Flaming Purell

We didn't make it to Dragonaire (the usual Friday night spot for pizza and a Safari) until about 8 because of a mini-disaster with one of the computers and some equipment in the lab. Macs are almost nonexistent in East Africa, as is support apparently! Joined by our newcomer B and even the two head haunchos, I decided to mix it up a little (sorry, that was a Dad joke) and instead of a Margherita with pineapple I opted for the mixed vegetable. I think I over-did it a little on the garlic but with a Safari (or two) it certainly was a good way to start the weekend. Of course my cell phone slipped out of my pocket while we were eating. Luckily I noticed it was missing before we left the restaurant compound. I ran out of the car (already two Safari deep--everything seemed of the utmost importance) to grab it before someone found it (I'm already on phone no. 2) and slipped on the concrete. Just to add to the embarrassment, I've got a nice little cut on my chin . I'm pretty sure T-Man and B aren't going to let me live that one down.

A Fourth of July celebration of sorts had been in the works for a few days: After Dragonaires (no way Dundy can miss his pizza on Fridays), I was hoping to get some s'more action going and even grabbed the last bag of marshmallows (pink and white...not exactly the right colors, but close enough) in Pira's, not that anywhere else in Morogoro would have had them. T-Man was in charge of the bon fire and managed to turn embers left over from the days burning trash into quite a good fire. My marshmallows were, obviously, toasted to perfection. We got a good look at some bush babies, nocturnal tiny little monkey things that make a terribly annoying noise at night. They are little drunkards and can often be seen falling out of trees. Unfortunately they weren't celebrating with us.

Fireworks are illegal in Tanzania, which meant that we had to improvise slightly. One of the boys somehow thought to bring out the hand sanitizer (69% alcohol) and squirt some on the fire. When that didn't produce enough of a reaction, he threw the whole bottle in! Our version of fireworks, I guess. No tubing this year or real fireworks in the nation's capital but our own little celebration turned out quite nicely.

Sneezy...

B and I moved out of NORAD hostel into a house with another American girl. (Hurray, more girls! I was really starting to feel like the annoying little sister.) T-Man helped with the move and his piki piki (motorcycle) proved to be worthy substitute for a moving truck. Apparently moving was the order of the day and B and T-Man had been doing so all day with a bunch of boxes that arrived with one of the PIs from Seattle, which meant a relaxing dinner at SUASA. Tempted by the grilled chicken, I had the usual vegetable curry. I'm so predictable.

After the meal, B brought out the cards for a game of Gin Rummy. T-Man was pretty much hilarious! His commentary is really priceless. At first I was on his bad side because I kept taking all the cards he wanted but we eventually (as soon as I was no longer in the lead) came to an understanding. I blame my loss on the extremity of my allergies. Ever-well prepared, B even had a pack of travel kleenex! Sneezing at SUASA until about 11, we headed back to the house for our first night there. The card-playing really reminded me of the usual post-dinner entertainment at home, minus the "For crying out loud!"s and the "You better SCOOT SCOOT SCOOT!"s.

The new house is really nice. My room is literally a bed with a mosquito net in the middle of the room. Picture to come...The shower is sufficient but nothing spectacular. Think a hose with less water pressure and with warm water. I can only anticipate the difficulty this will present in trying to maintain my hair. Regardless, I am really looking forward to staying at the new mini-sorority house.

The Tickle Monster Attacks

My new friend and hostel-mate, B--just like GG but nice, and I started out at the Genome Science Center--where I usually work--but Bess quickly realized that she couldn't do much work without her laptop which was at the lab at the Regional Hospital. We decided to walk into town instead of taking a taxi or a dala dala which gave me a chance to see parts of Morogoro that I had only seen from the road. Surprisingly we didn't get harassed too much!

When we got to the hospital, Kitty had some samples that she was culturing so I got a chance to help her with that. Before culturing we took a count of the white blood cells in each sample using a hemocytometer. After a week of “internet research” just wearing gloves was exciting! Of course, the power went out about every minute and a half and we had to continually interrupt the process. Everyone at the Hospital lab was excited to see me again and inquired about my recent whereabouts, etc.

After a semi-exciting day at the lab, I was ready for a quiet dinner and game of Scrabble with Bess. Bess came for her four-week stay much more prepared than I did—she not only brought a travel Scrabble set, she also brought candy and cards! Around 6:30 I still hadn’t seen her but figured she was still working at the lab but I soon found out that Kitty had invited us over to her house for palau. What a treat!

We spent a wonderful—and very high energy—evening helping Kitty cook, entertaining her two daughters, and even having an impromptu photo shoot. The girls were mesmerized by Bess’s camera—which is pretty impressive—and insisted on many, many pictures. “Two by two. Girls only.” FLASH! “Now two by three. He in.” FLASH! With only a year of English, Kitty’s oldest daughter (5) has a really remarkable grasp of the language. Like her teacher at the International School she gets very angry if you speak Swahili around her. “YOU SPEAKING KISWAHILI!” she’ll shout in an angry tone. Bess brought caramels and the girls went wild. A couple hours of tickling later—not to mention a FABULOUS meal with salad, palau, watermelon, bananas, and beans—we headed back to the hostel exhausted.

"Don't Let the Bed Bugs Bite"

Guess what, they do...and a lot. If the gecko in the shower and the ants in the sink weren't enough, I'm about 106% sure that "pests" have now infiltrated my bed as well. The evidence--twenty-one bites from my right ankle to knee--is overwhelming. Thank goodness for anti-itch cream! And just when I thought my legs were recovering from all the mosquito bites...

Oh, Kipepeo

T-Man suggested that we check out Kipepeo--a private beach on the South coast of Dar es Salaam. I can't even describe how beautiful Kipepeo--which means butterfly in Swahili--is. After a lugging around my backpack in the Dar heat all day, all I wanted to do was jump in the turquoise Indian Ocean. We checked in and went over to Bungalow No. 21 and did the usual inspection. Let's just say it passed with flying colors. The bungalow--thatched roof and all--had a Swiss Family Robinson feel to it and the balcony with a hammock looked out to a stunning view of the Indian Ocean. Apparently they were inspired by the mud huts built in surrounding villages, giving them a uniquely African feel. I certainly didn't feel like I was in Africa though!
Not long after checking in I was in the crystal-clear water. You could see straight down to the bottom! The water for refreshing--not freezing! Forget Hawaii...my new beach destination of choice is in Tanzania! Here's the beach around sunset time, just as we were sitting down to dinner. (I didn't even edit this picture...)
The Swahili word for relax is poa, and that is just what I did on Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning. More pictures that will probably make you more jealous are here.