Happy Christmas!!

Happy Christmas to you all, from us in Tanzania!

We hope you had a nice day celebrating this special time of year.

Here are a few shots of our family Christmas with Claire, spent at our home here in Dodoma.

The chefs, in the heat of the kitchen, attempting an English-style roast (with a veggie option for Claire as well). Thankfully, Christmas Day was a lovely overcast day, meaning that it wasn't too hot to eat our roast chicken dinner!

Christmas Day feast:
Gift-giving has a unique flavour of its own in Dodoma, where the luxury of a box of cereal (so expensive to buy over here) was a popular present amongst the Parkers of Dodoma!

Moshi the cat delighted us with her very own gift, producing 2 tiny kittens on Christmas Eve, which we discovered in the flowerbed on Christmas morning, on our return from the service at the cathedral:

Leading up to Christmas...

After the school nativity play, Esther broke up for her long summer holiday and then over the next week, we had a couple of other events to get us ready for Christmas itself.

On the Tuesday, we had a Christmas meal at home together with our househelper, Jane, my language helper Margaret and Gadi, who works a couple of mornings a week in our garden, growing some veg for us and making sure the plants and weeds don't get out of control.

Andrew was unable to join us, as work last week saw him flying with the Masai up in the north of Tanzania, but Esther, Ben and I were able to celebrate with our Tanzanian friends at a mixed-culture lunch.

We started with a traditional Tanzanian dish of "pilau", served at times of celebration here, which Jane cooked for us all. It is a mixture of meat, rice, potatoes and vegetables, with a slightly curried, onion/garlic sauce:

For dessert, I couldn't find what was needed for a traditional British plum pudding, so I cooked a fruit cake with the left-over almonds, cherries and sultanas from my Christmas cake and served it with custard, which was as close as I could get to a real British Christmas pudding! Thanks to kind friends, we also had some UK Christmas crackers and napkins, posted out from Lancashire, just to add a British flavour. Our Tanzanian guests had never seen crackers before, so they caused much laughter as we pulled them open at the start of our meal and everyone dutifully wore their paper crowns with good humour right to the end of the meal, except for Ben, who was a bit tired of all the Swahili beng spoken and more reluctant to join in the festive spirit!

Later in the week, we hosted a Christmas Evening at our home for the few of us who are left here over the Christmas period- many from MAF have gone away to visit friends or family or just to get away for a few days and really relax away from the work environment. There was a Christmas quizz with prize for the winner and for an international flavour, we asked everyone to bring something traditionally Christmassy from their home culture (or as close as you can get with what is available in Dodoma). Our buffet was very interesting, with Tanzanain pilau, Ugandan matoke (savoury banana) and groundnut sauce with meat, Swedish meatballs, American Christmas cookies, South African fudge from Claire, my UK Christmas cake (although minus the marzipan!) and a French-style pizza!

Snowmen in Tanzania?? only on the cake, just so that we can think of you who are over there in a cold and snowy England at the moment:
It was a lovely evening and to my great relief, quite a lot of rain fell in the last week, reducing the temperatures and giving the evening a cooler feel, so that all of us together in the one home did not mean that we were all overheated, especially with 9 very excited and well-fed children charging about the place, in and out the lounge and bedrooms!

Our get-togethers here are usually very international. Andrew (who returned from work up north just an hour and a half before the guest arrived!) with some of our guests, representing Germany, Sweden and the USA:

Esther's School Nativity Play

The Friday a week before Christmas started a lovely lead up to Christmas Day, as we were given a great reminder of The Christmas Story at Esther's school Nativity Play. Andrew was pleased to be able to attend and join Ben and I at the school production- the first time all year that Andrew has been free from work commitments and able to come along to a school presentation.

We were all thoroughly impressed with the wonderful musical/ acting production put on by the pupils. The school runs from nursery right through to secondary level (up to International GCSE level), so there are pupils from age 3 right up to 20 (as some start school later out here than back in the UK and fit in according to learning level, not age). The younger ones were more involved on the singing side, while some of the older pupils took on acting roles.

Esther joins in with her class as the Reception sing their parts enthusiastically:

No Room at the Inn for a weary Joseph, with his donkey and Mary behind:
Jesus is born:
I had to get a photo of these wisemen in their original outfits!

Whole school Grande Finale, where even Ben stands up next to his big sister (bottom left) and tries to join in with the fantastic, infectious singing:

Tanzanian Toad of Terror

The day and a half of rain that we had a couple of weeks ago (sadly there has been no rain since and the heat is beating down fiercely again) brought out of hiding not only the scorpions but also lots of frogs and some rather charmless toads. The children were fascinated by the frogs and particularly by these enormous, fat, ugly toads. This one was having a lovely rest from his daily chores in amongst the wet grass in our garden.
These toads, however, are to be viewed with some trepidation... Esther and Ben went very close to get a good look at this specimen, but next time, I will be more cautious in allowing my children near to the creatures, since I just learnt that one of the little girls on the nearby MAF compound tried to approach one to see if she could pick it up and it suddenly leapt up and bit her! Shrieking with fright, with blood pouring from a wound on her hand, the poor little thing ran inside to be comforted by her Mum. None of us had ever heard of a biting toad before, but it seems most wildlife here in Tanzania should be treated with caution! Fortunately, the bite is not poisonous, but it still seems very odd that a toad can strike out and bite! I never even knew that toads had teeth...
Jane tells me, though, that one of the local tribes near Dodoma find these toads rather tasty, cooked up with a bit of "ugali" (think mashed potato but made with cornflour rather than potoatoes). She herself has never tried them, but I can't help wondering how many people get bitten in their attempts to catch their toady dinner. As for me, I have no intention of finding out for myself- toad in the hole made with pork sausage is the closest I'd ever hope to get to eating anything with the word "toad" in the title!

5 Reasons to Celebrate

Over the past week, there have been several reasons to celebrate...

1. The Rains came to Dodoma at last!

Last Monday, after a horribly hot Sunday at 35'C in the shade, when it was impossible to do anything without feeling grumpy and sweaty (even lying down, I found myself covered in sweat!!), Monday dawned as a beautiful cloudy day! What a relief to have some cover from the blazing, relentless East African sun! Then later that day, the first rain drops in 8 months began to fall- and what a celebration it was in the Parker household! When we lived in rainy Lancashire, I never knew what it was to appreciate rain, but now rain breathes fresh air and life into Tanzania and I have gained a new respect for the gift that it is.

Swinging in the rain:

It is now hot again, but at least we have had a few day's break from the energy-sapping heat. Tanzanians are rejoicing that they can plant their crops to feed their families since the ground has been made softer and last week's rain brings hope of more life-giving rain over the next few months to water those vital foods.

2. Ben turned 3!

Ben had a wonderful day last Thursday celebrating his birthday. His lunch-time pizza party was lots of fun, with 4 little pals and his big sister. He was delighted with all of his gifts and also with being the VIP for the day!

3. Escape from danger!

I had my own private celebration since discovering that these fearsome scorpions have not made it into my garden or house, despite coming out of their holes in droves once the rainwater arrived. 5 dead scorpions on our compound, like the one below, find me much relieved- better dead than creeping into my home and delivering a toxic -if not lethal- poison into one if my children or family. However, I am still being vigilant- you never know where they might be lurking and I have a deep-rooted fear of dangerous creatures out here.

4. Finding sultanas AND almonds AND glace cherries in Dodoma!

It is unusual in Dodoma to be able to get hold of sultanas and also almonds and also glace cherries all around the same time! However, the unexpected happened- wow! I was so excited that I got inspired to make my very first Christmas cake, since I will not be able to sample my mum's cake this year. Delia Smith's trusty recipe tells me that I need dried peel, currants, raisins, lemon rind and marzipan to make a bona fide cake, which I cannot find right now, but when one is part of the way there with some sultanas, why not have a try with what one does have?? So out came the cookery book and apron and I must say, I am mightily pleased with my Dodoma effort, even if it is dominated by sultanas!

5. It is nearly Christmas- and Santa has been to see us here in Dodoma!

Last Saturday morning, the mums here got together to run a Christmas party for the 12 children on our MAF compounds. The children all had a wonderful time outdoors, playing games, making sparkly cards, winning prizes, having a Christmas party lunch together. However, the highlight of the Christmas celebration had to be a visit from Santa in his special Tanzanian outfit, complete with mop-head hair! He even brought each child an individually wrapped gift, sourced apparently in Dar es Salaam , since it is a little closer than the North Pole. The children were so thrilled with their gifts that they didn't seem to notice that Santa's Tanzanian outfit is a little different from the conventional suit... :-)

Making cards with glitter is fun!

So is playing musical statues:

Here comes Santa with his bags of goodies!!

Rapt attention for Santa from the MAF kids:

And great excitement as the gifts are unwrapped!

Photo Update

A few photos to keep you up to date with some of the recent events in our Tanzania life...

A VERY exciting moment this week when no less than 14 (!!) parcels arrived all at the same time!! One was a bit bashed up, but made it, after an epic journey from Oxford which started back in September! Andrew was a little concerned that the excitement might induce a very premature labour, but I just about managed to control my excitement!! Andrew returned home last Friday from 3 days training on the more difficult airstrips up in the north of the country. He was up in Malambo, in Masai territory, not too far from the border with Kenya and close to the Serengeti. The training was hard work, but rewarding. Accommodation was basic, in this purpose built "pilot's hut", where there is a convenient area for the MAF pilots to park their planes outside! The terrain is hilly and requires a tougher standard of flying, hence the training:

The villages which MAF fly out to in this area are very remote, but Andrew says that the welcome they receive from the local people is warm and very hospitable.

A dusty take-off from one of the village airstrips:

There was also the opportunity to see and photograph some amazing natural scenes:
... the moonrise-
...Ol Doinyo Lengai (Mountain of God) volcano, viewed from under the wing of the plane-
At ground level, back at home, Benjamin keeps busy with domestic activities, such as baking (even if the rather scary-coloured icing does end up everywhere!)
and also building a mini "duka" (Tanzanian-style shop) with his playmate, Esther C: In a more academic environment, Esther wowed Ben and I at her school class assembly this morning, singing and acting with her class mates and teacher: and skipped happily out of assembly when the show was over.

And even the MAF compound cats have been busy, with Moshi's sister producing a kitten on Tuesday afternoon, much to Esther and Ben's delight!

Birthday Girls

The past couple of weeks have seen a few birthdays at MAF Dodoma.

Jane had her birthday last Saturday and invited us 4 to her home on Saturday morning to celebrate and to meet her grandson, Brown, who lives with her. We baked her a cake, which Ben and Esther decorated with bright pink icing (!!) and candles. We sat and sang to her, shared the cake and were treated to a fizzy soda drink each. We also met her sister, who was very warm and welcoming, with true Tanzanian hospitality.

Brown, Esther, Jane and Ben:

The weekend prior to that, our MAF neighbour Julie-Anne celebrated her 40th birthday. In collaboration with her husband, Glenn, we planned a Surprise Party to take place on the Sunday afternoon of her birthday in our back garden. Despite the proximity of our homes on the MAF compound, we all managed to keep it a surprise- although I suspect that not telling any of the MAF children what was going on really helped to keep it all secret! A friend also baked an amazing cake, topped with a fizzing candle that went off like a mini-firework when lit!

The birthday girl was completely taken by surprise and a great afternoon was had by all...

Party time in our garden:As for Ben and the boys, they celebrated the special day by digging busily in our sandpit:

There were plenty of snacks, which were enjoyed by all, especially the little ones!

The next birthday will be Ben's 3rd and the invitations to his Pizza Lunch Party have just gone out ready for next week, much to Ben's excitement!

Yuk- It's Raining...maggots!!!

There has been something suspicious going on in our little bathroom over the past few days. First, I have been repelled by the stink - and this was no normal toilet-stink. I spent a while two days ago cleaning and re-cleaning the toilet and the basin with all kinds of cleaning products- to no avail. The awful smell lingered. It was worse than anything I could blame on the members of the household, whatever they may have eaten!!

Next, I noticed this morning that there seemed to be a few tasty insect-morsels caught in a web by our resident daddy-long-legs (they are handy allies out here for catching unwelcome guests). On closer inspection, I discovered some rather foul looking maggots. Ben and his friend, little Esther C from next door, came to look as well, with great interest. We swept up the bugs and popped them down the loo (apologies to Mr daddy-long-legs).

Half an hour later, I walked past the open door of the bathroom and saw several more maggots writhing around on the floor! Again, we disposed of them. Checking again, 20 minutes later, even more maggots had miraculously appeared on the floor! I then realised that they were, in fact, raining down, in a kind of slow but steady drizzle, from the gaps in our wooden ceiling!

A photo sample of our most unwelcome drop-in guests:

Quite horrified by the invasion and still repelled by the dreadful stench, I asked Jane's opinion and we concluded that there must be something dead and decaying somewhere up in our roof and the effects of this were now leaking through into the bathroom.

So we called in the troops... Jane went down to the nearby MAF workshop to ask for assistance. A short while later, local MAF staff, Jeremiah and Ema, came to save the day. They duly disappeared up a ladder into the cobwebby confines of our attic on their mission of discovery...

...and found this most disgusting and totally stinking culprit!

Now, the vile lizard has thankfully been removed, although I must admit to a rather embarassing scream when Ema presented a box to me containing the cause of our latest Tanzanian adventure! Next, we need to work on removing the foul odour, which still seems to be lingering, as well as the odd maggot, still falling from the gaps in the ceiling...

Graduation Day

Since arriving in Tanzania just over a year ago, there have been many "first time" experiences. Yesterday was another "first" for me. Earlier in the week, my neighbour Julie-Anne popped in to ask me if I would consider being a 'Guest of Honour' at a Graduation ceremony and coming along to give a speech!

It all sounded rather daunting, but as the details emerged, I realised it was not as huge a task as it first sounded and would be a fun afternoon for us all. It would be the older children at a local Tanzanian Nursery school (where Julie-Anne helps out) who would be "graduating" from pre-school and preparing to start Reception class early next year. My speech, thankfully, was to be less than 5 minutes long and there would be a translator, so I could go ahead and speak in English. My role was to congratulate the children, to hand out their end-of-year prizes, smile sweetly at the "top table" and give a short speech addressed to parents, children and the church pastor who was hosting the event. I was looking forward to it -and extra pleased to have such a grand-sounding title for such a pleasant task!

Esther and Ben thoroughly enjoyed themselves with their MAF friends, Julie-Anne's children (named Esther, Benjamin and Joshua!!) and made new friends. There was a local choir performing music and dance, while the small pupils performed some drama and singing. Andrew and I got to practise our Swahili in a local environment, despite doing the main part of my speech in English. We all sampled delicious graduation cake -Ben's favourite part, I think- which is fed to you by the graduates (!! a bit tricky but lots of fun!) and we enjoyed the meal of rice and beans served to all after the event, cooked by the mums and teachers. I even got presented with beautiful, bright, Tanzanian dress for my role as 'Elizabeti Parker, Guest of Honour'!

The Entertainment:

Ben P and Benjamin C watch the proceedings attentively:

But Esther and Esther appear to be a little distracted by their toys: Happy Graduates:

Graduation cake: Cake-feeding time: Julie-Anne and I round off the evening with our cake, beans and rice: