Arusha, Friday, March 3, 2017

Soon after 9:00 John went off on his walk to downtown Arusha.  As usual, his excuse was that we needed bread and bananas. I’m glad that he is able to walk so much and enjoys it.  I was over in the garden terrace when he left, talking with a young German couple who have been here for several days. They had questions about Serengeti and the fees, etc. They plan on camping in their own tent, but were uncertain about food. I am always amazed how brave people can be. I’m no longer young enough and know far too much about possible disasters to try something like that anymore. However, I am sure some folks have wonderful times and leave with great memories.

Mama Kundayo appeared briefly when she got into a car I had never seen before and was driven out of the compound. Once again, she was dressed very somberly, so I assumed she was off to another funeral. I think it may have been the service for the businessman from a nearby village who was hijacked and killed in Nairobi last week. She didn’t return until about 2:00 and immediately went back into her house, so there was no visiting today.

Empty conversation center

John was gone a very long time, and when he returned, he not only had bread and bananas but also the huge fruit salad from Fifi’s. It really is the best in town. However, I was suspicious when he said it was just for me.  Then, he confessed: he had had a chocolate milkshake at Fifi’s, so the fruit salad was a guilt offering. What is it about the midwestern psyche that makes self gratification feel like such a sin?  I told him that he could have had two milkshakes for all the walking he does, but that would likely have overwhelmed him with guilt.

The afternoon was basically reading, writing, and washing another bucket of socks. I made a big pot of spaghetti sauce, adding some of the less than stellar Dodoma wine to it. And, then it the clouds opened and it poured. We've always heard thunder when it rains, but today for the first time, we saw lightning, too. There were a few breaks in the rain, but in general it kept up even as we went to bed. I wondered, of course, if Elizabeth would have needed that 60,000 Tsch. if she had just waited another day. One never knows.