Merry Christmas!!!

Well, Christmas finally came to Kowak. The past month, we've been constantly commenting on how unchristmassy it has felt...no decorations, Christmas music and of course no snow! But apparently they've been saving it for the last few days (minus the snow that is), and it really has felt Christmassy!

On Thursday, the hospital had a big party for all the staff, which was most of the workers big Christmas celebration. It was a lot of fun. The sisters organized a bunch of party games with prizes, including pin the tail on the elephant, musical chairs (Rach won) and a few others. They asked us to run a game, so we taught everyone a modified version of Flip Cup! It took them awhile to understand it was a team game and a race, but we got there in the end! We all then shared a huge meal which was delicious. Our job was to provided dessert, which was none other than FUNFETTI CAKE (we found a mix in Musoma) and sugar cookies. Stephanie had the honor of processing in with the cake and helping to cut it (wedding style, 3 people holding the knife- kindof awkward!). There was even a live manger scene and a visit from "Father Christmas," one of the guards dressed up in the craziest Santa suit we've ever seen...you'll have to look at the pictures. Overall- great party!

What else, we baked a bunch of sugar cookies and gave them out as gifts yesterday. We had four houses to go to (2 convents and 2 families we've gotten to know) and it only took us 4 hours! Each time we had to stop, visit and have something to eat or drink (It's a big part of their culture to feed their guests). We were all pretty full by the end, but enjoyed the afternoon. We also got a few gifts in the process- 2 loaves of bread, some jewelry from India and more cookies!

Last night we went to the Christmas vigil mass. So far today, we've had a nice leisurely morning. We have the day off from the hospital and are just going to relax! Later on we are going to go the the Indian Sisters' house to help them cook and eat a big lunch. Who knows what we'll do the rest of the day, probably play with neighborhood kids and eat some more! We hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas day...eat lots of American food for us!

A big THANK YOU to Aunt Lora! The packages were great and got here at the perfect time!

Last weekend, we had a visitor from the US! Maretta (the volunteer coordinator for Maryknoll) came to visit, which we used as a great excuse to travel!! It's been about two months since we've been here, so it was definitely time to do some exploring, and we couldn't let Maretta come half way around the world and not go to the SERENGETI!!!!!

So Sunday, we drove an hour and a half to one of the Serengeti gates (who knew it was so close this whole time?!?), where we met our driver Martin. In true Rachel, Kat and Stephanie style, the first thing we did when we got there was eat! Unfortunately after one PB & J each, some baboons descended on us, and stole the rest of the food before we knew what was even going on! We were later told that they recognize white people as easy targets! So after a great start, we hopped in the car with Martin and started our adventure, hoping that we really had somehwere booked for the night, and that Martin knew where it was...since the whole booking process was a little crazy and the confirmations kindof vague.

So going to the Serengeti is a little like watching the discovery channel, minus the great zooms and slow motions! You aren't really allowed to walk around, because apparently there are some dangerous animals that live there. So we basically just drove on one road towards the center of the park, sticking our head out the window and yelling stop every time we saw an animal (which was a lot) so that we could take a picture!

It's really as gorgeous as it looks in the pictures, tons of wide open spaces that seem to go on forever, so the scenery didn't really get boring. And even though we weren't there at the height of animal viewing season, we still saw tons of animals. Some highlights include: lots of zebras, wildebeest, huge buffaloes, crazy horns, a river of crocodiles eating a hippo head, giraffes (one so close to the road we thought it was a statue at first!), elephants, warthogs, a mama leopard and her cubs, hippos in and out of the water, lions waaaaaay off in the distance and lots of other animals! we kindof hit the jackpot!

We found our campsite no problem. On arrival we had our tents all set up and ready for us, and someone waiting to cook us dinner! It's really the best way to camp! We had a great meal, slept like rocks, and woke up early the next day to....look at more animals! We were only in the park for 24 hrs, but had a a great visit and saw a lot. Hopefully we'll be back before long!

PS we posted a few more pictures!

Asante Sana, Squash Banana!

We just want to warn you, when we come back to the States, you might not recognize us...we've basically become African! We've received a few lessons from the nurses and other hospital workers. It all started with carrying a bucket of water on our heads. Here, the women carry everything on their heads, from food and water, to huge bundles of sticks. We've started with the basic bucket of water, carrying it for the nurses from the huge water tanks to their houses. While we haven't spilled any yet, we still need two hands and walk very slowly...Other experiences include wearing kanga wraps (all woman wear them) and getting our nails inked, which is their version of nail polish (the first time we saw it on a woman in the hospital, we thought she had some sort of nutritional deficiency that had turned her nails a funny color!!) ...we've joined in all the fashion trends!

I think our ultimate "becoming African" experience was being taught to cook and eating what seems to be the national food here, ugali. It's a kindof thick paste made from maize. The closest comparison we can come up with is grits without much water added. Tanzanians could (and most do) eat it 7 days a week and be very happy! It's often eaten with some sort of meat or sauce. One evening we went over to one of the nurse's house, and a bunch of them taught us how to cook ugali with "small fish." While Steph sat outside and cooked the Ugali, we prepared the small fish, which are about an inch long, by ripping off their heads and pulling out the lungs and stomach. When they were ready to go, we fried them!

The next step was eating the meal, something we were all dreading a little, having tasted ugali before and not loved it...not to mention the crazy small fish! They set up 3 small stools for us in their kitchen, and everyone crowded the window and door to watch us eat. You don't use utensils, and everyone eats out of the same communal dish, by balling up some ugali, then using it to pick up the fish. While we didn't really enjoy the food, we were able to choke it down, which was good because we had a decent sized audience!

Between eating, speaking and dressing African, we're starting to blend in here. I would think that if you passed us on a dirt path, you might not even realize we aren't Tanzanian...minus the whole being white thing!

PS We're posting pictures of all the events (if we can get our internet to work!)