 2009 and I was not able to see him again till February 25th 2010. People ask the question how is married life? I would answer great, we never argue, we always say beautiful things to each other. But I would like it better if we were in the same country.
And now it is Canada day 2010. Big shout out to all my felow Canadaians. Have fun tonight but play safe. I am sitting in an internet cafe in Moshi Tanzania trying to figure out what is important to tell you all and what insn't. We spent a month in Kenya where we learned to wait on immigration, to hate chicken and chips after eating them everyday and to go out in the rain just to see the women wear shower caps on the streets to protect their hair form the moisture.
So I will blog again soon and till then I will keep my eyes open for the little things that make me laugh.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
The ride in the daladala from halahala, if you catch my drift....
After a long and very frustrating day yesterday in Arusha trying to get medical exams for Bariki and Elli for immigration it was a really long ride home. Had about a 2.5 to 3 hour trip ahead of us and it was already really late. SO we got on the bus in Arusha and started our journey home. We were at the very back of the bus and I had a 6’6’’ Maasia man in front on me in one of the foldout seats leaning against my knees. But to my left I had a really nice kid who spoke perfect English and had a conversation with me all the way back to Moshi while my daughter slept on my lap and my husband read the newspaper.
When we reached Moshi the normally busy bus stop was totally empty except one daladala going to Marangu. But it was full. Problem being a daladala is never full. So it being our only chance to get home and after some shifting of people we crawled in not really having a choice. So where normally there were 4 people uncomfortably across the back seat there were 4 and two kids. Not small kids either. Then came the row I sat in. If you can call it sitting. Here in TZ no matter your size they fit you in where ever they can. For not being a people of public affection they sure do not mind having their personal space invaded. So I head to nearly the back where there are 3 fully grown adult already and I turn to sit on the fold out seat with no back. Unfortunately my a—doesn’t fit so I sort of sit sideways resting all my weight on my right butt check, my right leg folded under towards my left leg and the edge of the seat ahead of me resting between my joint in my knee. Oh and please don’t forget I had Elli who has grown taller significantly sitting on my folded leg and her dad standing on my left foot.
Of course then came the dilemma of where to put my arm. So twisted and contored as my body was with muscles pulling in places I never knew I had muscles I decided the only place was on the head rest of the girl sitting next to me. So she just rested her head on my arm. Now it was dark, late and raining and the daladala was filled with some very angry people. One man behind me was yelling and a man beside me threw some stuff in every so often. A woman at the front was very verbal and it seemed as though it took an hour before we started moving. It was hot, humid, stuffy and cramped. But eventually we were off. The muscle in my right butt cheek felt every speed hump.
They call them speed humps here; they are bigger than a traditional speed bump that we are used to back home and way bigger than the ones in the old Canadian Tire parking lot in Leduc. They are about 1-2’ high but 5-6’ wide. Back to my story, so I felt every speed hump in my butt, my foot and my knee. We continued to stop and pick people up and drop others off on the side of the highway.
Now by this point I was praying, literally, that God would take away the pain that I was feeling take me away to a nicer more peaceful place. And He complied till I started to shift because now I was cramped, had two people standing on one on my feet while the other foot just lay there on its side pretending it was dead. I by this time had also shifted my arm and the girl was now leaning on it. So in an attempt to move it again and have her shift I stuck in elbow clear down her shirt. My apologies were enough and she sort of laughed it off. Then I remembered that Bariki who was standing the whole time with his side to me was also carrying my purse with a lot of money in it. So I reached through under his arm and grabbed my purse. After a minute I felt a hand come and touch the top of mine. So I grabbed it entwining my fingers in his. He pulled away and so I grabbed his thumb and pinched it. Suddenly the guy sitting that Bariki was standing over said something to him and he looked down. At that point he kindly turned towards me telling me that I had been holding some other man’s hand and to add insult to injury had actually pinched him. Mortified I pulled my hand back laughed out loud and sat like I was a stranger on this bus.
At this point we had turned down another highway where we stopped to let more people out and a few people bought roasted maze. That was nice other then the fact that I did not, I was really hungry and it filled the still cramped bus with the aroma of popcorn. At this point with a few less people and some breathing room the nice gentleman beside us broke off a piece of his corn and gave it to the man next to him. Then he broke off another piece and offered it to me but I motioned that he should give it to Elli instead which he happily did and we were off on our final 12 km to Marangu Mtoni. As I looked around the bus I noticed a man in the back seat making funny faces, not speaking, tapping the seat ahead of him and contorting himself in really wierd postions. So I thought to myself “oh my gosh this guy is choking.” He watched me as I REALLY watched him close and this went on for at least 30-45 seconds. I thought surely if he was choking on roasted corn he would indicate to someone. I don’t mean this to sound offensive and forgive me if it does but how do you look to see if an Africans lips are changing colour or eyes are watering in a dark cramped bus. He continued not making a sound till finally I grabbed his hand and said rather loud, “Are you ok?” He looked surprised and totally afraid of me so I smiled turned my head and continued to watch him in my peripheral vision. The conductor started yelling at him to pay and his face went even stranger finally he yelled something and pulled his wallet out of his back pocket. The whole time he was trying to contort his body in a way to be able to reach his wallet. I felt like a total knob and the trip just continued on.
After a few more minutes the bus was emptier and everyone had a seat and was comfortable. A drunken guy moved to the front and started to conduct. Asking people where they needed to be dropped etc. As the lights passed I thought that in my whole life I had never been that uncomfortable for that period of time before.
The guys who hand I held had left, the woman’s whose shirt I stuck my elbow all the way down had left, the man whose life I could have saved if he had actually been choking was gone and as I sat watching the lights of the small businesses along the side of the road go by we came to an abrupt stop. We all piled out, Elli, Bariki and I got into a taxi and traveled the rest of the way home. It NEVER felt so good to sit in my kitchen as it did last night after the ride in the daladala from halahala.
When we reached Moshi the normally busy bus stop was totally empty except one daladala going to Marangu. But it was full. Problem being a daladala is never full. So it being our only chance to get home and after some shifting of people we crawled in not really having a choice. So where normally there were 4 people uncomfortably across the back seat there were 4 and two kids. Not small kids either. Then came the row I sat in. If you can call it sitting. Here in TZ no matter your size they fit you in where ever they can. For not being a people of public affection they sure do not mind having their personal space invaded. So I head to nearly the back where there are 3 fully grown adult already and I turn to sit on the fold out seat with no back. Unfortunately my a—doesn’t fit so I sort of sit sideways resting all my weight on my right butt check, my right leg folded under towards my left leg and the edge of the seat ahead of me resting between my joint in my knee. Oh and please don’t forget I had Elli who has grown taller significantly sitting on my folded leg and her dad standing on my left foot.
Of course then came the dilemma of where to put my arm. So twisted and contored as my body was with muscles pulling in places I never knew I had muscles I decided the only place was on the head rest of the girl sitting next to me. So she just rested her head on my arm. Now it was dark, late and raining and the daladala was filled with some very angry people. One man behind me was yelling and a man beside me threw some stuff in every so often. A woman at the front was very verbal and it seemed as though it took an hour before we started moving. It was hot, humid, stuffy and cramped. But eventually we were off. The muscle in my right butt cheek felt every speed hump.
They call them speed humps here; they are bigger than a traditional speed bump that we are used to back home and way bigger than the ones in the old Canadian Tire parking lot in Leduc. They are about 1-2’ high but 5-6’ wide. Back to my story, so I felt every speed hump in my butt, my foot and my knee. We continued to stop and pick people up and drop others off on the side of the highway.
Now by this point I was praying, literally, that God would take away the pain that I was feeling take me away to a nicer more peaceful place. And He complied till I started to shift because now I was cramped, had two people standing on one on my feet while the other foot just lay there on its side pretending it was dead. I by this time had also shifted my arm and the girl was now leaning on it. So in an attempt to move it again and have her shift I stuck in elbow clear down her shirt. My apologies were enough and she sort of laughed it off. Then I remembered that Bariki who was standing the whole time with his side to me was also carrying my purse with a lot of money in it. So I reached through under his arm and grabbed my purse. After a minute I felt a hand come and touch the top of mine. So I grabbed it entwining my fingers in his. He pulled away and so I grabbed his thumb and pinched it. Suddenly the guy sitting that Bariki was standing over said something to him and he looked down. At that point he kindly turned towards me telling me that I had been holding some other man’s hand and to add insult to injury had actually pinched him. Mortified I pulled my hand back laughed out loud and sat like I was a stranger on this bus.
At this point we had turned down another highway where we stopped to let more people out and a few people bought roasted maze. That was nice other then the fact that I did not, I was really hungry and it filled the still cramped bus with the aroma of popcorn. At this point with a few less people and some breathing room the nice gentleman beside us broke off a piece of his corn and gave it to the man next to him. Then he broke off another piece and offered it to me but I motioned that he should give it to Elli instead which he happily did and we were off on our final 12 km to Marangu Mtoni. As I looked around the bus I noticed a man in the back seat making funny faces, not speaking, tapping the seat ahead of him and contorting himself in really wierd postions. So I thought to myself “oh my gosh this guy is choking.” He watched me as I REALLY watched him close and this went on for at least 30-45 seconds. I thought surely if he was choking on roasted corn he would indicate to someone. I don’t mean this to sound offensive and forgive me if it does but how do you look to see if an Africans lips are changing colour or eyes are watering in a dark cramped bus. He continued not making a sound till finally I grabbed his hand and said rather loud, “Are you ok?” He looked surprised and totally afraid of me so I smiled turned my head and continued to watch him in my peripheral vision. The conductor started yelling at him to pay and his face went even stranger finally he yelled something and pulled his wallet out of his back pocket. The whole time he was trying to contort his body in a way to be able to reach his wallet. I felt like a total knob and the trip just continued on.
After a few more minutes the bus was emptier and everyone had a seat and was comfortable. A drunken guy moved to the front and started to conduct. Asking people where they needed to be dropped etc. As the lights passed I thought that in my whole life I had never been that uncomfortable for that period of time before.
The guys who hand I held had left, the woman’s whose shirt I stuck my elbow all the way down had left, the man whose life I could have saved if he had actually been choking was gone and as I sat watching the lights of the small businesses along the side of the road go by we came to an abrupt stop. We all piled out, Elli, Bariki and I got into a taxi and traveled the rest of the way home. It NEVER felt so good to sit in my kitchen as it did last night after the ride in the daladala from halahala.
Then there were 2 or were there?????
So after a weekend of goodbyes and a doctor’s visit for me Monday March 23rd rolled around and it was time to say goodbye to my parents. The departure was bitter sweet. Of course it was sad to say goodbye and have them leave me for who knows how long, but on the other hand it was going to be nice to get into a “normal” routine of being a wife and a mom.
We decided to have Elli stay where she was for a short while longer because Bariki and I had one last short trip to Kenya to do before he went back to work. The first night my parents left Bariki did not sleep all night. He paced the house, drank hot chocolate making a total mess of the kitchen, and disturbed me more than once hoping someone else could share in his insomnia. The next he was not feeling well and apparently hadn’t been in a while but thought he was just tired, so he went to the Doctor.
The reason for the heading of this section of the blog was our long awaited time just the two of us ended up being the newlyweds and the two amoebas. So after 3 days straight of sleep for Bariki and 2 days for me because I was diagnosed 2 days earlier our time as a happy no worries couple was coming to an end. We had to make a trip to Arusha.
We decided to have Elli stay where she was for a short while longer because Bariki and I had one last short trip to Kenya to do before he went back to work. The first night my parents left Bariki did not sleep all night. He paced the house, drank hot chocolate making a total mess of the kitchen, and disturbed me more than once hoping someone else could share in his insomnia. The next he was not feeling well and apparently hadn’t been in a while but thought he was just tired, so he went to the Doctor.
The reason for the heading of this section of the blog was our long awaited time just the two of us ended up being the newlyweds and the two amoebas. So after 3 days straight of sleep for Bariki and 2 days for me because I was diagnosed 2 days earlier our time as a happy no worries couple was coming to an end. We had to make a trip to Arusha.
Then there were 2 or were there?????
So after a weekend of goodbyes and a doctor’s visit for me Monday March 23rd rolled around and it was time to say goodbye to my parents. The departure was bitter sweet. Of course it was sad to say goodbye and have them leave me for who knows how long, but on the other hand it was going to be nice to get into a “normal” routine of being a wife and a mom.
We decided to have Elli stay where she was for a short while longer because Bariki and I had one last short trip to Kenya to do before he went back to work. The first night my parents left Bariki did not sleep all night. He paced the house, drank hot chocolate making a total mess of the kitchen, and disturbed me more than once hoping someone else could share in his insomnia. The next he was not feeling well and apparently hadn’t been in a while but thought he was just tired, so he went to the Doctor.
The reason for the heading of this section of the blog was our long awaited time just the two of us ended up being the newlyweds and the two amoebas. So after 3 days straight of sleep for Bariki and 2 days for me because I was diagnosed 2 days earlier our time as a happy no worries couple was coming to an end. We had to make a trip to Arusha.
We decided to have Elli stay where she was for a short while longer because Bariki and I had one last short trip to Kenya to do before he went back to work. The first night my parents left Bariki did not sleep all night. He paced the house, drank hot chocolate making a total mess of the kitchen, and disturbed me more than once hoping someone else could share in his insomnia. The next he was not feeling well and apparently hadn’t been in a while but thought he was just tired, so he went to the Doctor.
The reason for the heading of this section of the blog was our long awaited time just the two of us ended up being the newlyweds and the two amoebas. So after 3 days straight of sleep for Bariki and 2 days for me because I was diagnosed 2 days earlier our time as a happy no worries couple was coming to an end. We had to make a trip to Arusha.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Octopus, Lobster, Calamari oh my.....
After a couple days of relaxing minus an amoeba that my dad caught we were off to Arusha for a day of shopping and a sleep over at my friend’s house, Margaret and Philemon. My mom got to experience shopping in the famous market that my dad always tells her about. She loved it, I was surprised. I actually thought that she would hate it, having to bargain for everything and everyone wanting to pull you here and there so you could come in their shop and “look for free.” But I was wrong and by the time I finished shopping with her she was a vicious bargainer and really had a great time. It really is a very different world. I told her she had to be careful because after this experience when she shopped at Walmart and the lady told her the total she would want to look at her and offer her less. I’m not lying that is how I felt when I got home the first time I was here. Anyway after a nice night with my friends watching the “God’s must be crazy 1 and 2” and listening to everyone laugh it was time for bed. The next morning we had to be at Compassion Tanzania at 9:30 so that I could see my sponsor child and my mom could meet hers for the first time. It was great. We spent about 4 hours or so with them and my mom really enjoyed it. Next time she will have to go to their house on Mount Meru and get the full experience.
The following day we off to Dar es Salaam and then to catch the ferry to Zanzibar the next morning. Our first 2 days were spent in Stone Town. My mom loved the architecture and the carvings of the big beautiful doors. My dad liked the market on the beach when the sun went down. This market is really neat. It has stand after stand of people serving every kind of seafood you can imagine, plus Zanzibar pizzas which are my personal favourite and finally sodas and sugarcane juice mixed with lime and ginger. There is something about this place, whether it is the atmosphere or the food it is just a really great place to hang out.
The next day was a tour of the Sultan’s ruins, a spice farm and the House of Wonders. The ruins were interesting to see a bit of Zanzibar’s history. I always enjoy the spice tour where you get to learn about spices obviously. But I always find it interesting that with most spices you use the root or the bark but the leaves themselves when they are crushed a little smell exactly like the spice when it is used in our homes. My favourite part of the spice tour is when a tiny man climbs a 100 ft palm tree with his bare hands, bare feet and a rope to cut you down coconuts to drink the water from. All the while singing at the top of his lungs and hanging upside down from the tree.
That afternoon we went to the House of Wonders museum and then to a small Italian pizzaria where we watched the sunset over the Indian Ocean.
So I just have a few more statements/questions about honeymoons. Does it constitute a second honeymoon when you are still with your parents and they are in the next room? When it is so freakin’ hot you don’t want to be in the same room as your husband let alone the same bed? When you snorkel to long and get sunburned again but way worse because now it is over your entire body causing what you think is sun stroke but it ends up being an amoeba? Then to add to it all when you are finally feeling well enough to let anyone near you let alone your husband you get a cold sore on your lip the size of Connecticut? But aside from all that I had a really great time.
I swam with the dolphins which is totally different then doing it in the Caribbean. Here they take you out to the middle of nowhere in the Indian Ocean. They find a family of dolphins and you jump in. It was awesome. There were times I was surrounded by 50 dolphins at once not quite close enough to touch but close enough to make me feel like I could. It was really the most amazing experience. I loved it and would do it again and again. Next time I will be better with my snorkel gear though so I can dive down with them.
I wanted to learn to use the snorkel gear so I spent a few hours that morning after the dolphin outing in the water before the tide went out. It was great to see all the life down on the ocean floor. At one point I had a tiny yellow fish with black stripes swimming under my belly and every so often he would come up in front of my mask to say hello. The first time he did this though I was so happy I smiled which changed the seal on my mask and I got salt water in my eyes. That hurt like a mother but before long I was back swimming along with my little friend. This is when the incredibly bad burn took place. I will snorkel again but not without some seriously high spf waterproof lotion.
The highlight of that day though was how much time my husband spent in the water, due to the fact that 8 hours earlier he was petrified of the water. But once introduced to a life jacket (even in 4 ft deep water) he loved it. We even went to a neighbouring hotel during low tide and he swam around in the pool for hours with his life jacket on and his snorkelling gear. It was really cute.
It was a fantastic time in Zanzibar and when it was all over everyone wished we had another couple days. But it was time to head back but this time we flew. Bariki went on an airplane for the first time. Not a big one but he loved it. We are praying that he is able to ride on one to Canada soon.
The following day we off to Dar es Salaam and then to catch the ferry to Zanzibar the next morning. Our first 2 days were spent in Stone Town. My mom loved the architecture and the carvings of the big beautiful doors. My dad liked the market on the beach when the sun went down. This market is really neat. It has stand after stand of people serving every kind of seafood you can imagine, plus Zanzibar pizzas which are my personal favourite and finally sodas and sugarcane juice mixed with lime and ginger. There is something about this place, whether it is the atmosphere or the food it is just a really great place to hang out.
The next day was a tour of the Sultan’s ruins, a spice farm and the House of Wonders. The ruins were interesting to see a bit of Zanzibar’s history. I always enjoy the spice tour where you get to learn about spices obviously. But I always find it interesting that with most spices you use the root or the bark but the leaves themselves when they are crushed a little smell exactly like the spice when it is used in our homes. My favourite part of the spice tour is when a tiny man climbs a 100 ft palm tree with his bare hands, bare feet and a rope to cut you down coconuts to drink the water from. All the while singing at the top of his lungs and hanging upside down from the tree.
That afternoon we went to the House of Wonders museum and then to a small Italian pizzaria where we watched the sunset over the Indian Ocean.
So I just have a few more statements/questions about honeymoons. Does it constitute a second honeymoon when you are still with your parents and they are in the next room? When it is so freakin’ hot you don’t want to be in the same room as your husband let alone the same bed? When you snorkel to long and get sunburned again but way worse because now it is over your entire body causing what you think is sun stroke but it ends up being an amoeba? Then to add to it all when you are finally feeling well enough to let anyone near you let alone your husband you get a cold sore on your lip the size of Connecticut? But aside from all that I had a really great time.
I swam with the dolphins which is totally different then doing it in the Caribbean. Here they take you out to the middle of nowhere in the Indian Ocean. They find a family of dolphins and you jump in. It was awesome. There were times I was surrounded by 50 dolphins at once not quite close enough to touch but close enough to make me feel like I could. It was really the most amazing experience. I loved it and would do it again and again. Next time I will be better with my snorkel gear though so I can dive down with them.
I wanted to learn to use the snorkel gear so I spent a few hours that morning after the dolphin outing in the water before the tide went out. It was great to see all the life down on the ocean floor. At one point I had a tiny yellow fish with black stripes swimming under my belly and every so often he would come up in front of my mask to say hello. The first time he did this though I was so happy I smiled which changed the seal on my mask and I got salt water in my eyes. That hurt like a mother but before long I was back swimming along with my little friend. This is when the incredibly bad burn took place. I will snorkel again but not without some seriously high spf waterproof lotion.
The highlight of that day though was how much time my husband spent in the water, due to the fact that 8 hours earlier he was petrified of the water. But once introduced to a life jacket (even in 4 ft deep water) he loved it. We even went to a neighbouring hotel during low tide and he swam around in the pool for hours with his life jacket on and his snorkelling gear. It was really cute.
It was a fantastic time in Zanzibar and when it was all over everyone wished we had another couple days. But it was time to head back but this time we flew. Bariki went on an airplane for the first time. Not a big one but he loved it. We are praying that he is able to ride on one to Canada soon.
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