Coming Home from Tanzania!

 
There is less than a month until July 14th and I’ll be home in good, old Derry!  Naturally my departure from Tanzania is bittersweet.  Like I said on facebook, it would be a lot easier to leave if I could just fit Martin in my suitcase!  It will be hard to leave all the friends I have here, but I also have a lot to look forward to in July and August including weddings and family parties!   


May was full of celebrations with the Sean Kingston concert, Martin’s birthday, and then our vacation to Mwanza, Tanzania.  Martin’s parents have both passed away, but I got to meet 4 out of his 8 brothers and sisters and their families.  We used Mwanza as our home base and traveled to Malampaka (where Martin grew up) to visit his eldest sister, Nsia, who lives in his parents’ house with her children Amos, Naomi, Ngasani, and Rachel.  Martin’s brother, Japhet, came to visit us in Mwanza.  We went to visit his youngest sister, Leah, and her husband, Faustine, who actually live in Mwanza city with their children: Bertha, Frank, and Flibert (yes, those really are their names…).  We also traveled to Sengerema to visit Martin’s sister Duke and Japhet’s son, Mzee.  It was really a perfectly balanced trip with meeting family, sightseeing, and relaxing.  I was so happy to get to meet some of Martin’s family and see where he grew up, but I was even happier to be able to bring him back to his home as he hadn’t seen any of his family in five years!  See the picture collage attached!


Besides the fact that the weather has cooled down a bit, probably the best part of this time of year in Tanzania is the return of past volunteers during their summer holidays from university or work.  Andy McKeegan, one of our best volunteers ever, returned for two weeks to make us all laugh and to introduce as many Tanzanians to the milkshakes at Mlimani City as possible.  Emma Hayward and Paul Taylor are back to work as team leaders and Alfred Letley is back for a 3-month internship!  And the infamous Juan Antuna Ros returned just two days ago. 


World Cup mania is underway and all my family and friends in the USA should be happy to know that the USA football/soccer team has a lot of support for Tanzania.  They seem to favor Team USA over England! 


All the best and see many of you soon,
Moriah