Another interesting week. I never expected to learn so much in so little time. I was planning to return to the States as I already had my return ticket from my initial trip. I earlier decided that it would not be wise to use the ticket since our crop was in the last month of growing and this is a very critical time for the fruit development. I then had a change of plans since all seemed to be going well, then came the rains. Rain is good in an arid place like this but it also means you need to pay attention to detail as things can go wrong quickly. Long story short I have decided to stay and not take a return trip until April.
I then took a few days off and returned to Arusha with two of the children from our school. I had promised them a trip to the big city and this seemed to be a good time. I was already in Arusha and our team was in Mairowa so they brought the two boys to my house on Thursday. We went shopping as they both wanted or needed, depending on whose opinion you believe, soccer shoes. The one boy had no socks so they were added to the list. We had a good time and they were very well behaved but asked a million questions. I need to explain that you had to aim to the water in a western toilet and that the lid was not the target. I also showed them how to turn on the hot water for a shower. These boys wash out of a bucket when they have water at home. They both used the shower every day without having to be told. this was different form my children when they were in grade school. We took a safari to Tarangire on Saturday. I originally gave them a choice of shoes or a safari and they choose the safari. I was surprised that they picked the safari over shoes as they see most of the animals that one sees in the parks where they live. We all had a great time and saw 21 different species including a young leopard, a first for me.
I came back to Mairowa this morning to see 60 new banana seedlings planted and the melons getting bigger. We are not getting the yields we expected on this planting and are trying to determine why. Overall we are happy with the progress but we can always improve. I find that if you start talking about the good progress everyone relaxes and slows down. You need to realize that slowing down from an already slow pace can be detrimental to your farm. The gas peddle was pushed a bit harder today. I expect that the rest of the week will see improvement. The holidays are near and the guys are wanting to go home as they live far from this village. We are trying to accommodate everyone. The lesson here is have your crops in before the holidays arrive. Lesson learned for next year.
tanzaniachildren 