Greetings from Mr. Gutters and Willy Welder

I supposedly slept in today, except for the fact that I woke up around 8. I guess that's ok for a Saturday. Mom served a wonderful breakfast, then it was off to the hairdressers... not me, but my folks both needed a haircut. Here's me waiting, enjoying a ginger ale:

Yesterday I met up with former high school friends, Kim and Jacob Mills, now working at Pamoja Ministries in Tengeru, a good 30 minute drive from here. It was great to see them again and talk like it was just yesterday we said goodbye. In fact, it is almost 19 years to the day that I saw them last. Strange, how time flies and changes you and yet, somehow, you're still the same.

Yesterday morning I also joined the Bible school students in morning devotions, and was asked to share just briefly with them. My father, as usual, introduced me as his African baby, born in Makiyungu (unsure of the spelling, but it both sounds and looks right). Afterwards, I was hugged by fellow tribes(wo)men from the Wanyatulu tribe, whose land I was born in:

Our drive out to the hairdressers today took us through kahawa country - the coffee estates that I feel I grew up living in as a child here in Arusha. The road we drove down was in such terrible shape, having been smooth and fine and black with good asphalt in my childhood years. Now, it's just a dirty, bumpy, terrible road full of pot holes, but there's a lingering grandeur reminiscent of colonial days.  

Oh, I almost forgot... Mr.Gutters and Willy Welder - I have no idea who they are. I got the names from reading shop signs. I think Willy Welder pretty neatly gives away why you would go to him, but I am slightly unsure what Mr. Gutters has to offer.... I am also unsure what to expect at Flamingo Exclusive Hall, but feel somewhat secure going into the Galatians Barbershop.

Penguin Resort - find your happines

I have finally arrived – not to my childhood home, but to my childhood town. The house my parents live in now, is not the house where grew up, but this house is nicer, bigger and better. I love it here, and it feels like home.

My flight yesterday went quite well, with little turbulence, no delays and decent airplane food. From Amsterdam, the plane was packed with American tourists going to Arusha, where they would spend the night before setting out on exciting safari’s into Tanzanian wildlife. I hope 8-or-9 year old Chase and his family will have a great trip, and that Chase will behave… I noticed his  ADHD tendencies and overheard his extended family discussing who pulled the shortest straw in reference to who would sit beside him. I must admit I felt sorry for him when I heard their completely unhidden and very negative talk about him. I will also commend him for behaving very well the entire flight (and throw in that I heard his parents agree that he had done well… but why didn’t they tell him that?)

I came through immigration quickly, collected my luggage (which must have passed me at least twice before I recognized it – I was tired and had a headache), and went out to find Hefely, who took me home to my waiting parents. Hefely is an excellent driver, speeding away into the darkness, managing the car around trucks with no rear-end lights, people on the side of the road and numerous motorcycles with headlights that literally blinded me. I know the Tanzanian countryside, but still, the darkness of the night surprised me and the amount of visible stars fascinated me. The smell of Tanzania was just as I had expected – warm, sweaty and mildly spicy.

As we drove into Arusha, I enjoyed reading the signs along the way, as electricity became the main source of light again. I always enjoy reading signs in whatever country I visit, and I especially enjoy the creativity with which the Tanzanians name hotels, bars, shops and buses. I will attempt to post some as I find them, but I remember in particular the Hallelujah Express bus, thinking to myself that it would be appropriate to burst into Hallelujah’s if one actually survived a trip in that bus.

But yesterday I passed Snow Crest Hotel (mind you, we are quite close to the equator here…), the View Point Hotel (if one fancies the view of dirty houses, small random shops, insane traffic and dirt sidewalks), but what really made me smile was the Penguin Resort – find your happiness  sign. My youngest daughter has a fondness for penguins (thank you, Happy Feet), and as we all know, penguins are the keepers of happiness, and of course, they are to be found in huge numbers here in Arusha, Tanzania, East Africa.

Preperations

I really ought to be doing something else than blogging, but right now, it's as if my insides are winding up - much like a mechanical clock winds up. I know that suddenly, I'll be so tightly wound up that the only thing I can do, is be effective.

I should be packing. I'm leaving, on a jet plane... (sorry, that song has stuck with me since I was 13)... actally, I am leaving on a jet plane this coming Wednesday. I am going home. Home to mom and dad. Home to Tanzania. All by myself.

Kobbeå, Bornholm

This summer will be the weirdest summer ever for our family. Natasja is off at youth camp already, Teresa will be going to Sweden with her grandparents on Saturday, and Hasse and Johanna will go to Jutland for a few days, then they will join Teresa & co. in Sweden after that. I will be in Tanzania. I don't think we've ever been so split up before during a holiday.
Luckily, we've planned a week together on wonderful Bornholm (isle of my father and husband) right before going back to work and school.

I am really looking forward to going off to TZ. It'll be the first time since I moved away in 1993, that I will be returning alone. It feels good, but also strange. I know that I will only be able to relax when I walk through the door of my parents home.

We went to TZ in 2008 as a family, mainly for a vacation. This year, I'll be joining my folks in a crusade i Ilagala, by Lake Tanganyika.

When possible, I will post pictures and write more about my trip.

Just to set the mood - 2 of my favorite pictures from our 2008 trip:

Morogoro, large crater, now filled with wildlife 

View from our rented cottage on Zanzibar

June in photos

This is my attempt to show you what the last month has gone by with.

It seems to me that a lot of really big things have happened...
Our oldest daughter, Natasja, finished 9th grade and graduated. Next school year she will be off at a boarding school, preparing to travel to Australia, plus some other countries I don't know about yet.

 Teresa ... well, what can I say? She is a beautiful 12 year old, blooming into a full scale teenage girl.
I am so glad she will be home next year, so I only have to miss 1 child...

 Johanna is still loaded with energy, and is apparently a very intelligent child - so we've been told. Left to wait for too long, there's no telling what she'll be up to!

We all love her to bits.




This is a picture of my sister and my husband - all dressed up for her wedding June 23rd. It was a gorgeous day and a wonderful wedding.

And here we are: my hubs, myself, my sis and her hubs. Great shot, don't you think?