November 5, 2009

“Give a man a fish and he eats for a day; teach a man to fish and he eats for a lifetime.” –submitted by Ben

Ben and I both awoke at 6 am and were packed by 7 am to leave at 8 am…Mzungu time. Momma Tony came in to get our mattresses. Then we went for breakfast. All we wanted was mzungu porridge – oatmeal. Three of the Form 3 girls came in and gave me pictures they drew and said goodbye. It was very sweet and heart warming. As we went outside to take photos all the Form 1 and Form 2 students came up the road from the classrooms. They sang me songs. Ben took photos of me with them and I videotaped some of the songs and the primary students having their morning run. It was a wonderful goodbye and send off on my safari/journey home.

As we headed down the mountain pass of Ipalamwa we waved goodbye and said kwa kheri to everyone. We picked up the headmaster of the primary school just before nearing Mr Hs house where he joined us for the safari/journey to Iringa. The ride was beautiful. Ben and I were quiet as Momma Tony, Mr. H, Ebrania, and the primary school headmaster talked in Kiswahili. Once in a while they would say what they were talking about but I was content with my own thoughts…

Upon arriving in Iringa we made a quick stop at the Lutheran church hostel where we left our things in our locked rooms. Mohammad then dropped Ben, Advent and I off to go to the bank and wander Iringa for a while. Advent was a great tour guide showing us around. We stopped at Hasty Tasty for Fantas and then said goodbye to Advent. Mohammad took us to the Lutheran hostel where Ben and I retired to our rooms to write in our journals, shower and just settle in for the night. It was a good thing because it started pouring down rain.

It was a good first day’s journey! –Pam