Africa Experience - Tanzania - Day 17

July 12, 2014

Animals in the roundabout, Arusha

We woke in a Arusha this morning but would be leaving for Monduli after breakfast!  Brett, Pastor Jane and I got up before everyone else and went for a walk around town (7:30am).  We took some photos of the church, town centers, clock tower, and some of the sights.  We were on our own for breakfast this particular morning. 

The church we worshiped at.

The famous clock tower!

After our walk, we woke the boys and got our stuff packed up.  We had some time to do a little more last minute shopping.  We had a wonderful breakfast at the Africafe (where we bought mochas frequently).  The pancakes were yummy! 

Danielle ordered strawberries with her pancakes!

One of our favorite sayings was TIA - This is Africa.  We often said this as things 'unfolded', moved slower than we were planning, or didn't quite turn out how we expected it to.  This morning happened to move a little slower than we were planning. 

The finished product!

Just on the outskirts of Arusha, we stopped at a really cool shop that Elizabeth recommended.  They had really nice t-shirts, fabric, and table clothes.  We bought several things including fabric to make pillows! 

Women selling their goods on the side of the road.

There was just a little traffic!

At the Snake Park!
Toni~Jean~Elizabeth
 

We also stopped at the Snake Park to get Jean and have a quick Kilimanjaro beer!  Again, TIA.....Our vehicle of people arrived at the Snake Park and we waited and waited and waited for the other vehicle.  There was a road block on our way.  We were stopped by the police and allowed to move on.  The other vehicle was not!  They were questioned and required to show all the necessary paperwork (which they had).  In the end, unfortunately they had to pay some money to be able to move on. 

We made it to the Maasae Girls Lutheran Secondary School (http://www.isa.nl/tanzaniaproject/mglss.html) in time for lunch.  The Maasae Girls School was started by David Simonson.  It is a great opportunity for young women to attend school and have successful careers.   To learn more about the school and how to help, click on this link:  http://www.bootstrapafrica.org/#!mglss/cllz  We were greeted by the director Mr. Msinjili.  For lunch, we enjoyed rice, meat, gravy and fruit.

Meeting Mr. Msinjili

Off on our tour.......

Naramatisho shows us the classrooms



They have a very nice library.

They grow coffee and sell it to help pay for the school.

They also raise/sell chickens.

After our meal, we met some of the girls.  The girls were returning back to the school after a long break.  The girls were our guides and we spent about 45 minutes walking around the grounds.  We saw the classrooms, where they eat, where they worship, and their dorms.  The girl we walked with was named Naramatisho.  She is in her second year and would like to be a lecturer. 

Presenting the school with gifts!

We will sleep in a house on the compound.  It is like a duplex, with separate living areas on each side.  We had a kitchen, living room, two bedrooms and a bathroom.  Unfortunately, there was no working shower or hot water.  Rebecca (she had cooked for Jean in the past) would cook the meals for us.  We were on our own for breakfast (we had brought cereal, milk, bread an jam). 

5pm worship

The girls worship together each evening at 5pm and then go to dinner.  We met them at 5pm to worship with them.  It was really fun - we sang and (tried) to dance!


Rebecca cooked a wonderful dinner for us.  There was so much food......fried chicken, mashed potatoes, vegetables, salad, rice with a spicy sauce and homemade rolls.  It was all very good!

The kids played games before bed.