Once upon a dream

Yesterday morning, Sara and I were delighted to see monkeys roaming the TCDC campus in the same way the stray cats are notorious for roaming Luther. The campus is very beautiful, with orange and mango and banana trees complimenting the other exotic-looking vegetation. The weather here is much cooler than at home, and I even caved and wore socks with sandals (sorry Kristin - I just had to). We had our first Kiswahili lesson on the shores of Lake Duluti (pictured above) just outside of Arusha. On the drive there, we saw countless people carrying things and traveling to market. Women were carrying huge baskets, buckets and bundles of 6 feet long brush-like plants all on their heads (not at the same time, of course) – with NO HANDS! Maybe I can find someone willing to teach me how to do that before leaving...

More banana trees, maize fields, houses, shops and peoplepeoplepeople all line the roads, which – although it is two lanes wide - oftentimes looked more like three to four lanes due to travel-at-your-own-risk driving. People (us) even passed vehicles by going on the left side of the road through the ditch (which was always home to one or two lone cattle grazing). With the fog, low-hanging clouds and tropical vegetation in the valleys up to the road, I oftentimes feel like I am in the middle of some Rambo movie (you'd love it, Dad) or Mighty Joe Young. Plus, seeing women carrying banana tree springs of probably 90 bananas or more doesn't make the experience any less surreal. Somebody pinch me...