Lulu is Pearl in Swahili!

I really almost named Pearl Lulu...come to find out that is the translation in Swahili....coincidence??? I think not. Let's see...I had my first experience driving on the worng side of the road today...I actually will have a car starting on Sept. 1rst. So today I drove to the market with the brother of the people who own the house I rent. All went well until I encountered one of those turnaround type things....now let's be honest, are we ever really sure who has the right a way even going the right direction.....now imagine essentially going around backwards. My head was swiveling all over the place as the natural way to look is the WRONG way to look. While most people would be scared....this whole thing just made me giggle...guess that is my reaction to flaying. All that said, I made it to the market and the ATM. I am going to tape a map to my dashboard because there are no street names here and no grid system of streets. Places are signified by what they are next to.....be it a cow or a big banana tree. Each day is a babystep to familiarity and comfort. I am enjoying the challenge of it all. Even the girls were squealing " don't crash" fromthe back seat as i drove them to school. Thery are being super brave and daring in their own rights. It is not easy to be the "new kid" let alone the only American in a very unfamiliar place. Pearl has made to transition seamlessly while Nell may be a bit more aware of the social dynamics of it all....she is also in a very boy-heavy class and has not yet found what she refers to as a "special friend". Tonight is the disco at school. Nell asked me this morning if it wuld be like a prom?! How does she know these things? She said she wasn't ready for the date aspect of that....I assured her she'd be going with me and Lulu.
Hot dogs and soda are on the menu....so both are thrilled. Tomorrow we have a picnic and swimming party also with the school. I've gotten a little more bold with the other mom's....in an effort to show Nell also...they have been telling me about where to shop for food which is an ordeal compared to my beloved Whole Foods. There seems to be a woman who comes down from the mountain on Wed.s with fresh veggies and soon 400 chickens will be slaughtered if i want in on that action....yogurt is made Thursdays...and avocados and bananas of course best bought off women's heads. The good news...real organic living and eating....the bad news....I don't know how to cook any of it. I have a friend and his family coming over Sunday for a cooking lesson....yikes...hope Nell doesn't spill my fish in a crockpot secret.
We found the biggest praying mantis i have ever seen on our stairs last night....are those harmless??? I think so and for sure told the girls as much....let me know if i am wrong. Wondering if my basement is flodded in Chicago....anyone dare to go check for me??? I heard the weather there is WET. Keep dry and stay in touch!!!
Love and Peace
Sarah

I met Jimmy Carter today

So it is an everyday occurence to get approached by people. Mzungus (white people, said with out an ounce of malice) are a rarity...I don't really realize how much we stick out until I watch people look at Nell and Pearl. Yes...at times jaws drop. Interesting to be the minority...such a lesson to the way we receive people and how much we can express just through open faces. The girls actually love the extra attention....
I got sidetracked....Jimmy Carter, I don't know if you know this but he is a short Tanzanian man who sells batik for a living. He really wanted me to slow down and look at his work today....I had to catch myself from laughing outloud when he introduced himself....didn't dare ask after Amy.
I also met Micheal Rasta today...he is one of the partners in a group called Kilibikes....Samantha ( who arrived last night with macaroni for the girls) and I are planning trips on bikes for Global Alliance for africa. These 3 guys have started a mountain bike company that does trips all over this area. They have a pretty impressive array of used mountain bikes. We are going to do a sample trip with them in the next few days. Sam has lofty ideas of planning a Sea to Summit trip...climb Kili and ride to the coast. Think I'll leave that one to her...I was thinking a more casual cultural trip around the base of Kili visiting the mountain villages and seeing both Tanzania and Kenya. But this meeting got our wheels (pardon the pun) working....we need to ship NEW mountain bikes for our trips in the next container leaving Chicago in a month...anyone wanna head this endeavor up? Having good bikes here would ensure a safe and comfortable trip for our friends and clients. I don't know if you know this but I am here to develop the Travel Initiative for Global Alliance for Africa. We send trips of people here to raise money for the several programs GAA runs here....orphanages to Woman's cooperatives. Check out GAA's (new almost I think) website to get more info. The basic idea is that everyone who travels here with us fundraises a certain amount which goes directly to the women and children we serve here. I saw a few programs 4 years ago when I climbed Kili with GAA. Those images and the power of their programs have never left me. I rarely turn on a water tap in my house in Chicago without thinking about the fact that I have a clean ENDLESS water source....and that my children have a safe clean home in which to live....GAA's work is moving to say the least...thus the main reason we are here.
Anyway...I ramble....anyone have any ideas about getting some decent mountain bikes donated? We have a container coming...so that part is taken care of....any thoughts appreciated. Alex....what about Orbea? Just a thought....
well...need sleep, wonder who I'll meet tomorrow???
Peace....
Sarah

Rock and Roll Literally

So last night we had small earthquake. For those of you that haven't looked at a map to see directly where we are...Tanzania is right on the Great Rift Valley. About 3 weeks before we came there was a pretty big quake registering 6.6 on the Ricter Scale....where's Ned Field( a seismologist I dated) when you need him? Anyway, it was a pretty cool feeling...we were all safely in bed which seems to be the prefered location...the bed shook and kinda rolled. Pretty exciting for this Midwesterner. Nell and Pearl had no clue, except when it came time to make their coveted toast in the morning and we had no power. What seemed like big news to me wasn't to the rest of Moshi...business as usual commenced outside.
I took a cab into town, not quite ready to brave the "dala dala" ( local VERY crowded somewhat smelly buses) alone. I sat at the local coffee shop and watched the weather change back to beautiful. I have a small list of household items we need so I was daring myself to go negotiate (as EVERYTHING is a negotiation) these puchases.
Here's the scene, I walk into a stall for lack of a better desciption, pick out my purchases and am told it will be 30,000 TSH (tanzanian shillings) equivalent of about 30 dollars. HA..I told him I would give him 7000. Done. There are no hard feelings in these negotiations.....just a fact of life. My friend here told me that whenever buying something he hasn't purhased before, he calls all his friends to get a range of prices. Can you imagine the time involved in this....thus the reason trying to get a lot accomplished here is difficult.
The environmentalist in me is feeling satisfied here, I hang my clothes on the line, have no dishasher and no car(yet). The simplicity of life and it's daily tasks feels familiar....like I should have been born in another time. As you can tell I am really enjoying myself. Nell and Pearl are in school all day today...which offers me the time to explore and learn. Nell has signed up for gardening...the Montessorian in her is screaming to come out. Pearl takes satisfaction on getting to stay all day and the fact that there is a "duka" (store) on campus that I let them get ice cream from after school. All is well here in Tanzania.
Love to you all,
Sarah