Arusha, Wednesday, January 25, 2017

This morning, Ron, Colette and John left with Evans for an overnight excursion to the Catholic Archbishop’s house at Uru Shimbwe, a Chaga village far up in the foothills of Kilimanjaro. John has taken student groups there twice, and we took John’s family for a visit last February, when they came to Tanzania. It’s a huge three-story house with many bedrooms, each with an adjoining full bath, so it’s perfect as a B&B, which is what the Archbishop’s nephew, Victor, hopes it will become. Perhaps its most alluring aspect is the incredible view of Mount Kilimanjaro one gets from the second floor terrace in the morning and evening. The mountain seems to fill the entire view when it is clear of clouds.

I stayed behind at Kundayo both because we would have had a very uncomfortable ride with three passengers in the back seat and because I was very tired and wanted time to relax and do nothing much at all. Being alone is wonderful at Kundayo since I do not have to worry about anything, and the staff is always ready to take care of any needs I may have. So, while I made my own lunch, I ordered dinner from the restaurant.

Then, I spent some time trying to download a student’s paper on John’s computer since mine was out of power, and we had no electricity. I have a Mac and John has a PC, and I soon was reminded how very differently they operate and why I will never ever go back to a PC. I could not figure out how to access editing tools or how to send a marked copy back to the sender. Also John’s computer does not have a backlit keyboard as mine does, so I was going nuts trying to type in the dark with only the light of the monitor. I began working on the text around 7:00 p.m. and finally quit in frustration about 9:00, but it took me until after midnight before I finally was able to mail it back to the author. At least, I hope I got it sent back.

Sometime during my computer battle, the electricity came on again, so I plugged both of our computers, and  went to bed. Even though I had had no exciting new experience, I had a good day, just relaxing and then exercising my brain a bit. For me, reading and commenting on a paper is akin to tackling a challenging puzzle. It’s great stimulation, so I’m usually glad to tinker with someone else’s writing. And, any day when the electricity comes back on is a very good one indeed.