Tanzania!

Ahhh... we are settling very happily in with our dear friends, David-Susan-and-Nolie Giles, here in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. We arrived Thurday afternoon, and they have been taking wonderful care of us ever since. David and Susan are teachers at the International School of Tanganyika (the name of the country before it united with Zanzibar) - David teaches in their secondary school (English), and Susan teaches grade 2. Nolie is their almost-6-year-old daughter, who is loving to entertain her new guests. We have entered the HOT and HUMID equatorial zone (the boys say it feels like Iowa in July) with temps in the 90s and quite humid. Yesterday we dealt with the heat by heading out to the beautiful little island of Bongoyo for some floating in the water, and sitting in the shade. We had some absolutely delicious fish and chips, where the fish was bbq'ed whole, and served up smiling.


Some highlights here so far:
-David and Susan's friend, Fuad, toured us through Dar on Friday morning. Great to get our bearings a bit, and hear the lore from a local. The local fish market is quite a feast for the eyes, and an experience for the nose as well.


-All three boys decided that it was way too hot to have hair, so we visited David's local barber, and had him shave it all off. I'm sure that was the most American hair he's ever had sitting on his floor at any one time. This was also a remarkable event, because it's the first time we've ever paid for a haircut for Andy or Matt (almost 23 years combined boy life). I figured my frugal streak can still continue in the US, and Africa is a fine place for the first paid haircut. ($6 for all three heads!)

-While things have been going quite smoothely with our trip, I have had a couple of opportunities to practice my resourcefulness (McGyver skills). I sewed up a torn loop on Andy's shoes using dental floss, and I borrowed some athletic tape from the nice guys on the beach at Bongoyo to (temporarily) fix Chrissie's sunglasses.

-The boys are fully enjoying the different pace in Dar (only one museum so far...). They have a bit more chance just to be kids - playing at the beach all day yesterday - and Matt is having a wonderful time being the big kid playing with Nolie (she won't let Matt out of her sight), and Andy's been reading novels from David's classroom and playing frisbee with the big boys.

Tomorrow we catch the early ferry off to Zanzibar, where we'll spend the next three days. It should be a wonderful adventure (just buying the tickets was quite an experience itself), as Zanzibar is a fascinating place of Arab and African culture coming together, with beautiful beaches as well. Since we're well computer-connected here with the Giles, we should be able to give an update after we return from Zanzibar, before we head off to the next adventure - our Crater Highlands Trek, next Friday.