Cookin Pancakes on a Kerosene Stove

Yep...for all you fish crockpot naysayers...yours truely cooked pancakes on a kerosene stove last night. We've been without power for a few days now...makes feeding the kids hard. Can't wait till we get the car on Sat. We live a bit out of town, I usually take taxis to town each day to do my business but to do it again at night is costly. So...creativity needs to prevail in these situations...one great advantage of no power is how early I can get the girls to sleep. They aren't real fond of taking showers in the dark so I hurry them during sunset...we read books by headlamp light under our mosquito nets...and fall asleep so early. This morning, breakfast was peanut butter on a piece of bread and a banana off a woman's head...hey that rhymes..would be a good rap verse.
The girls and I are going to Paul Oliver's safari camp this weekend..and to see a few other lodges...Sam and I are not really satisfied with the pricing and type of hotels available for our trips. I am determined to find something special. This camp is permanent tents right in the park...there are guards with guns to keep the animals at bay. Sounds exciting uh? We are seeing a few other places as well.
My friend Robby who was my guide on the mountain during both climbs is finally down from the mountain...he went up and back three times in a row!!! I found it very hard both times and can't imagine doing it three times in a row. This is not unusual for these guys..they are worked so hard and get paid so little. I found an organization in town called the Kilimanjaro Porters Assistance Project...look it up. It is really amazing..collect clothes and mountain equipment for porters who generally don't have anything they need to survive. I use that word, survive, literally. Last week 5 porters died on the mountain from exposure. It has been cold here and also wet..they were not a part of the project obviously...so sad.
I have yet to address the poverty that exists here in an effort to show how wonderfully happy most people are with their existence. Like all of us they want more...but life is simple...the average yearly salary of a Tanzanian is less than a dollar a day. Hard to imagine really...but when you see the beauty and simplicity of this life...I don't really think most are missing something important. This will probably be an ongoing stream of thought....or theme that I will address. The first two times I was here I was always focusing on what was missing for these people...but now I think it is us who are missing this...calm, simplicity, fresh air, simple language, time with our families. In Swahili there are not too many words for negativity. There is no bad news in Tanzania...hmmm....staying positive...important. I'll address this more later when my thoughts are more fully formed...but I do know that the way i live and will continue to live is changed.
Before I came here, Scott, the ex, wanted to file a court order to basically insure that the kids would come back. He/we spent thousands of dollars doing something that could have been done over a civil cup of coffee....this is the type of thing I am refering to...why? That money could have bought an entire orphange. Seriously...provided for 200 children for an entire year...hmm...hope that will change. Hope my children will be able see past themselves after this experience. I certainly know they do already...they want to work at an orphange...Nell said she'd like to change diapers. Don't have the heart to tell her they don't even have diapers. We'll see...work in progress.
So Josh told me you all can leave comments here now...please feel free to so I don't feel like i am writing into an abyss.
Love to you All!!!
Sarah

Eddy the Elephant!!!

I am happy and proud to announce that Nell has received an Eddy the Elephant award for story writing...so Josh may be on to something about her soon to be released novel. On Fridays at school there is an all school assembly and she got her award but refused to read her work aloud...kind of the silent artist profile she's working. I think she really needed that nudge after a long week searching for her "special friend" I am also pleased to tell you that she AND I both got one this week. I met a wonderful brave woman who is South African and has three children at the International School. Her husband is doing business, by choice, in Iraq. He lives there and comes home every three months...so she is a single mom essentially. You should see her tool around this area in her car....she is so comfortable and confident...spending the day with her and our kids really helped me feel like this is even easier than I had anticipated. We went to a school picnic/swim party. One thing really struck me...the kids here are able to be so free, parenting is a whole different thing. I sat most of the afternoon with three mom's and never once did any of them wonder where their kids were or even get up to go look for them. We were in a beautiful secluded area with a pool, tons of trees, and lots of land. Kids run free and no ones worries....nell spent the whole day in trees, which seem to aid her in her friend making ablility. She was REALLY high up when i found her with the older girls....she infiltrated to cool older girls....makng Natalie in her class a bit envious....she now wants Nell to be her pal. Pearl in the meantime has a posse....she was in the water the whole time...her friends all had floaties on so her swimming abilities were her magnet. We all left on a happy note feeling happy to have made connections and been outside all day.
Sam came back to Moshi from Arusha yesterday...she was full of all she had learned about the potential bike trips and routes. These are really going to be amazing as Tanzania has such culture and beauty. So much to be seen while enjoying the glorious scenery. Today we met with our partners Rift Cross to secure the details of our two Kili climbs. Sam will go driving tomorrow to design some bike routes and the girls and I will spend the weekend exploring lodges....we will spend the night at a tented eco -lodge in Lake Manyara....they are thrilled as Paul our driver has promised them baby elephants bathing and a wonderful car for hanging upside down. I'm looking forward to leaving Moshi even though I love it here....just nice to get more of a sense of what is available. I am hoping to love this lodge and use it for my Feb. trip.
I get my car on Sat....and the girls have a bday party Friday afternoon....so even after traveling more than half way around the world...the lives of kids/parents are surprisingly similar. We'll just see goats chickens and banana vendors on the way to the party as opposed to skyscapers and streetsigns (did i mention there are NONE here).
So on a sad note...Josh 's house blew away...literally....I got a humorous email about kansas and chicago but i know this must be hard for him...please call him...moral support!!!!
My house by some miracle seems to be ok??? thanks Shawna!!!
Love to you all....life is good!!!
Sarah