GRADUATION CEREMONY

PLACING OF THE LEY, ME BEHIND, DJ TO LEFT, MC BETWEEN US. PAM IS SEATED BEHIND THE GIRL

ABOVE ARE OUR KIDS SINGING AT THE CEREMONY WITH BIG WIGS BEHIND

BELOW SHOWS ALL THE PHOTO TAKING PLACE

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ABOVE IS A VIEW OF US LOOKING OUT AT THE CROWD. IT EVENTUALLY FILLED THE SEATING AREA

So Pam and I are about to go to town to pick up some water. We’re sitting down, finishing our coffee when our guard, Chacha comes to the door and I thought I heard him say, “Fundi.” I had spoken to our landlord yesterday about a leak in Holly’s bathroom and he said he would let us know today when a fundi (worker) would come and fix it.

I go to the door and invite the man in and point towards the bathroom and tell him that the leak is in the bathroom. He says, “No, no.” And goes on to explain he is from St. Jude school and is inviting us to the grade 7 graduation ceremony. Also come to find out, he is the Director of the school. Now that’s embarrassing.

He tells us that graduation begins at 11:00am and I tell him that we will send representation from the Angel House Orphanage. I call the other missionaries as they are out at the orphanage and find out that Eric will be bringing some orphans to the ceremony as they will be singing. He begs off going as he is not dressed appropriately and needs to clean up. I now know why he excused himself.

Pam and I ready ourselves and call a pikipiki. We go awhile on paved roads then head cross-country. We end up crossing over the main north-south highway and do some more cross-country. We arrive and are escorted to the dais as honored guest. We are sitting on a what you might term as a porch with the students and crowd facing us. They are under an awning. Note the picture shows empty seats. This was at 11:00am, people arrived all the way to 2:30pm and it was pretty full.

So talk about an interesting cultural experience. We were there at about 11:00am, we left at about 4:00pm.

For the first hour or hour and a half, the DJ, yes DJ, played very loud music and the MC made announcements. During a lot of this time, students would come to the front and wreaths or almost lays (like Hawaiian) were placed around their neck and get their picture taken with people in the act of placing them around their neck. I found out later that it was just traditional and given by friends and relatives. I also found out that the cost for these lays was about 1500 tsh, or about $1.50. I would say about 1/2 the kids didn’t get any because their family couldn’t afford them.

After that, the student gathered to one side, then came singing and dancing to the front and faced the crowd and did a couple of songs. Please remember, that at least here in Tanzania, they love to sing and there is no such thing as a short song. Pam and I both really enjoy their singing, however, but for some reason the MC felt he had to join in. He did not have a good voice.

Introductions followed, of all the teachers and they each gave a short speech. The students then put on a very loooong skit. We found out afterwards that it apparently dealt with a student not getting a full education and trying to get a job in another town without much success.

This was followed by the Director of the school giving a speech, then another big wig, and then the District Commissioner, a very big wig. He only spoke for maybe 45 minutes.

There was more singing by the students, and then it was time to hand out the diplomas or certificates. Everyone on the dais shook hands and congratulated the students as they walked by, much the same as we do in the U.S. This was a very joyous time for the students and parents, with much picture taking, giving the student money and gifts, and a lot of chaos until everyone was asked to reseat themselves.

Congratulations were given by the District Commissioner, and a prayer was said. We then ate.

We had a very good meal. Fried rice, meat of some kind (not that bad and I’m pretty sure it was beef), fried banana (they have cooking and eating; not-sweet and sweet, we had the not-sweet which is more like a potato with very little sweetness), a cabbage slaw, watermelon and a soda. Pam and I both passed on the watermelon, not all the good here and since it wasn’t something that was cooked, we passed. All-in-all, not that bad.

So anyway, after about 5 hours, we get back home. Now I understand why Eric took a pass and no one else volunteered to go. It was a great experience, not much was given in English, but still something I was glad I attended. Not that I’d want to do it again right away. TIA Mark

ROAD TO ANGEL HOUSE

The picture below is looking southeast from the Angel House, what a sight.
I just happened one day to be going to Angel House when neighbors were pushing their livestock
My apologies for quality here. The 3 boys are plowing and I took this on the run. I don't like to intrude on normal lives as they are just doing what they normally do. Clear to the left is the boy handling the blow that you can barely see. The two other boys are working the cattle who are pulling the plow.
This is one of the neighbors and I think it was his boys plowing. The field in front of his home is crop ground.
This hut and grainary are towards the beginning of the dirt road to Angel House.

THE ROAD TO ANGEL HOUSE

Angel House is about 2-3 miles off the main highway. I thought I would give you a feel for going there. From Tarime, you travel west to a major north-south highway.

You turn left and go about a three quarters of a mile. You then turn off the main highway.

The pictures I’m attaching tell the story better than I can. After you start down the road, you see a hut on your right. Beside it is a small hut where they would store grain or seeds. A little farther down the road is a cluster of huts where a farmer and family lives. I happened to be going down the road one day when the kids were plowing the field.

There are a couple of Y’s in the road, one is marked, the other one you just follow the most used road and then you arrive at the orphanage. I’ve included a shot of the countryside behind the orphanage.

Mark

The Orphanage

KIDS PLAYING SOCCER, OTHERS ARRIVING FROM SCHOOL, NOTE GATE AND GUARD HOUSE

TWO FRIENDS IN MIDDLE HALL

ANGEL HOUSE ORPHANAGE

THREE BURNER STOVE

PUMPING WATER FROM THEIR NEW WELL

DERRICK, HARD TO SEE, BUT HE WAS POUNDING NAILS WITH THE PIECE OF WOOD

CHACHA, LOVES TO BE HELD

LITTLE LYDIA

LITTLE MISS I DON'T KNOW

WILLIAM IS IN ORANGE ON THE RIGHT

ME AND SOME KIDS

ANGEL HOUSE ORPHANAGE
You know, I want to get this right and I want to convey to you a true picture of the
orphanage and the kids, so bear with me, this may take a long blog.
The orphanage is about 6 miles from where we are living in town. We have a truck,and
a pikipiki (motorcycle) to get there, or we can be driven there by pikipiki or taxi. The
cost for a pikipiki is about $2 and taxi $4.
The photo shows a red dirt road, very rough. You leave the paved road and twist and
turn about 2-3 miles to get there. The orphanage is gated and has a night guard. They
are building a school right beside the orphanage.
You travel all the way to Africa to help these children, and as soon as you arrive, oh boy,
they just climb all over you and want you to hold them, be near them, look at books with
them and just plain show love to them.
The young ones showed no inhibitions at all and want to put their hands through your
hair and rub your hairy arms and legs. We are so much different from them physically,
not only in color, but with the hair on our bodies. Pamʼs grey hair is not only fascinating
to them, but someone with grey hair also is given a lot of respect. Me, Iʼm just the big
white Babu (grandfather). Pam is Bibi (grandmother) and thatʼs what they call us when
they see us. Babu is pronounced BahBoo and BiBi is BeeBee.
The orphanage building is a long rectangular building. As you look at it, the right side is
the girls side with good sized dorm rooms and at the very end, their choo (bathroom).
To the left is the boyʼs side and built the same. When you enter in the middle, you enter
into a large room that is used as the church and has about a dozen tables for eating. To
the back of this room is the kitchen and food storage area. The kitchen consist of a 3
burner stove. It has three wood-burning fireboxes with a round hole above that a kettle
with a lip fits into so the kettle is held above the fire. This arrangement vents out
through a chimney.
There is an office building on the enclosed grounds, along with a very large garden and
a few other unused buildings at this time. The old well house is there and that water is
currently being hand drawn for use on the school construction site. The orphanage has
a well that they pump water from through a hose to water holding tanks for use inside
the orphanage building, mostly for their choos.
There is a staff of 6 women and 4 men, including the orphanage supervisor named
Anna. Holly Henroth is the director and invaluable to the running of this orphan mission.
She co-ordinates everything and speaks Swahili. She does all the paperwork, keeps
track of the monies (she is quite the penny-pincher and stretches every dollar/schilling
as far as it will go). Anna is in charge of the orphanage staff and the day to day
operations of Angel house.
Anyway, back to the kids. They live mostly 2 to a room. The rooms are nice sized and
have plenty of living area. The keep their rooms clean and organized. The children
themselves are clean, but obviously, living in the environment they do, they are not
pristine. They are fairly well clothed and have simple needs, with the biggest need
being getting loved and cared about. They donʼt really have a lot of toys, and before
you get something going to send toys, please donʼt. The attitude here is that they would
rather have money to feed and clothe the kids than toys.
When we left, we had a lot of people tell us that if the kids need anything, just let them
know. Itʼs so hard at this point to ask for things. You canʼt really give one kid
something, and not give something of equal value or interest to another one. They are
imaginative and make do with what they have. Iʼll have to get back with you all on that.
The orphanage is run by the African staff, not by Holly, or for that matter, any of the
mission people who come from the States. Holly attends the staff meetings, and may
give some input or convey some insights, but the orphanage staff makes all the
decisions; when to accept an orphan, discussions of conduct and possible ways to
handle that, working with the orphanʼs attitude and daily operations.
Now, to the kids. There are so many, with so many different personalities. There are
the two little ones, Derrick and ChaCha. Both about 3 years old and all they want is for
you to hold them and sit with them.
There is one Pam and I call Little Lydia after our rambunctious and strong-minded
granddaughter. She not only looks like our Lydia, but acts like her also. Doing what she
wants, when she wants and how she wants.
There is one I call “I Donʼt Know” because one day I was looking at a book with her and
I would ask her what this or that was pictured in the book and she would say, “I donʼt
know,” or she would keep pointing to pictures and saying “I donʼt know.” Yet she would
point at other things, such as a fish, and try to teach me the Swahili word for fish
(samaki). So now I tease her when I see her calling her ʻI Donʼt Know.ʼ
There is William, the oldest orphan at 21 and super soccer player. He also is like a
father to a lot of the other orphans. He is the only orphan with a driverʼs license and will
drive the kids to various appointments, to the doctor and at night return the school
fundis (workers) to town.
There are 48 orphans, with each one different. They range in age from 3 to 21. They
each have their own personality and each is different in their own way. As we go along,
Iʼll send more photos of the kids. Do I think this is where God wantʼs Pam and I to be,
you bet. Weʼll do everything we can for these kids, knowing it will never be enough.
TIA Mark

On the way to Niarobi and other stuff

Greetings form Niarobi.
I am here with Holly to pick up 2 more missionaries at the airport late tonight. Right now Holly is out looking at bicycles to possibly buy for her self. It would make it easier and cheaper than getting on the pekipeki (motorcycle)

I wanted to let you know what a typical day is like at the Angel House Orphagage for the high school kids. They get up at 4:00am, yes 4:00AM to start to get ready for school. The students leave around 5:15 and it takes 90 minutes to walk to school. Attendence is taked at 7:00 and school begins. They do not get a hot lunch at school, nor do they carry a lunch bag, the kids just don't eat until they get back home. School is out around 3:30 and they walk 90 minutes home THEN have lunch.

Another point of intrest for you is that to keep people from speeding they put huge speed bumps in heavily trafficed areas. There is no need for stop signs or stop lights.

On our way to Nairobi today we saw the tribe that looks like they came out of the National Geographic with the long ear lobs and many many beads and really colorful clothes. They also wear a blanket with a lot of red in it. This tribe raises cattle and wonders all over to feed the herd. I wish I had my camera!! drat! and double drat! The other thing I noticed on the way to Nairobi is that they use cactus for fence. Keeps cattle in and people out. I say zebrae again too.

Expect me to be much heavier when I get home our meals have been very heavy with carbs. Espically rice and beans which are good but tons of calories. The people of Tareme work literely 12 hours a day and 7 days a week. From sun up to sun down and I'm sure the burn off the calories pretty fast.

Don't have time to spell check. Have a good day. Pam

Border to our new home

Our Bedroom and netting

Our new home with some neighbors passing by

Ok first off, this is my third try to get this posted, it's about 1:30 in the afternoon and the internet has gone down twice.

I have found out that if you are a registered follower, you can comment so if you want you might try that. Also, I think as a follower, you can get notified if a new post comes up. Try it and let me know. Blessings.

ENTERING TANZANIA AND TO HOME
We’re at the border and Holly, our host has a couple of friends that are immigration
officers. They are kind enough to help us with our visa’s. Holly, Pam and I head to a
cantina/bar. This is our first real experience of being in a business in Africa, other than
the hotel.
We’ve reached the border of Kenya and Tanzania as the sun is going down. This bar is
dark, and we’re of course the only whites, hey get used to it huh? We’re waiting there
because it seems it’s harder to get a car or van into Tanzania that it is for people to get
in. We wait in the bar and have a Coke. A real Coke, made with real sugar.
Finally after a half hour or so James our driver gets clearance and we’re off and down
the road only 10 minutes to our new home. We meet Cha Cha, the guard who is at the
house from dusk to dawn. The house is U shaped. You enter through a person gate built
into the courtyard gate. All made of iron or steel. The court yard is paved with brick and
there is a door to the left and right that go to separate housing units of 3 bedrooms
each. The way it is set up as a mission house is that there is only one kitchen, on the
left and it has the food storage and refrigerator there.
On the right is where Pam and I are, with a living room with two small couches, a coffee
table and a chair; a dining room with no furniture except a couple a few chairs, an empty
bedroom, another bedroom that is now my shop, and a master bedroom with a
bathroom.
Hello mosquito netting and hello choo (bathroom). The netting was expected, and Holly
said we would have a flush toilet, but it’s only about 9” above the floor. The other choo in
our side is a hole with cermanic around it. Both flush, but it took us while to figure out a
good technique to using a 9 inch high toilet. We are now in the process of trying to get a
raiser from the U.S.! I talked to the landlord and it seems this is a normal toilet, maybe a
little lower, but when the house was built, and this I’m not totally clear on, it seems they
set the toilet over the sewer opening and then cemented it in.
TIA Mark

Ok, so shoot me, I haven't figured out this blog machine yet. Apparently you have to put photos in first then write your comments or something. I had done this on an Apple, then to a flash drive, then changed to PDF and then back to flash drive, then to blog, but no photos showed up, so I'll let you cut and paste the photos where they should go in the spaces in my comments. Please bear with me, I'm still learning and hopefully will do better in the future. Enjoy and God Bless Mark and Pam

We finally got internet, so we have a lot of catching up to do. Pam has done a great job
on trying to give you a quick overview, but Iʼll try to give you a more detailed account of
our beginning and trip over here to Tarime, Tanzania.
LEAVING DES MOINES AND FLYING TO AMSTERDAM
At about 6:30am Sunday August 1, my Mom
picked us up at Harringtonʼs auto as that is
who we sold our last vehicle to. Bill was great
to us, he bought my truck and let me use it
until we left and also bought the car we had
took in trade-in from my mom when she
bought our LeSabre. (Bill, all this free
advertising means a large discount when we
buy our next vehicle from you.) Anyway, here
we are on the curb, with 4 big bags, two
carry-on bags and two backpacks. One of the
big bags had power tools, another big bag
had a sewing machine, sewing supplies, a very
small printer and medical supplies. The other two large bags had some more tools and
mostly clothes and personal supplies. When Mom drove up, her first words were, “I
wish I had a camera.”
The four large bags couldnʼt weigh more than 50 pounds, and luckily the previous
Thursday, we had pre-weighed a couple of bags, one weighing in at 63 lbs and the
other at 57. Needless to say, we had a big repacking job, and when we went to the
airport and did a last minute shuffle, we finally ended up at 49.5, 47, 48 and 49. After
saying goodbye to Mom and Deanne, we made it through security and boarded the
plane to Minneapolis. From there, we flew to Amsterdam and arrived there at about
7:30 am on Tuesday the 2nd.
AMSTERDAM
What an interesting city Amsterdam is. A lot of canals and small streets. I will say it is
very easy to get around in, once you learn how to. The people are very friendly and
very helpful, but can be hard to understand and sometimes the directions they give are
not that easy to follow. I never did find a good explanation of their transportation
system.
It was great to land with only a backpack and carry-on bag on wheels to deal with. Our
4 big guys were checked through to Nairobi so we didnʼt have to hassle with them. We
had a 27 hour layover in Amsterdam. I had found a hotel on the internet, supposed to
be 4-star, but wasnʼt. The price was not 4-star, so that should have been my first clue,
but it was still very nice, clean and in a great part of town. Within walking distance to
the Van Gough museum, another museum with Old Masters and the Ann Frank house
where she hid from the Nazis. Canals are everywhere, more on them later.
I had read on the internet from more than
one source, that getting from the airport to
downtown and to our hotel was easy. Just
get on the train at the airport, get off at
Central station, catch a #1, 2 or 5 trolly and
there was a stop right at the hotel. Sounds
easy, execution was a little more difficult.
First you need Euros. I personally did the
wrong thing and got them from a bank at the
airport, better to use an ATM. But also make
sure you contact your credit card company
before you leave and let them know that you
are traveling and where you are traveling to.
I knew to do this, but was a detail I overlooked. Making a long distance call from a pay
phone to the U.S. is not all that difficult, but a lot harder when you havenʼt slept much,
have a headache, and have been spending the past 45 minutes figuring out how to get
Euros, a train ticket and asking all kinds of people what to do. Anyway we finally got on
the train, and made it to the central train station. We then got out of the station, only to
find out we needed near exact change to get on the Metro/trolly or whatever itʼs called.
Pam, bless her heart, took on that task as I stood grumbling on the sidewalk.
We then made it on a #2, and there was a stop not more than 50 feet from our hotel
entrance. One reason we chose this hotel is we knew we probably couldnʼt check in,
but they had a luggage room where you could park your stuff until your room was ready.
I must say, Pam didnʼt like the security of this luggage room and she was right. They
say they keep it locked, but after did check-in, we noticed when we passed by it a
couple of times, the door was wide open and all the luggage was there for the taking.
We left our four bags in the luggage room and got direction to the Van Gough museum.
There were lots of his drawings and paintings, but Pam was hoping for some of his big
ones, especially Starry Starry Night, which was not there. There were lots of paintings
and works by other artist and teachers of Van Gough. The museum was really nice, a
long line, so buy a ticked before you go and you get right in. Then again, the long line
was maybe 20 minutes, so not to bad.
Tired, but glad we saw the museum, we made it back to the hotel at about 12:30, check
in was usually 2, but luckily they had a room available, which was good, because there
was a chair in the small lobby that had my name on it. After a nice nap of about 5
hours, yes 5 hours, we were ready for supper and some more sightseeing.
The area we were in had shop after shop and restaurant after restaurant on street after
street. They had every flavor of food, Portuguese to Mandarin Chinese, but we wanted
some ʻtraditionalʼ Dutch. We were directed to a little place on a small side street, not
more than 25-30 wide. Thatʼs from entrance of our restaurant to the restaurant across
the street. Making the street even smaller, were the outside tables where we sat and
people and vehicle watched. Yes, even a
small car drove by. Food was great, Pam had
a pea soup appetizer, I had fresh herring. The
soup was great and the herring was fresh for
sure, not cooked, and I donʼt think pickled that
much, but it was good.
The main course we both had was similar, but
not tasting the same. Pam had beef over
mashed potato, but the mashed potato had
carrots and other vegetables mixed in. I had
a sausage over mashed potato mixed with
vegetables and sourkraut. Both were really
good. We then widow shopped and
eventually found our way to a canal tour.
# #
We were starting to wear a little thin, but glad
we took a canal tour. There is a pass you can
buy that is a hop on and hop off canal tour. It
stops at various places of interest, like the
museums and Ann Franks, and you just get
off, see the site and get back on the next boat.
We took a one hour canal tour. It had a live guide and was very interesting. We went
by the Ann Frank home, past the various
museums and out into the harbor.
Who knew that along the canals there were
boats where people lived, interesting to float
by and see a guy shaving. We also went by
the Red Light District. We saw no ladies in
the windows, only an empty chair in one
window. Amsterdam is very liberal, this
district is one example, their stance on
recreational drugs is another. What an
interesting city. One thing that was of
surprise to me, I had always thought the
Dutch kept their towns extremely clean. Although we did see some street sweepers and
cleaners, Des Moines keeps their streets and side walks a lot cleaner. And while weʼre
talking about observations, the traffic is crazy. Trolleys everywhere, cars everywhere,
bicycles everywhere and with very narrow streets, itʼs very interesting walking around.
Back to our hotel, for what sleep we could get, then on to Nairobi. Not to eventful
getting to the airport, other than when we were trying to get on the train to the airport. I
had purchased a return ticket when we arrived, and trains run rather regularly to the
airport, so it shouldnʼt have been that big a deal. Well we get to the platform weʼre
scheduled to leave from, waiting to leave with tons of others, when all of a sudden,
weʼre told itʼs leaving from platform 11 instead of 14 that we are on. So down the
escalator we all go, over to platform 11, then we find out that escalator is not working.
Up we finally make it to platform 11. The train comes, everyone is getting on, I thought I
heard that only the first 3 cars were going to the airport, which didnʼt make sense, we
went towards the front, started to get on, but then were told only the first 3 pink colored
cars were going to the airport for sure. We rush to them, get on and to the airport we
go. On to Nairobi.
NAIROBI
In the United States, the airport security is at the beginning of the terminals. (Hate to
see that word when Iʼm flying out of an airport.) In Amsterdam they are at each
individual terminal. We didnʼt get to the airport any to early, got our boarding passes like
you do in the U.S., at an automatic dispenser and then went to the terminal. They made
the mistake of wanting to see inside one of my carry-ons, and of course itʼs packed
tight. But we get on the plane and arrive in Nairobi at like 7:30pm. If youʼve havenʼt
been to bored reading this account by now, youʼre lucky, because now it really gets
interesting.
Holly, our host at the mission house and director of the Angel House Mission, said she
would meet us and hold of a sign with our names on it. I also had the impression she
would meet us as we got off the plane. I was wrong. First you go through immigration
to get your visa. No biggie, and they take American and bless KLM Airlines, they
provide you with the documents you need to get into Kenya. We had pre-filled those
documents, waited in line and got our visas and I had my first stamp on my passport.
Now on to baggage and my first lesson in patience.
The carousel is the same as ours, of course with a plane holding 400 people, thereʼs a
lot of luggage. I thought I had given the carousel enough time to deliver our luggage, so
after helping a lady with her luggage, she gave us her space to wait with our luggage
carrier. Pam waits while I head off to the luggage help stand. Thinking that since we
had checked our luggage in Des Moines 2 days earlier, that maybe they had sent it on
an earlier flight and had placed it somewhere. After talking to the lady and finding out
that she didnʼt have any of my numbers on her list and that I could fill out a report if I
wanted, I gave up and headed back to Pam.
Come to find out, sheʼs off-loading our baggage
and itʼs all there. Great! After stating we had
nothing to declare, outside we go, to be greeted by
a mob of people, standing behind a small gated
area, ALL holding up signs. Glory to God, I had
sent a description to Holly and I heard our names
being called out. There was Holly and Anna, the
supervisor of Angel House.
Weʼre in Nairobi, in a van with all our luggage,
being driven by a driver named James. We get to
our hotel, check in, and sleep, or at least attempt to.
Weʼre up to a decent kind of American breakfast, pay our bill and load up in our driverʼs
van again. James is from Kenya, this is what he does, drive people around, and heʼs
going to take us to Tarime, an 8 hour drive. Iʼm not going to tell you how much this cost
is, but with all we were carrying, the security of knowing our luggage would not be
stolen, was worth it.
Anyway, he we are in Africa and itʼs now daylight and we can see Africa as it really is.
THIS IS NOT NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC AFRICA
When we traveled from the airport to our hotel in Nairobi, Pam asked what the smell
was, and found out it was trash burning. That smell was still there in the morning and it
is my understanding it is always there. Nairobi is very large and from what we saw, a lot
of small shops and large shops and nice hotels and other places. We were going to
spend one day sight-seeing, going to a zoo, feeding some giraffes and other places, but
pretty much everything was closed down as it was voting day for a new constitution.
We decided to just head to Tarime, an 8-hour drive. We
come to find out they drive on the left-hand side, and very
close to each other. City driving is a madhouse, and
would drive my friend Tom, an engineer with Iowaʼs
transportation department,
absolutely mad. You
quickly find out you place
yourself in the hands of
whoever is driving you
and try and not think in
terms of how you would drive.
Roads are ok, main ones paved and we had some 4-
lane roads. The drive to Tarime was basically on a two
lane road, with people walking on the shoulder. I
believe it is 169 miles
to Tarime from Nairobi, and takes 8 hours, ya right. I
think we made it in 12.
When I say people walking along the road, I mean
there wasnʼt a mile along that whole route that you
didnʼt see someone walking or resting or having a
little stand selling. I found that totally amazing. The
towns along the way were mostly very poor, open
sewer towns. A few larger, but that just means more
small shops and a gas station and maybe a place to
stay.
Itʼs hard to describe these shops or stalls. They are
maybe 10 foot wide, and maybe that deep. There is
usually a counter, sometimes no counter and you
would stand outside and look through a window.
The shops have shelves with all their wares sitting
on them. You would ask for what you want,
negogiate and purchase. There are manufacturing
shops, like wood furniture or padded furniture.
There are people everywhere, some just sitting,
walking, working outside their shop. Most shops or
business are specialized. A bicycle shop just does
bicycles, fixing tires, selling new and used, etc.
A fabric store will have just things pertaining to
fabric and sometimes buttons or other sewing
needs. They pretty much sell everything by the
piece. We went to purchase about 40 buttons for
the orphanage, and thatʼs what we got, 40
buttons, counted out one-by-one. There are
some general store places, but again, they have
limited space and limited choices.
The countryside on this journey was what you do
see on National Geographic, but mostly
grasslands with some farm
ground. What we saw for crops
was mostly corn in one area,
then over the ridge in a different
terrain was mostly sugar cane.
We did see two small herds of
zebra and some gazelle, but for
the most part, people were
herding cattle and goats.
We did stop at a beautiful site overlooking a
plaine. That was the one of two national National
Geographic moments we had, the other was
seeing some monkeys/baboons; otherwise it was
mile after mile of countryside with people along the road and small towns with their
shops.
We stopped at a gas station for a bathroom (choo) break. Where I stood and did my
business was beside a guy washing clothes. The women would have to see me to get
to their little choo, but luckily I was done before they came in search of the bathroom.
Back on the road for again, mile after mile of people walking and towns all looking the
same. Finally, we reach the border, and the real adventure begins.
(Iʼm going to end it here and try and get this on our blog as a lot of emails want us to
add at least something to our blog. Iʼm writing this on a laptop to transfer to a flash
driveI and then to our blog. Iʼll write up our continuing adventure, such as right now, the
internet is down so I canʼt blog this if I want, the lights are flickering and weʼll probably
lose electricity for a time. TIA((Which means: This Is Africa and everything is on their
time and patience is needed to do anything and you need to accept occurs and not get
overly anxious, Iʼll have plenty on TIA later) Mark