INTERMISSION

Some Favorite Things about Tanzania (and Moshi, and Karanga):

-The friendliness. When people greet you, for the most part the smiles are genuine, and when they welcome you into their home/shop/workplace, they mean it.
-The clarity, hugeness and brightness of the night sky.
-The neighborhood kids in Karanga, who wait at the end of the road every day at noon, when we return from our placements.
-The fact that you can stand in the middle of anywhere, turn around 360 degrees, and be blown away by the view in any direction.
-The people I've met here. The CCS Mamas (Lillian and Fatuma), the CCS Babas (Fulgence and John), Dani the driver, Rosie and Mary the housekeepers, fellow volunteers-turned-friends (Julia, Rosaria, Joan, Melanie, Katie, Spencer, Regina)... it's like my Tanzanian family. Mama Nancy and Sophia at Kiwodea. Hussein and Edward and the Pristine Safari peeps. Mama Valeria at WEECE.

Some Less-Than-Favorite Things about Tanzania/Moshi/Karanga:

-Squat pots (although my aim is getting pretty good).
-Sometimes the stares and cries of "Mzungu!" make me uncomfortable. Especially when groups of men do it.
-Corporal punishment in almost every school I've come across.
-Showers that feel like the water is pumped directly from the glaciers on Kilimanjaro.
-Pushy vendors on the street who follow you for blocks, trying to guilt you into spending your vast hoards of Mzungu Moolah on their crafty crafts, because you=$$$ in their eyes.
-The neighbor's goat and the pukey noises he makes, usually right around lunchtime.