Making New Friends

I forgot to mention yesterday about my new best friend. Her name is Mary and she is 26 years old and has a BA in business administration, but jobs are hard to come by in accounting right now so she opened the internet cafe I always speak of in Sekei! We bonded yesterday and now she has set her cell phone alarm to go off to remind her to stay open late on match day for me! It pays off to make friends with important people!

I also made a new friends at home... but before I tell you more about him I will tell you about my new take on an old invention. The mosquito net has not been all that useful to me this trip. Unlike last time, I have not encountered a single mosquito since being here, nor gotten a single bite. I do not see the purpose in using my net anymore. UNTIL last night when I met my friend the cockroach.... big, juicy cockroach. I have seen his other friends in other places in the house and all it takes is a shoe that is washable and a little stomp and the little bugger is toast... but his juicy guyts go EVERYWHERE. This time though it was personal. He was running up my closet wall and then into my clothes and I couldn't get him. He is not welcome in my closet. So now I use my mosquito net... tucked in tight... to keep up the big bad bugs- cockroaches, these other big guys, and spiders! I have made new use out of something old. I also told mama about my unwanted visitor and she gave me these little toxic balls to put in my closet and it keeps the cockroaches away!

I was reunited with an old friends yesterday- chai na maziwa (tea with milk and cardoman). We haven't had milk since I got her bc the cows are all dried up and the usual place we got milk from doesnt have any. We have now secured a new place.... a grocery store of sorts so the milk isnt straight from the cow but close to it!

Mama left to go to Dar today to buy things for her store. She returns on Thursday and in her absense she is having MamaDenise stay with us to hold fort (I guess she doesn't trust us to fend for ourselves!). Last night she came in late bc she was with her father (he was visiting from Moshi for the day and I met him earlier in the afternoon) and her two brothers. When she rolls in she announces to me that she "broke the law". I was so confused thinking what law would she have broken. And then she says "I had 2". Then I know it wasn't the Tanzanian law she broke but the "Courtney law". She drank 2 beers. She was in big trouble!

I have a cake baking in the oven that I have to get back to so I will end this short. Work has been going well. Everyday I look forward to the Mango Sunshine as I like to call it. The amazing mango/passionfruit drink we get everyday! Today Dr. Msuya and I drank 1 litre between the 2 of us!

Dr. Makando and I went on rounds in the morning and I hung out with Innocense (one of the nurses for a while asking her what all the meds were that patients were on since they have all different brands from cananda). She noticed the ring on my finger and asked if I was married and I told her no I just wear this cheap ring when I travel so I don't get hassled. Her and Dr. Makando could not stop laughing! He told me that it will not stop the boys, they will not care. Innocence is not on the lookout for an Tanzanian husband for me!

Baadaye (later!)