REFLECTIONS

All tired out this week despite a lovely weekend at Peponi (where we are now considered 'extended family' and were allowed to stay Saturday night as the only guests!)

Heat is draining, yes, and I suspect we have started that shut down phase where you know things are drawing to an end so everything starts to feel an effort. 

6 weeks left and girls are counting down. We're all wondering how long it will take us before we start taking for granted things like; water that comes out of a tap that you can drink, cheese, fresh milk, toilets with loo roll, not having to wash your feet before getting in to bed at night (or in B's case not being asked to wash your face for the umpteenth time). They are especially looking forward to not standing out, though I suspect this won't be the case for the first few weeks back at school with everyone wanting to catch up!

Another tolerant bunch of medical students are proving a nice distraction, seemingly all too happy to have small girls turning up on their doorstep to 'play'. A great outlet for all of us to have new company each month and refresh our view of Muheza. 2 of them have birthdays this week, so of course the girls all had to make cards and cupcakes to take round after school today - albeit a psychedelic green with B's enthusiastic addition of the only food colouring we have! A good warm up for M's Birthday next Monday.

We've been doing a lot of reflecting on our time here and deciding what we want to do with this last stretch. It made me wonder at how I'd do at answering many of those questions bubbling around my head back in November...

Why are we going? (Altruism;itchy feet; to open the girls’ eyes to the world.....TICK)

How many deadly snakes are there in Tanzania? (I’m sure R did tell me......but they won’t come anywhere near us...will they. SO WE HAVE YET TO SEE A SINGLE SNAKE)

And do we need to check under the toilet seat? (Hmmm....hopefully not in our house. ONLY TO SEE IF THERE'S ANY WATER IN THE CISTERN. NO CHANCE OF ANY SNAKES GETTING IN THROUGH OUR FRONT DOOR)

What are we doing there? (M will be operating & training, I’ll be helping in the hospice....maybe some other stuff eg ecg training, family planning. SOUNDS ABOUT RIGHT, ALTHOUGH I'VE BEEN MAINLY SWALLOWED UP INTO THE HOSPICE)

Do they cane children in school? (Help...I hope not. THEY'RE NOT MEANT TO, BUT...…..)

Do they speak English? (The hospital staff and teachers do....YES, PLUS ANY TOURIST PLACES DO)

Are there great white sharks? (No....they’re all out at reunion island. !!!!!!)

Can we drink the water? (Definitely not.....except from the filter in our house and the amazing water to go drinks bottles we’ve been given. WE'RE NOW DOUBLE FILTERING OUR DRINKING WATER WHICH SEEMS TO HAVE PUT A STOP TO FUNNY TUMMYS. SADLY THERE HAVE BEEN CASUALTIES AND OUR SPECIAL DRINKS BOTTLES ARE DOWN TO 2)

Are there African tooth fairies? (Absolutely, though I’m not sure what size they are. WE HAVE PROOF......THEY LEFT B PAPER MONEY, THOUGH WHEN WE ASKED THE SCHOOLFRIENDS WHAT THEY DID WITH THEIR TEETH THEY SAID THROW THEM ON THE ROOF FOR THE TOOTH FAIRY!!!)

Are we getting paid? (NOOOO...…..STILL A NOOOOO)

How many Tanzanian shillings are there to the pound? (About 3000)

Why is it called Tanzania? (L has answered her own question....combination of Tanganiyika and Zanzibar)

How many cupboards does the headmistress have and how many cats does she have in each cupboard? (????DESPITE CLAIMING SHE DOESN'T REALLY LIKE CATS THERE REALLY ARE CATS FALLING OUT OF THE CUPBOARDS AND BOXES FILLED WITH LITTERS OF KITTENS.....TOO MANY TO COUNT)

Will they like me? (Why would they not? PERHAPS TOO MUCH, HARD TO BE THE NEW GIRL WHO EVERYONE WANTS TO PLAY WITH ALL THE TIME)

Can girls wear shorts or do they need to cover their knees like women do? (Answers please. MOST GIRLS ARE IN SKIRTS/DRESSES BELOW THE KNEE)

How much suncream should we take? (Total indecision.....do I buy an industrial 1L or take out shares in Piz Buin? TURNS OUT THAT DESPITE THE INDUSTRIAL SIZE, WE STILL DIDN'T BRING ENOUGH SUNCREAM. LUCKILY THE LATEST BATCH OF STUDENTS HAVE BROUGHT US MORE SUPPLIES)

Does Father Christmas stop in Tanzania? (Of course, but only to people who celebrate Christmas, and he is respectful of local customs, so children in Tanzania may have different things in their stockings compared to the U.K. or Australia....where apparently they get iPads!!!WE PUT IN A SPECIAL REQUEST AND HE CAME :))