Graduation, Dala on a Cart, and Other Random Stuff

First, let me apologize for misleading you all. Tanesco has not done the power cuts, and we still have electricity so far. It's been a pleasant surprise. At one point, we heard that they were just going to be Monday through Wednesday of last week, but we never lost power for more than one hour during the "scheduled" power cuts!

I wanted to post a random group of pictures of some events over the last few weeks. So, here we go...

Plaster House Pics

Tumaini...I know I'm not supposed to have favorites, but he is one of my favorite kids at Plaster House. I don't know why, maybe because he's always seemed so timid and quiet, but I've been drawn to him from day one. In case you don't remember, this is the kid that always sits by himself, never talks to anyone, and hardly smiles. However, in the last two weeks, he has changed dramatically. He smiles; he laughs; he talks to me; he talks to other kids; he seems happy. This has been great to see!

Osser...I just thought this was a great picture. In the last few weeks, this guy's personality has come out a bit in a negative way. He likes to terrorize the other kids. He's smaller than most, but look out!

I thought I'd show you some pics of the kids in the rooms. Most kids stay out in the play area during the day, but the kids who have had surgery and in plaster can't walk. They literally stay in bed all the time until they get the plaster off and learn to walk again. I saw him yesterday, and his plaster is off now! He just has to learn to walk again which he's already trying to do.

These two girls (like many of the kids) have to share a bed because they don't have enough beds for all the kids (one of the reasons parents can't stay at the plaster house). A church donated land for the plaster house to build on...now they just have to raise the money to build a bigger building.

Nate's Official Graduation Pictures

(he doesn't know I'm posting these)

Casually at dinner, I mentioned to Linda Jacobson (the hospital director's wife) that Nate's med school graduation had just happened. She ran upstairs, brought down a cap and gown (along with 15 or so hats) and we had a fake graduation ceremony. In this picture, Nate is in disbelief (and probably a tad upset that I mentioned his graduation).

Here, Dr. Mark Jacobson is congratulating Nate. (He actually told Nate not to miss his graduation before we came to Tanzania, which he reminded us that evening.) We told him that we got to go to a Maasai send off instead :)

Our group at dinner...Linda apparently loves to dress up for Halloween, so she brought down all her hats and made us wear one. She gave Nate a piece of toilet paper for his diploma.

Amazing House

I had the opportunity to go to a Bible study at Eunice (and the late Pastor Dave) Simonson's house. The Simonsons have lived here 55 years (missionaries from Minnesota). They worked closely with the Maasai people and have an incredible story including how he killed a lion to protect a Maasai village. The Maasai donated land to them and Pastor Dave and "Uni" built their house based on the circular huts that the Maasai live in. The house is incredible. Here are some pictures to capture the circular theme of the house. 

Random

Statue in town of Nyerere (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julius_Nyerere). They love this guy here! His picture is everywhere!

Getting drinks after frisbee...well, instead of frisbee this time. A few weeks ago, we got to the field, but it was a muddy mess because of all the rain. Here are some of our group. We actually have had around 30 people show up the last few times we've played (including last night). The guy sitting to Nate's right is Peter...he's a fellow Man U fan, so he and Nate have hit it off since day one.

My friend Brian. I know this picture is dark :( I met him a few weeks ago walking across town to the hospital. At first, he just walked beside me for a while without saying anything, so I greeted him in Swahili. We walked together for about 10 minutes. I practiced my Swahili. He practiced his English, which he's learning in school. A few days later, I saw him in a shopping complex when I was with my friend Janelle. He just followed us around for a bit, so we chatted some more. I hope to see him again before we leave.

That's a dala-dala on a cart that two guys are pulling...in the middle of a busy street...in town. I will miss the number of times I see something ridiculous out around town that makes me laugh out loud!

Out to dinner one night

First American Football Game in AFRICA...Ever

Drake University Football Team vs. Mexico All Star Team. We only made it to the 4th quarter because we had spent the earlier part of the day in Arusha National Park on a mini-safari (pictures to come in a future post). Why was there an American football game in Arusha? Why was it Drake U vs Mexico All Stars? Why didn't anyone explain any of the game to the locals? Needless to say, the game was terrible (no passing...all running)...even Nate said so. All the locals around us were asking us who was winning, what was going on, etc. Our Dutch roommate and some friends from the UK thought it was terrible and now hate American football. All the locals didn't understand why people go in to play and then quickly go back out (substitutions all the time) or why there were so many breaks. Nevertheless, it was the first ever American football game on the continent of Africa...so that's pretty cool that we were there.

Confused locals watching the game

Drake won. Go USA. 

Sunday Frisbee Fun

We don't usually play ultimate frisbee on Sundays with our frisbee group, but we did last Sunday. I skipped out on playing since I was still in my Sunday best, but I made some friends with two small kids.

Malachi was there too! He's learning to walk :) 

My two friends: Yoda (left) and Alesha (right)

Nate playing frisbee

Alesha didn't like to kick the soccer ball...just like to throw it.