Africa Wins Again!

Back home I woke up Monday morning feeling like death warmed over, and turned on BBC radio. A man was announcing in Swahili that today was most certainly Eid al-fitr, for all of East Africa, and that anyone who said otherwise was wrong. He was the leader of some large Muslim organization in Kenya, so I figured that was good enough for me, and I went back to sleep. I was too sick to get up anyhow.

Later that day, of course, I find out that in Tanzania, or at least in Newala, today was NOT Eid, and it will be tomorrow, which means the day after (Wednesday) is also a holiday. Thus, basically my whole week is shot. I was told this discrepancy stems from the fact that there is no agreement between Shia and Sunni or even between Kenyan and Tanzanian Muslims on when it is officially Eid. I think it’s just a clever way to stretch a two day holiday into a 3-day event, but I didn‘t complain, I needed the rest. Africa wins again.

Africa is Kicking my Ass

This week marks the 45th Anniversary of Peace Corps. Tanzania, at that time still Tanganyika, was one of the first two Peace Corps countries, Ghana being the other one. Jen went to Dar for the celebrations, where PC bosses and some of those first volunteers gathered. Jen has been in touch with some of the very first PCVs: engineers and surveyors who built the road system, but I’m not sure if anyone she has talked with is going. Since she is in Dar I’ve been watching Imani, the moster-dog, and this is where it gets interesting.

Imani had some sort of weird eye infection, and had to have a minor procedure by Dr. Don, the Vet in town. I was charged with putting the antibiotic and prednisone drops in 4x a day. While the dog is a generally a spaz, this was not much problem… until I came down with the worst sore throat of my LIFE! It hurt so bad I couldn’t even swallow the saliva in my mouth. All this took place while the dog got more and more unruly. The first night she was OK- didn’t pee or whine or anything. The next night she decided that play-time should start at 2am. This was not cool, so I locked her in the guest bedroom. She whined a bit but soon settled down and went to sleep. Problem seemingly solved.

The next night she decided to go nuts again at around 2am, so back in the guest room she went. This time she upped it a notch, and started scratching at the door. Since my doors don’t hang level or close properly she was able to open it, and thus I had to jury-rig webbing to keep the door closed. The next morning I found the dog had destroyed the bed and torn up the pillow. Out of options, the next two nights I locked her in the shower. By Saturday morning I was feeling a bit better, so I went to Masasi for Josh’s birthday and to say good by to him and Tony, both of whom are COSing. Unfortunately, by Saturday afternoon, my voice was gone. The throat had stopped hurting but now I just felt like ass everywhere else.

Everybody was Kung Fu Fighting

So I'm at the internet for the first time in months, adding a bunch of back-dated posts here, and I get a random email from my Uncle to check out www.kylekingsbury.com (my cousin). So I do. Turns out he's now a pro mixed martial arts fighter (MMA). He's always been huge and strong, and he played football for Arizona State, but this is another level entirely. He's currently 4-0 so he's off to a good start. I'll hope to hang out with him at Christmas if I end up going back for vacation. I like this picture of him, since he looks so f'n mean, but in reality he's such a nice, laughable guy, I imagine he was busting up while trying to hold that post for the photographer.

September Fest King and Queen

Most of my September Fest pictures are questionable for Internet posting, but this is a relatively tame one of Tait and Jason, who were elected king and queen of September Fest, complete with royal gowns and a royal dance.


If you look carefully, you might notice that the man in the red cap, (atayebaki bila jina), is wearing a pink prom dress.