We are sitting in the hotel room thinking about lombardo’s pizza, waffles, fresh bread and cheese, juicy oranges and apples, blueberries and tomatoes, spaghetti, chick pea curry, vietnamese food, bunny pasta, thomas house chocolates, BBQ sausages, homemade chocolate chip cookies, beer and wine. We are so tired and overwhelmed. I think I have aged ten years in the last few days because of the harsh and hot weather and the constant needs that people are hoping that I can fix. I feel so much pressure because people grasp onto any kind of hope. I feel a little selfish to want so much but I do.
Our last day in cheku was spent at 2 elementary schools demonstrating sac gardens that they can plant at home. They are really great because they cost nothing (sacs, dirt, sand, rocks and water). You have a bucket with the bottom taken out out and you fill it with rocks and then put soil around it. You keep lulling the bucket up, filling it with rocks and surrounding it with soil until the sac is full. The idea is that the rocks will transport the water right to the bottom. Then you poke holes up and down the sac so plants are on the sides as well as the top. The teachers, along with the students were learning how to do this.
We then left for the house of Abu (check name!!!) who had slaughtered a goat for us to eat. This is the highest honor that you can have in these small villages so it felt so special. I was so full at one point but I just kept eating because I did not want to offend for not eating the crazy mountain of food. The goat was so good and soft and tender. The ladies served and we ate.
We then left for the Sori elementary school where we went though the same process of demonstrating the sac garden, which I am going to do when I return home. Zoe got the kids together again to draw pictures of their environment which ended up being quite amazing.
We left as the sun was setting and still had to go to another village to drop off the bee box that we had bought. Honey bee harvesting is contributing to deforrestation because people need to cut down trees in the area for the bee hives. This bee box is made from a sustainable tree farm and can be used for years and years PLUS you get double the amount of honey in the way that it is built. Pretty amazing.
Gift giving is quite an ordeal and by the time we got there I was so fried. We handed over the box and shook hands and the ladies did the yelling thing.
I am sad and happy at the same time to be going home because I am rather homesick and look forward to seeing my friends and family once again (and understand what they are saying) but know that it will be a long time before I am able to return and I will miss Abu, Richard, Yasinta and especially Moshi, friends who I have come to really love.
The people are so beautiful in the face of such suffering and they have made us feel very loved. Tanzania is my other home.
