Leaving Tanzania

My heart is breaking- I'm leaving beautiful Tanzania. This is my last day and tomorrow I go to Nairobi. That will also be a wonderful experience I'm sure but at the moment I want to stay here forever!

There are so many things that I don't want to forget from here and its impossible to mention them all but heres just a few....

Insects. Being a girl and a wuss I'm terrified of them and had prepped myself for many creepy crawlies. Actually there has only been 2 incidents. The first was when a kind of earwig thing crawled into my inhaler and I used it. Fortunately I was able to cough the thing up but not too nice! Then there was the spider who decided that my trainer was a cosy place to sleep but didn't tell me till I had put it on and it crawled out of the hole in the top- I think the locals thought I was doing the Highland Fling!

Collecting water with the kids- everybody here thinks I'm nuts but I think that the kids have to work far too hard. So when they go for water I go with them to help. Its actually great fun cos thats when you see everybody as they walk past. I developed the habit of walking to the drinking water tap every day just so that I can speak to the kids as they are coming out of school and say hi to all the villagers.

The family- all heart broken as I left them. I've promised to try and visit. They called me last night to tell me that they missed me- I'd been gone for 4 hours.

Elinamay- a subject in the email so wont go on for too long. But one of my best friends, who also fancies himself in love with me. He's 17!! In Africa it would be perfectly acceptable for us to be a couple, but I think I would feel like a cradle snatcher! Anyway one of my everlasting images of Oldonyosambu is him sitting on the step of his house, watching me leave and nearly crying. Its nice to think that you'll be missed, but I hate when people are so upset!

Things to remember about Tanzania:

The continual fascination with the white person. I'm curious to know how long I would have to live here before it wore off.
The friendliness of the people. Everybody says hello and greets you- not just to be polite but because they want to know how you are.
The Masai- it occurs to me that I've not really mentioned them. Thats probably because they are just one of many tribes here and are not considered anything out of the ordinary. The Masai here are slightly scorned as they are not "true"- they are not nomadic and have settled with crops and so on. There are hundreds of tribes in Africa but here are mainly Masai, Chagga and Pada- all with their own languages and customs.
The colours and sounds- in Old its beautifully peaceful and you can see the stars at night with no pollution from electricity- breathtaking. And the women wear bright colours cos the dirt doesn't show so much but they look beautiful.
The way everybody helps everybody else. In Tanzania children can travel hundreds of miles by dala dala and no one will hurt them. The conductors will make sure that they are going in the right direction and they can usually sit on someones knee if its crowded- as it invariably is. The dala dala conductors act tough but they are kind hearted and will also help you if you have a lot of baggage to carry on market day. Can you see LRT drivers doing the same?! Other passengers will also help you if you are overloaded.
The beautiful beautiful country side. I will carry it in my memory wherever I go.

Well, my computer time is running out so I have to finish. Everything else will have to be committed to memory.

Farewell Tanzania!!