Meanwhile, Back in Tarime...

I had made arrangements to meet with James, the immigration officer who orchestrated my safari, to share pictures today. I'd hoped to catch a pikipiki ride to town with Marwa when he brought Anna to work, but that didn't work out.

Kennedy, my favorite pikipiki driver, was in Kissi, so I had Teddy, one of our AH moms, call for my ride. This young guy was a bit of a maverick, and the road was really muddy. The ride to the pavement was peppered with breath prayers. When we got to the main road, I told him I needed to go to Hilltop. When we passed Hilltop, I searched my Swahilli memory for some word equivalent to STOP! Finding none, I kept tapping the driver on the shoulder while yelling "Hilltop" in his ear. Finally, I got him to stop and walked from town to the mission house.

James was waiting when I arrived, and we invited ChaCha, our day guard, in to view the pictures with us. I was struck by how special this invitation was to ChaCha. He kept asking to make sure he'd understood me. Did I really want him to come inside the mission house to relax and share a soda? Indeed I did! ChaCha's eyes shined when I told him he was my good friend.

We worked with the computer for a long time, and the electric went out shortly after we started. So, James will return on Tuesday to load his flash drive.

I spent a relaxing day packing some souvenirs and eating some canned food that I just received from home. Then it was time to go to town.

Anna had already checked the post office for packages, so I started to the bank to check for to see if our wired money had arrived. Halfway there, I realized the ATM was probably not working because of the power outage.

I had promised my girls I'd get them menstrual pads today, so I walked to the pharmacy where I knew the workers spoke good English. I could just imagine trying to pantomime what I wanted to someone who only spoke Swahili! I didn't realize the pharmacy was owned by a Seven Day Adventist, so it was closed on Saturday.

I searched the dukas for a woman worker who might speak English. I was in luck! The first woman I tried spoke enough English to get my point across. She even left her kids in charge of the store to lead me to a duka where I could buy pads. The worker there didn't speak English, however, so I scanned the shelves looking for the Always package. A man customer asked if he could interpret for me, and I must admit it was hard for a prude like me to explain my need. When he understood, he helped me communicate my request. With the problem solved, I was able to relax and thank everyone involved over and over again.

On the way down the street, I noticed people at the ATM at another bank, so I decided to check my own. The wire had been deposited! Eager to start sorting and distributing funds, I seized the handle of the door. The bank was closed due to the power outage. The ATM was running on a generator.

I called Marwa to see if he could take the pads to the girls. Luckily, he was in town with Anna and took care of that for me. Then I walked home.

The power came back on later, and I worked with James' pictures on the computer so they'd be ready for the kids to see tomorrow.

I spent the night at the mission house because Marwa is taking Anna and me to Musoma early tomorrow, and they're picking me up in town. Boy, is Tarime noisy after sleeping at Gamasara! There's a bar (Hilltop) that plays music late at night, and ChaCha, our guard, sleeps on the porch outside my bedroom window. Added to my excitement of visiting the museum tomorrow, I didn't get much sleep.

Sleep can wait until my trip home, however. I'm sure I'll find plenty of time to sleep through the turning of the New Year in several time zones!
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