Will It Rain Today in Tanzania?
For the first time since I got here, it is overcast. I heard it rained in Arusha yesterday, which was about 1/2 hour from here. Will it finally rain today? At lunch, Father Mike got a phone call from a woman trying to sell him a starving cow to pay for tuition. Things are going to get really bad if we don't get some rain soon. The newly-elected president made an emergency announcement last night to allow farmers and their cattle to go into wild life national parks, such as Ngorongoro and Lake Myanara, where are still some water in the craters.
Last night, there was quite a bit of commotion in my room. My roommate checked out in the morning and left for South Africa so I was all-alone in the west wing of the dormitory. About 11 pm, I heard some noise in the closet. When it continued, I went out to look for the watchman. It was pitch dark outside so I yelled out "Hello! Hello!" The dog started barking at me and lurched towards me. I was relieved when the tall, skinning Maasai watchman finally showed up from nowhere. His skin was almost as black as the darkness so it was really hard to see him at night. He checked my closet with a flashlight but found nothing.
Half an hour later, the noise came back. It was much louder this time and the closet was shaking, the keys swinging back and forth. Afraid that whatever was inside was going to jump out at me, I locked the closet and started calling a guy friend. By the third time I called him, he offered to come over and check on it, but suspected that I was just scared and hallucinating because I was alone in the house. By then, the noise was so loud that I began to wonder if someone was digging a tunnel into the closet to steal my money. Ha!
Another 30 minutes passed before he showed up with his entire family (What was he thinking?). Even his mother was there. The 2 watchmen (one very tall & skinning and the other very short and stodgy - what a team!) and their dog walked behind them. This time, they had bows and arrows in their hands. I heard that Maasai warriors are ferocious. The sight of their traditional weapon seemed to reinforce that. By then, the noise had stop. I thought to myself, "Now no one is going to believe me. And they are all going to think that I was crazy."
Finally my friend opened the closet that the watchman checked previously. Just when they were about to conclude it was just my imagination, they found a dead rat in my luggage. I couldn't believe a rat could make that much noise and movement and asked that they double-checked to see if there are other accomplices. There was none.
I couldn't bear the thought of the rat rambling through my belongings so I was awake by 6:30 this morning and washed all of my underwear which the rat died next to. Yuk!
We found a functional car yesterday. So glad that we will finally be driving out this afternoon to Mbulu after more than 2 weeks of waiting. The living standard there is much lower. I feel that we could probably be more of help there. We will be bringing with us bags of maize in case we run into families that are struggling for food due to the on-going drought.
Last night, there was quite a bit of commotion in my room. My roommate checked out in the morning and left for South Africa so I was all-alone in the west wing of the dormitory. About 11 pm, I heard some noise in the closet. When it continued, I went out to look for the watchman. It was pitch dark outside so I yelled out "Hello! Hello!" The dog started barking at me and lurched towards me. I was relieved when the tall, skinning Maasai watchman finally showed up from nowhere. His skin was almost as black as the darkness so it was really hard to see him at night. He checked my closet with a flashlight but found nothing.
Half an hour later, the noise came back. It was much louder this time and the closet was shaking, the keys swinging back and forth. Afraid that whatever was inside was going to jump out at me, I locked the closet and started calling a guy friend. By the third time I called him, he offered to come over and check on it, but suspected that I was just scared and hallucinating because I was alone in the house. By then, the noise was so loud that I began to wonder if someone was digging a tunnel into the closet to steal my money. Ha!
Another 30 minutes passed before he showed up with his entire family (What was he thinking?). Even his mother was there. The 2 watchmen (one very tall & skinning and the other very short and stodgy - what a team!) and their dog walked behind them. This time, they had bows and arrows in their hands. I heard that Maasai warriors are ferocious. The sight of their traditional weapon seemed to reinforce that. By then, the noise had stop. I thought to myself, "Now no one is going to believe me. And they are all going to think that I was crazy."
Finally my friend opened the closet that the watchman checked previously. Just when they were about to conclude it was just my imagination, they found a dead rat in my luggage. I couldn't believe a rat could make that much noise and movement and asked that they double-checked to see if there are other accomplices. There was none.
I couldn't bear the thought of the rat rambling through my belongings so I was awake by 6:30 this morning and washed all of my underwear which the rat died next to. Yuk!
We found a functional car yesterday. So glad that we will finally be driving out this afternoon to Mbulu after more than 2 weeks of waiting. The living standard there is much lower. I feel that we could probably be more of help there. We will be bringing with us bags of maize in case we run into families that are struggling for food due to the on-going drought.
posted by Nancy at 12:03 AM
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