To Tungamalenga and Back

For the those of you who have been there, you know that the trip from Iringa to Tungamalenga is long, dusty, bumpy and a bit unpredicatable.  I have a "reserved" seat in the front of our bus where I sit with a clear view of the road with all its bumps and oncoming buses, bikes, people, cattle and etc.  Although this is my preferred place to sit to prevent car sickness, it isn't always a good thing to see what's ahead.  On the way home we were forced off the road and into the ditch by an oncoming bus.  It was a little nerve wracking to be sitting on the downhill side of the bus.  It took nearly all of us to push the bus out of the soft dirt ditch and back up onto the road.  On the way to Tungamalenga I was feeling a little quesey, but I thought it was just from the ride.

We were greeted by a group from the church who were singing, dancing and waving branches.  After my first of many Fantas of the weekend, we checked into our hotel and took a quick walk around the village.  Funny thing was that I was feeling sicker, not better.  I excused myself from dinner and went to bed early.

It wasn't a fun night.  I made frequent trips to the bathroom throughout the night and as my GI system got more and more confused.  I think we had sqashed all the big bugs before before we went to bed, but there was a lizard that kept me company.  At least that's the only friend that I could see with my head lamp.  I had been looking forward to church in Tungamalenga, but spent all day Sunday which was also my birthday) in bed with a fever.  I did make it out to the porch in the evening and even pulled out my binoculars to look at some birds (Grandma you should be proud).  By the next morning I was feeling better and ready to experience Tungamalenga.


I had been warned that news travels fast in Tungamalenga.  I know there were many people praying that I would recover quickly and the most frequent question of the day was "how is your stomach?"  I also received meals and eggs from concerned people from the village.


On Monday I spent time at the dispensary where I spent a while working with a man who had had a stroke some time ago (Enoch), visited the demonstration plots for agriculture project, toured the primary school (with Alice), met with a HIV community support group and had the opportunity to meet my prayer companion and her family.  It was a wonderful day!  People were so welcoming.


On Tuesday I spent spent a little more time at the dispensary and a lot of time up at the primary school.  I spent quite a bit of time teaching ring-around-the-rosie and head and shoulders, knees and toes to the kindergarteners.  Then I spent some time in first grade swahili - it was a perfect spot for me.  Before lunch I spent some time under the big baobab tree talking with community members. 


On the way home we stopped at a Masaii village not too far outside of Tungamalenga.  Most of the men were out with the cattle, but the women and children greeted us with song and dance.  They provided warm soda and jewelry and we bought even more jewelery.  Global Health Ministries also provided each person with a small flashlight.

I continue to have a great time in Tanzania.  Tonight I will move from Ilula to Iringa (a day earlier than I had predicted).  Since I'll be in town more, I should be able to get some pictures in my blog soon.  The next couple of days I will spend some time with the PT at Neema and maybe visit the district hospital as well.

Please continue to send your thoughts and prayers this way.  Also, please pray for rain in the Iringa/Tungamalenga area!