swedish fish?

so we've had some trouble finding internet around here, but we've got three computers with us and have been blogging nightly, so get ready for update overload!

word to the wise: this blog and the next are more for my records (and to keep my fam updated on the details of my trip that most people don’t care about), so if you want the good stuff skip down two entries from this and read “turn it into a run”… I’m long-winded enough as it is, might as well know where the good stuff is : )

despite all of the donated supplies that filled the suitcases we brought here, we had to find a way to make room for a few comforts from home, most importantly, treats. amy’s 2 lb bag of swedish fish, thu’s costco sized box of peanut m&m’s (yes, she brought the whole thing and yes, she decided on peanut m&m’s, not because they’re her favorite, but because she figured the peanuts would have much needed protein for us, what a planner : ) and my small gelatinous citric children, known to common folk as sour patch kids, obviously. but treats can only take us so far and when we woke this morning we needed water, so we set out, no idea where we were going, and standing out like (ash and mer, this simile is for you) parrots in a sea of penguins, or the other way around, the point is, we draw some serious attention. later in the day we did realize we weren’t the only caucasians in tanzania, but early this morning we felt that way and it wasn’t until nearly noon, and after 3 hours of wandering around town, that we first saw fellow tourists, surprisingly, sanding out more than us in their zip off pants and funny safari hats (we’ll save those outfits for the serengeti, thanks)… we found water on our own during our first outing this morning, success! but finding the hospital was another story so we solicited help from one of the guards, a maasai man we believe to be named roger, except not, we’ve had some serious issues with the names around here, it’s pronounced more like roser, we think. we’ve also been challenged with the language, despite it being phonetical, but roger did not give up on us and insisted we ask him questions about how to say things as he showed us around town (oh, oh, we saw a woman making french fries, called chips here, in a pan over an outdoor fire, awesome). we’ve got a better feel for the area now and can find our way to mt. meru hospital no problem. sooo speaking of the hospital, I don’t even know where to start… I’m not sure what I was expecting but I don’t think anything could have prepared me for the scene at this government run facility today. The reception area is packed with people, some in weathered clothes, often familiar brands from the states, and others decorated in bright fabrics, really beautiful, wrapped creatively in patterns that are anything but matching. it smelled… bad. the buildings are single story and haphazardly placed, with open barred windows and cracking cement, reminiscent of cebu city medical center. It will be interesting to see inside, interesting to compare… we start monday.

the rest of the day was pretty standard, after lunch with roger - chapati (a sort of potato fried pancake? um… flour tortilla-like thing…? well I don’t know how to describe it but it was good, anything related to a pancake is fine by me), we met up with dr. lee and headed for an internet café near our hostel. the internet is free there and appropriately slow as a result, painfully slow, but the café is beautiful and will be a nice place to spend time while waiting for the next page to download. the outdoor seating area is surrounded by huge tropical plants, there’s a big fountain in the center, and all of the furniture is covered in oversized pillows. best of all there are monkeys!! They hang out in the trees above the restaurant. oh, and did I mention they have pizza? yeah, so maybe tanzania isn’t so roughin’ it after all. we met a group of the british medical and nursing students there and got to hear about their time here. they have been here for anywhere from one week (wiki in swahili) to five in a required program that is far more organized that what we’re doing. unfortunately, it seemed, rather than welcome us, they were more concerned with trying to scare us and intimidate us about the hospital and brag about their big house, personal cook, and swahili lessons (ok, yeah, maybe something to brag about, but that’s beside the point). fact is we’re happy with our quaint hostel, aware of the dangers here, and importantly, very excited for the opportunity we have at the hospital (they sounded disdainful about the time they had to spend here and were baffled that we’d elected to come here by choice). it will be interesting to see them around the hospital, I guess nice to have fellow english speakers, and from what we’ve heard they tend to stand back and strictly observe, which leaves more room for us to get some hand’s on experience.

hey whitty! so we did a workout on the balcony today as the sun set. the locals were VERY confused and even more amused by what we were doing. I thought it went well, might even be sore tomorrow. So thanks whit, our little personal trainer!!
dinner was with dr. lee and a bunch of korean friends of his who are on vacation here and staying at the hostel. they made spicy rice and noodles and we had avocados the size of melons and apples and amazing bananas, far superior to US bananas. It was a fun meal, 12 of us sitting around the table in the hostel, all of the koreans and us and a canadian law student here for the summer. what an oddball group of people, but the food was good and the conversation was surprisingly easy, and I’m sad to know they’ll all be leaving soon.

two interesting things today:
1)saw an albino african. passed her on the street. It was intriguing, I tried not to stare.
2)dr. lee parked his car on a street, nose in parking spots, and we went to get sim cards for the cell phones. when we returned five minutes later there was a spike boot (at least that’s what I would call it, like a metal boot on the front wheel with spikes on either side) and the parking guys were telling dr. lee he had to pay a ticket to get it removed. a ticket for what? well, his back tire was parked on the line separating the parking spots. yes, he had failed to park neatly within his designated spot and as a result was being fined. no idea how much, he talked his way out of it, or bribed them to take it off, not sure which, probably that latter. very finicky about parking etiquette here and not much else it seems.