Utkast: April 17, 2011
Will just quickly upload some photos and give you an update since Im not sure there will be internet on the lion farm.
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Spent the weekend in a Masai village in Engalaoni Mountains. And there is just one word suitable to describe this place. STUNNING! I can’t describe it in words so Im just gonna show you in pics. The typical masai huts are sticking up as mountains in the incredible green landscape. Def the place to be poor on! On the way to Englaoni, where ML and M have a summer house, we had a masai in the car. Just gave him a lift to the mountains so he could pick up his daughter who is only 6 years old but had been grounding flour for a few weeks on her own. What did I do when I was 6???
We also participated in a TV production where some family friends to ML were filming some Tanzanian kid programs and ads. Gave us a chance to get some really good photos of the villages (something which is normally very difficult to get). The lady who let us use her hut for filming had 6 kids. Her husband died a few years ago and she had 3 children with him. When he died, she became the “property” of his “brothers” (note: not his real brother, but all friends etc are brothers and sisters etc).
However these “brothers” only come every now and then to sleep with her and they don’t give a shit abt her the rest of the time. They just gave her another 3 kids to feed and at the time, there are food shortages in this region.
On our way up to Engalaoni where ML and M are working with a tree plantation project, so we had the whole car packed with at least 1000 small tree plants that we delivered to the village.
The typical masai huts in the Arusha region.
Dorini is playing with my hair.
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Apart from this trip, we have made one trip to another village called Ntukusi where Hope for Children have their own land lot on which they grow some foods etc. (Pics from last time I wrote). In the same village, HFC are also supporting a school (but I will remember I already wrote about this).
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When we have some spare time, we play with the kiddos. Yesterday we taught them some Swedish midsummer dances, like sma grodorna (tiny frogs) and prastens lilla kraka. They were dying of laugh. We also played kom under ornens vingar (come under the eagles wings) and were totally exhausted when Morgan finally called us for dinner. When you start something, its impossible to just quit without a reason. Everyone required your attention at all times and it makes it very difficult. But it is wonderful to play with the kids and they really appreciate it.
Everywhere along the roads are kids and other people waiving to the Mzungos.
Rebecka and dorini are using bottle caps to play memory.
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Apart from this, I have been participating in some crazy “bonekvallar med pingstkyrkan” (pray nights with some Swedish mission church) and I really feel like I don’t fit it. I just don’t understand it. The family friends (same once as the once making kid programs) was there. They have 3 kids themselves. The one that is 8 acted like she was 30. A lot more mature than me haha! I just dont agree with their way to explain things.
Me and Victoria dressed as masais in all kangas we bought on the masai market.
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Well, this is it. I need to go to bed soon and mentally prepare for the bus ride tomw. 10 hours with only one stop for toilet. Have prepared myself with drinking almost nothing today. Not that I think it will help. I mean. Its ME we are talking abt. However there are other reasons to prepare as well. Me and Morgas got stuck behind a learning driver yday and M explained that during practice, they are only allowed to drive in 20km/hr and they do never practice on how to overtake another vehicle, because the teacher is too scared. Add to this that the car is falling apart pierce by pierce and that the learning cars also serves as taxis and is fully packed at all times. The “driving up test” basically means that you drive abt 50 meters on a straight road and then get your license. No matter people here cant drive haha!
Im sure I will be fine though. Hopefully Ill get the chance to update the blog in South Africa. If not. I might have been eaten by a lion. Cause its LION TIME!
