africa week 3

21 June

Matthew was on vacation today, which means so was I. miho’s friend was conducting seminars for kids in shimbwe. shimbwe is a small village on a hill covered in plush plant life.

it rained sometime before we got there so the climb was tricky. one bad step could mean a muddy arse. the climb itself was steep at times too. we hiked for about an hour, but it was a really pretty hike.

at the top over 100 kids greeted us. we split them into 3 groups. 1 group went to a seminar while 2 groups would play all sorts of games. we tried teaching them games like duck duck goose or freeze tag. but we were so rusty about the rules and had a difficult time explaining it to them as well. it really makes you appreciate the simplicity of soccer. we. brought them some cheap balls to kick around instead of the makeshift ball they make using wadded leaves and bendable twigs to tie it into the shape of a large grapefruit. it makes you appreciate the simplicity of a simple, bouncy ball.

when we for back, Miho took me to an abandoned train station. there’s a small bar there. it’s really a shame the station isn’t in use an more. it goes to show how poorly maintained moshi is. lots of once paved roads and an abandoned train station. I’ll bet moshi was a lot cooler 40 years ago. 

we just sat there drinking, talking, and enjoying the pleasant view. it’s kind of on the edge of the city center where there are no tall buildings to block your view.

unfortunately, there was a view we wished were blocked. a man began urinating about 50ft in front of us. he arched his pee upwards into his mouth, I kid you not. I think he was rinsing his mouth or something. but it was absolutely disgusting. some locals saw it too and laughed it off. not that it was normal to them, but I found it amusing that they just laughed it off.

film: waitress

23 june

OK USA! our original plan was to go to south africa just to be around the world cup hype, but it looked too expensive. but it’s still really exciting to be in africa during the world cup. for starters, we get to watch the games live. as opposed to skipping out on work, watching at 2am, or watching a recording. obviously everybody here is really excited, and it’s easy to feed off of that. but you don’t really need it when your country wins.

26 june

this saturday we’re going to zanzibar, an island off the coast of tanzania. (fun fact: freddy mercury was born there.) (bonus fun fact: tanzania gets half its name from zanzibar). it’s a very touristy island with beaches and a city called stone town that has a very diverse culture influenced by its history as a slave trade port. it’s a little hotter there. we may have to brave temperatures in the mid 80’s. wish us luck. to be continued…