Through the Seasons

So Many Things to Tell

Oh gosh.  We had such a good trip I don’t know where to begin.  There are lots of questions, right?  I’ll give the details and go from there…

Here are a few FAQ’s:

1.  How far away is Makete?  It depends.  One way is about 7 hours.  We didn’t go that way although that road is the smoothest.  Another way is 6 hours.  That’s the way we went to Makete.  Yet another way, the road we took home, is 4.5 hours.  You just have to decide how bumpy of a road you can handle.  There are no paved roads all the way there so you’re on bumpy, bad, dirt roads a lot of the way.  But it’s so pretty because you climb up, up, up into the mountains.  At one point we brushed just under 10,000 feet. 

2.  What did we eat?  For the journey itself we took nuts, banana bread, pumpkin bread, boiled eggs, and some fruit.  There are no restaurants on the way so you have to pack a lunch. 

There are restaurants in Makete and we frequented 2 main ones while we were there, mainly because we weren’t very adventurous.  Once a place was good and clean, we stuck with it. 

So for breakfast we usually had fried eggs and scones.  A scone there is a piece of bread.  But it was good bread…  Then for lunch Jonathan usually had beef and chips and I had chips mayai which is fries with scrambled eggs cooked over them.  Very good.  Yum.  Yum.  Then at night we usually had rice, chicken, and beans.  For snacks we had those things we took for the journey. 

What I didn’t eat was chocolate.  There was no chocolate there and I took none with me.  They say the first step to conquering a problem is to admit you have one.  Hello.  My name is Dana and I’m a chocoholic. 

3.  Where did we stay?  At a guesthouse which is basically a small hotel.  It was nice really.  It was new, clean, and pretty well built.  The electricity didn’t always work.  There was hardly ever any running water.  The toilet didn’t usually flush.  There was no hot water at all.  The cold air came in through the windows and of course there was no heating system of any kind.  And the room was tiny.  But.  Yeah.  It was really nice.  It really was.  Considering everything.  Let’s just say it’s my idea of camping.

4.  What’s the weather like there?  Cold.  During the day it was pretty nice but kind of cool.  At night and in the morning it was downright cold.  I bundled Asher up a lot and I, myself, slept in socks, 2 pair of pants, and 2 shirts.  Cold, cold, cold.  Oh.  And dusty.  Is dusty a description of weather?  Either way, because of the wind, it was very dusty. 

And the day we left we saw, for the first time in almost 6 months, rain.  We left as it began so didn’t get to really enjoy the shower and it still hasn’t rained a drop in Mbeya as we’re still in the dry season.  The rain should begin here soon.

5.  What did I do during the day?  I took care of Asher.  All day.  All night.  But what do I do here?  The same thing.  The difference is that I know where in the house he’s safe to roam and we have space here that we didn’t have there.  Usually I had him at the room for naps but during long awake times I took him to the office where Jonathan was recording to let him crawl around a bit. 

6.  What are the people there like?  Friendly.  Warm.  Receptive.  Respectful.  I loved the people.  I spent a lot of time working on greetings because of how much I walked.  I usually walked Asher to the office and back at least once a day and passed many people.  I took that opportunity to greet people.  One thing I noticed is that everyone asked about Asher.  That makes me realize that I should always ask about the child when I greet a woman carrying a baby.

What else?  Any other specific questions?  I did take pictures and will post them.  I do have a few stories to tell and will do that later.  Let me know if there’s anything else you’d like to know.