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!