Ramblings and Rubando Island

Hello to everyone!  We are still alive and well in Tanzania.  Work is going well.  The Tanzanian students I will be working with just arrived this week so it has gotten a lot more fun!  Everyday is a new adventure and nothing surprises us anymore.   This collection of pictures is mostly from our recent trip to Rubando Island National Park.  We went for a long weekend along with some students that are here from the Netherlands. 

This is Kennedy.  He is a nice young man that we met in church.   I think he looks like my grandfather and so I call him, BABU (grandfather).  He calls me his MJUKUU (grandchild) even though he is seven years younger than I.

These are my paternal grandparents...What do YOU think?

This is one of my favorite things to eat.  It is a big ball of carbohydrates called UGALI.  It is usually a mixture of corn and/or cassava and tastes like nothing at all on its own.  When you dip it into the sauce of whatever you are eating it becomes a whole lot of delicious! 

Below is a butcher's knife.  Above is Alex's new best friend whenever we find ourselves walking at dark.

We found Nemo and he was delicious!  Even better with ugali!

If you think THIS is too cute...

Wait until you see THESE cutie patooties who are here with their parents from Germany.  They have lived here for several years so this is the normal way they carry around their dolls.  The older one even strapped the doll on herself.

Look mom, no hands!  I knew I would eventually get it.  Practice makes perfect but genetics, makes one a super star (see video)...

Here I am with gramps again!  And a couple members of his family.

Waiting for the Kamaga Ferry to take us back to town.

These lizards are crazy beautiful and don't look real at all.  Who would have ever thought there would be hot pink and purple lizards in Africa?

With one of the school children Alex works with.

Lesson for making palm oil anyone?

The fact that these bugs actually exist is all sorts of wrong!!!  Exhibit A.

Exibit B

Exhibit C-Swarms of bugs just before a rainstorm.

On our way to Rubando Island National Park.

Some local children who came to see us depart.  The Wazungus (Europeans, but basically any white/foreign people) are always something of a wonder.

It started out such a peaceful day...

Um, this is an actual tornado (waterspout) over the water that we looked up and saw while we were on a boat tour of the island.  Needless to say, we high tailed it back to land and a safe location.  It dissipated before hitting the shore.

The next day was sunny and perfect!  Even the hippos couldn't resist coming out and soaking up some sun.

This flower is usually only found in rainy season, one of which is starting.

These are some of the students from the Netherlands that are also in Tanzania.  Super hard workers!  They are teaching us Dutch.

And away we go on an island safari ride.

Note the car is "backwards" and people drive on the left side of the street.

This is a strange sweet and sour fruit called "saba" that I found during the drive.  It had a hard shell and a sticky jelly slime around the seeds inside.  Saba senegalensis

We looked outside of the boat along the shore and saw this shiny green all around.  Pretty cool looking algae, if you ask me.

Python hole and skin.  Good thing it wasn't home today...

...a really good thing.

These hippos were hanging out in the bay every morning.  Their barking noise was our alarm clock.

So many captions to put on this one.  These little guys were running all over the island.

I had never seen black and white crows before.

The fishing eagle looks a lot like the bald eagle.

Beautiful butterfly clusters were all around.

The giraffes were hiding and huge.

Lots of crocs!!

Even an otter.  Can you see it?  Has a white mouth.

Lots of birds!

These are warbler bird nests in the bay.

The banda houses where we stayed.

Our view from the banda house we stayed in.  Roughing it.

Hippo central in the morning.

This IS Africa!?!  So beautiful!!!

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Added later:

A few left over pictures I was supposed to post last time.  

Not what I imagined we'd see in Sub-Sahara Africa.

Magnificant Trees 

Another group of curious little kids watching us as we left. 

Big piles of tiny little of sardines.  A great source of protein and nutrition for this region.

So many things to say, so little time and Internet

It is pretty amazing what people can carry on their heads over here.  We've seen everything from the typical water jugs, to loads of laundry, large suit cases, even a coffin!!  We've even heard of someone carrying a large fish aquarium --with fish and all.  The only way to get good is to start young.  Check out this little one.  She must have only been 2 or 3 years old.

Breakfast dishes

Here I am giving it a shot!  By the end of the year I am hoping to go handless.

I thought this sign was funny.  It reminded me a lot of the "grass" in Arizona.  If you look really hard, you can find a little green patch of something somewhere.  Really you can!

Here are some super cute signs to direct us to the bathrooms.  

Here are a couple of pictures of the Tanzania group during our swearing-in ceremony in the country's capitol, Dodoma.   It was a really special occasion, cake and all. 

Swearing-In Ceremony in Dodoma, the Capitol

We weren't even this coordinated at our own wedding!

This is a group with last year's volunteers at our site and our local counterparts.  Left to Right:  Maureen, Charles, "Daktari Evelyn," Caroline , "Alexi" and David.

These are our LCTs (Language & Cultural Trainers)  Petronela, Vivian (AKA: Big boy) and Loyce!  Love them!  The best teachers ever!

There area an amazing assortment of beautiful flowers that I have never seen before.  Here is one that caught my eye.

Our group just keeps getting smaller and smaller.  Here is a pic from Mwanza.  There will only be 4 volunteers staying in this region this year. 

Lake Victoria view

Left to right:  Kathleen, Renae, Me, Deborah, Maureen, Dave, & Henry

There is so much natural beauty surrounding us!  If you look at this first picture you can see some rock formations in the background.  

On the way to our site.

A close up view of the rocks!

We are terrified for the man in the background to the left.  He is hanging a light at the ferry station while dangling from a ladder.

I love my husband's beautiful eyes!

Beautiful view on the ferry ride to our site!

This is Africa?  Really?  So beautiful!  On our approach to our site.

OK, so I was told to bring hospital scrubs from home or buy some here, but when we arrived, there were none to buy.  Luckily there are various pairs from various places around the house we are staying in and I am able to use those.  Since I didn't have a surgical cap for the OR.  I thought I would quickly try my hand at making one.  I´d better stick to my day job.  Don´t you think?

We are finally here!

Huduma na Upendo=Services and Love

A group of children that Alex works with and his counterpart.

The "kitchen" needs renovations.

Well thats it for now.