Beach vacay on the coast

Last week, Brandon and I met up with our friend Rachel (from MN) on the Tanzanian coast. Since Arusha is at about 5200 feet elevation, it doesn't have the tropical feel that the coastal area does:

We met up in a big city called Tanga, and from there did a biking tour to several outlying areas:

We went caving at the Amboni caves (home to more bats than I would have liked):

We stopped at this gorgeous village, where an adorable man paddled us in a canoe across the river so we could access sulfur hot springs on the other side:Above, another example of the crazy loads women carry on their heads around here.

The kid below was wearing a #4 Favre jersey (curiously fading from green to purple...)

We also discovered a palm tree farm, used to make some surprisingly tasty palm wine...the palm trees all had footholds carved into them, which of course made us want to climb the trees!
After a day of biking, we caught some beach time in a small village called Peponi. The tide went out so far, you could walk a couple hundred meters into the ocean and still only be knee-deep! Rachel caught a cool pic of this boat stuck in the low tide, as well as a few other candids:

Monkey with a beer...

...and a great parting shot.

Gracious School

We have spent a few afternoons at an adorable school near our home. It is called the Gracious School, and it was started by a few young Tanzanian women who wanted to provide quality education to the children in their village. The buildling (above) is very basic...just some bricks and a tin roof. I've been told that the doors for the four classrooms were only recently added, and they still don't have windows, just open holes in the walls): We had a great time visiting the school and teaching the kids about some basic health topics (brushing their teeth, eating fruits and vegetables, drinking clean water, etc.). Above, Rhoda (a med student from Kenya), Katie, and Maiken introducing themselves. Below, all 48 kids from the school sat on a picnic blanket so we could have our lesson outside. They have four grades at the school, "babies" (love it!) to 3rd grade. They hope each year to be able to add another room/grade to the building until they are a full primary school.

The kids were very excited to have visitors...their school is sort of under the radar, and doesn't get as much support from the ex-pat community as many of the schools in town. Below, two sassy girls from the "babies" class wearing our sunglasses:

I love her little tie!

Below, Brandon with the kids, sporting their new stickers...and below that, a video clip of the kids singing a song called "Clean My Car" with some attitude!

Obama pics and other randoms

Tanzanians love Obama. They have images of him everywhere, so I thought I’d show a couple of my favorites:

A mural of Obama running (don’t know why?) on a shop in our neighborhood. (“Wachoraji “ is just the name of the store.)

Obama painted on the back of a dalla-dalla, the ubiquitous East African taxi/mini-busses.

This one is probably the best: Obama across this lady’s backside (she was one of the Masai patients from our outreach clinics in the bush).

A couple other random pictures:

Chiquita banana lady right outside our house

A Masai tribesman making his shoes from tires (I tried some on, they are hard to balance in and pretty uncomfortable!)

Halloween with the animals

We spent Halloween on safari at Arusha National Park! We got really close to buffalo and giraffes:

By far the coolest part of the park was the THOUSANDS of flamingos at the Momela Lakes. The lakes are alkaline, which I guess attracts certain types of algae and crustaceans that the flamingos like to eat. There was pink everywhere:

As we were getting ready to leave, our safari jeep – affectionately known as the “Green Monster,” – started smoking and totally died. Having spent several hours in the Green Monster over the past couple months, it was a sad event.

We had to tow it out with a rope (yes a rope) tied to another jeep, which meant many repeated attempts and big struggles up hills. One hill in particular was pretty steep, so Katie, Maiken, Brandon, and I got out to lighten the load…and we had to run alongside the car up the hill, because there were animals that could have hurt us everywhere! I couldn’t make this stuff up, literally we were running with the jeep as cover so that the big baboons and giraffes wouldn’t come mess with us. Only in Africa.

Whisperers Orphanage

Katie, Maiken, and I have decided to take Wednesdays off from work and spend them doing outreach in the community. My favorite place so far is "Whisperers of the Jungle," a home for adolescent girls that are either orphaned or abandoned. We have spent some time teaching women's health topics and answering any questions that they have (which are MANY), and some time just hanging out and bonding. Above, a few of the girls and myself during one of our teaching sessions. Below, a nice group shot of most of the 19 girls that live at the house, along with some of us foreigners mixed in:

This past Saturday, we went with the girls on a hike to Arusha National Park. It was great to get them out of the house and explore the scenery around Arusha:Brandon and the girls.

With Brandon in Arusha National Park.

A cute pic of the girls at the end of our hike, with the sun setting over Arusha:

Outreach Clinics: A New Definition of Rural

Yesterday I returned from three days of outreach clinics “in the bush.” These areas are so remote that I have a new definition of “rural.” For example, one of our clinics got broken up because a herd of ELEPHANTS came storming through! Ha, crazy. Below, a view of a Masai "boma" (village) as we were about to land:

With the same volunteer pilot service that I flew with a couple of weeks ago, Maiken and I headed out to Masai land to give vaccinations, do OB prenatal visits, and treat as many patients as we could.

Above, one of the clinic huts with Masai patients waiting outside.

Below, me giving vaccinations.

Masai boys next to one of the clinic huts.

We brought a suitcase full of medicines and vaccines and set up shop on a little portable folding table:

Our pharmacy-in-a-suitcase:

Sweet bubbas.

It’s a great system: if the village will build and maintain a runway (aka a dirt strip free of trees) and a clinic hut (aka the mud and sticks pictured above), then our little plane will arrive every two weeks and provide medical care. Below, the plane on the "runway" with goats and kids everywhere:

Masai kids with the clinic hut in the background.

In three days, we flew to seven different villages and had 40-50 patients at each one…it was exhausting! Below, moms lined up with their babies:

Above, a picnic lunch by the plane with Ezra, the pilot,

and Barnabus, the local doctor (who looks like he's twelve).

We gave a couple Masai men our Coke bottles...

remember the movie "The Gods Must Be Crazy"?

I loved practicing such old-fashioned medicine. No fancy labs or imaging…we just relied on our clinical skills and a few simple medications.

Probably the most hilarious part was weighing the babies:

You can see this kid is not happy...I mean, we've got him hanging in a harness from a scale used to weigh fruits! I was so worried that one of the kids would fall, especially when we hung the scale from a janky tree branch:

Another thing that would only happen in Africa: we were given a goat as a thank you from the village. Below, Maiken in the exam room with the goat (we named him Gerald).

Poor Gerald got loaded into the bottom of the plane so we could take him home! He was pretty freaked out when we landed. Hilarious.

It was quite rewarding that the families at all of the clinics were so appreciative. They were also adorable. My favorite family was this grandmother, her daughter, and her two granddaughters:

P.s. I totally wanted to take this one home!

Overall, an incredible experience. Below, the sunset at one of the clinics: