A relaxing weekend!

Tomorrow will be our first day working at Selian, so we decided we needed a weekend of fun and relaxation!

On Friday, Dr. Jacobson's wife Linda picked us up and took us to Shoprite, the "western" grocery store in town. She is very sweet and will definitely be our Tanzanian mother! The grocery store was pretty large and a little expensive, but had lots of good food. I was able to find apples, oatmeal, eggs, carrots, cows milk, raisins, tuna, and of course some tasty cookies (capable of winning a cookie challenge)! When we get a little braver and better with our Swahili we can go to the local market and buy fruits and vegetables for 1/3 the price! Linda also offered to help us buy milk from the cow on our street. We would have to boil it and skim it ourselves, but it would be much cheaper!

In the late afternoon, Eric (a 40 year-old expat that's lived in Tanzania for almost 15 years) picked us up and took us to TGT. This is a large compound on a coffee plantation that has a restaurant, bar, pool, workout room, rugby pitches, and a hotel. It is very expensive and popular with foreigners, so there were lots of white people around. For 12000 shillings (about $10) we were able to use the workout room and swim, while the guys played soccer (no ladies allowed this week, maybe soon). After our workout we did a South African wine tasting. It was great!!

Saturday morning we went for our first run outside!! It is very difficult to run here because the roads are incredibly dusty and crowded and everyone stares at you. Women should have knees and shoulders covered (which is hot!) and for safety it's best to have a male escort (thanks Brandon!). Linda told us about this soccer pitch at the top of our road, so we walked up there and were able to do laps with no dust or crowds. We could see Mt. Meru in the distance and it was wonderful. On the way home the children yelled "Why are you running? What are you afraid of? We will help you!" It was pretty cute! The altitude (~5000ft) is still getting to us a bit, but it will just make running more fun!

Saturday afternoon we had a visit from Grace Msafiri who runs the Msafiri Primary School about 2 hours outside of Arusha by car. She came with her driver, her adopted son Masha, and a young German volunteer to pick up the large duffel bag of sheets that I brought over from the states for the school. She was incredibly warm and gracious. It is custom to invite people in for chai and biscuits, so she stayed for about an hour. She told us about her school and invited us to come visit or volunteer at anytime. We will definitely have to take her up on that!!

Saturday night we went to the other Selian house and made lasagna with Chrisanne (med-peds resident), Jose (MD from Argentina), Jenny (OT from Australia) and Kent (nurse from SD). It was lovely!

Sunday morning we went to church with the other Selian staff. The church is run by expats and they rotate who leads, gives sermons, and plays music weekly. The service was in English, but we were still in the minority. At the end of the service the newcomers go around and introduce themselves and the lady sitting behind me was an Ole!!! What are the chances!?! Um Ya Ya! After the service there was tea and coffee and then an auction to raise money in honor of harvest festival. People auctioned off clothing, produce, cakes/pies/jams, and even rabbits!! After the auction we ate a lunch of pilau (rice with beef or vegetables), pili-pili (pepper chutney), cucumber salad, and watermelon. It was delicious!

We walked home, relaxed for awhile, and then Katie and I walked up the road to the Il boru safari lodge. We said we were Selian volunteers and they let us swim in their pool for free! It felt so good to cool off. Now it's time for a delicious chicken dinner made by Christine and Brandon. Then we are off to bed early to prepare for our first day of work tomorrow!