The 7:20 MAF Bus

Today, Esther and Ben returned to school after a long 6 week school holiday.

Going back to school for Ben this term means a few changes. I received an email from the school last week stating that Benjamin would be expected to attend his Nursery class from the earlier starting time of 07:45 instead of 9am. This seems a little too early for me when he has only just turned 4, but since Ben enjoys his Nursery class so much, we have decided to let him try out the earlier time. His Nursery sessions now run from 07:45 until midday. The biggest change for Ben is that he will no longer be going to school with Mum in the car, or with his friend Aleah's mum. Instead, Ben will join all the older school children on the early school mini-bus, including big sister Esther, with different MAF parents taking turns to drive the bus each day according to our "Driver's Rota".

Since today was the first time that Ben joined the early bus, I decided to drive the 07:20 bus run myself. Joel had to come along too, of course, as he cannot stay home alone! So we all set off bright and early on the 7:20 MAF Bus: a few photos follow, to prove how early our school days start here in Africa!!

Ben and his little friend Aleah are excited to choose their seats on the bus near Esther, as we prepare to leave the carpark at MAF Compound A- getting ready to go and collect the other children from MAF Compound B and three Tanzanian children who join us en-route:

 Second pick-up point at MAF Compound B- and I am happily smiling, despite the early hour! Driving a mini-bus so early must be good for me...

 ...and the children are all in good spirits too after their wonderful 6 week holidays!

 Time to drop Esther and the older children off at the "big school":

 Then we drive next door to the Early Years unit where the 2 Reception children, plus Nursery children Ben and Aleah seem quite happy to be getting off the bus to go into their playground:

 Within a few minutes, Ben and his buddy Aleah are busy at the sandpit...

 ...while Joel and I head home. Joel is still able to smile, despite having been dragged out the front door at 07:15 in his pyjamas, with a dirty nappy and no breakfast!!

We drove back through town and arrived at the end of the airfield around 8am, just in time to see Andrew lining up for take-off on his MAF flight to Iringa this morning. Daily life in Dodoma starts early- now I just need to make sure we all get to bed in good time each evening- there is a saying here that 9pm is "missionary midnight" -and since 6:30am is considered a bit late to be getting up, we definitely understand where that saying came from!

The Rhetorical Question

I am happily recovered now from a recent illness which made me feel utterly exhausted and struggling with an intermittent fever which would come and go, but was mostly present every evening and through the night.
For 2 weeks, I felt unwell, so I am grateful now that I feel back to full health and that my energy has returned.
Over the course of the 2 weeks, I tested for malaria, as it seems to be the most likely cause of fever and exhaustion, but all 4 tests were negative. I also went to the clinic in Dodoma, where the staff took my blood pressure (normal), weighed me (a little underweight at the moment, but I'm working on that- bring on the chocolate!!) and sent me to the laboratory for a malaria test, blood tests for all kinds of illnesses or any sign of a bacterial infection and the standard Dodoma-clinic sample tests (details withheld for the sake of any sensitive blog readers out there!). All tests came back saying that there was no sign of any infection, any nasty parasites or worms (thankfully!!) nor any malaria or illness that they could identify. Whatever it was that was making me feel unwell remains to this day a complete mystery.
This can often be the case in Dodoma. We get sick, we put off going to the clinic until we have to and then when we do go, we still may not know what is wrong. So when people ask, "What's wrong?" the question is more of a rhetorical question!
Finally, I spoke to Interhealth in London, who were most helpful. They sugested that I should try taking a course of tablets to treat malaria, just in case, to see if it made me any better. Andrew leapt into action, taking down the antimalarials pills which are an essential component of our Dodoma medicine cupboard and he sorted out my correct doses and tucked me into bed with my initial dose of  4 pills and a glass of milk.
Four days later, I began to feel much better and am now fully recovered. The malaria treatment seemed to work- but whether I actually had malaria or whether the pills just killed off another type of infection, we will never know! So if you ask me what was wrong with me, I couldn't tell you- it's the rhetorical question!

Hidden Talent

If Andrew finds that he would like to set up a side-line business alongside his work as a MAF pilot, we have now discovered that he has great hidden talent -as a Cake Decorator!
Two weeks ago, Esther celebrated her 6th birthday. To mark the occasion, she had asked me to make her a "flower birthday cake". Not being a talented cake maker, I was a little alarmed at the prospect of trying to produce a suitable cake- but the internet is a wonderful resource! I looked online for "flower cakes" and found a fairly easy-to-make sunflower cake with clear, simple instructions on decorating and a photo that I could print out to guide me.
The day before Esther's birthday, I made the cake- but was a little nervous about chopping it up into the correct shape and decorating it appropriately. That's where Andrew stepped in. Knowing that he is far more precise and careful than I am when it comes to fine detail, I asked for assistance- but we were both surprised when Andrew revealed his brilliant talent for cutting out and decorating cakes! He took over the operation and here he is, hard at work, the night before the birthday:

 In the morning, our special Birthday Girl approved the cake design and was thrilled with her Dad's excellent work! Ben and Joel also seemed impressed, even if the cake was a bit too flowery for Ben's more boyish taste...

 The cake was a big hit at Esther's party- it's just a shame it couldn't have been kept for longer, but the petals were soon consumed by hungry children, whilst the leaves and centre disappeared before our eyes as adult guests helped us to polish it all off!

 Esther celebrated turning 6 with a swimming party at the pool located on the MAF compound. She invited 9 young friends to come and swim, before inviting them back to our house for lunch, party games and, of course, the birthday cake! Great fun was had by all...

 Andrew acted as life-guard in the pool and a couple of helpful mums also stayed at the poolside to help keep an eye on the swimmers for safety's sake. However, even the non-swimmers got adventurous and enjoyed the water...

 Ben had a great time at his big sister's party, clambering in and out the pool, with best buddy Aleah (from Nursery school and MAF) always at his side...

 Back at the house, it seems that traditional party games are always the best, with Pass the Parcel being as popular as ever- and even Joel could join in this one by thrashing around with the discarded wrapping paper!

When the guests had left and the house was restored to some kind of order, Esther spent the rest of her birthday playing with her new birthday toy- keeping with the theme of her swimming party as she enjoys a Playmobil swimming pool. However, I am not sure whether it was Esther who had the most fun playing with her toys, or whether it was Andrew in working out how to assemble the Playmobil model- another talent that Andrew has unearthed since becoming a dad!

Brackenhurst

It was fantastic to visit Kenya. It was well worth the long road trip either way, even though our visit was so brief!
On our first day in Niarobi, Jenny and I were very excited to visit a large shopping centre, where we stocked up on general goodies that we can't get in Dodoma. I filled the car with bags of toiletries, baby foods for Joel and cheaper nappies... etc etc!
We also enjoyed the delights of western-style coffee shops/ cafes- a real treat for us Dodoma-ites!! There was great excitement as we ordered western treats such as milk-shakes, a mug of tea and fancy food on shiny plates (although Joel looks as if he can't imagine what all the fuss is about!!)

Then it was back in the car, to drive the hour and a half to Brackenhurst-such a tiny, short journey compared to the road trip to get to Nairobi itself from Dodoma!!

Brackenhurst is an annual conference for people working in East Africa with Christian mission organisations/ schools/ agencies. This was our first visit, although many families and individuals attend year after year. We had such a good time, we could definitely see why people return again and again!
This year, there were over 200 people attending the 4 day conference. About a quarter of the conference this time round seemed to be MAF families- so here is the photo of the MAFers at Brackenhurst 2011-12!

11 MAF families of 6 different nationalities, working with MAF across Tanzania, Uganda and South Sudan but all part of the same new year conference in Kenya. It was fun to catch up with old MAF friends, including several neighbours who have left Dodoma over the past 2 years. Esther and Ben were delighted to catch up with their old play-buddies who used to live next door to us. We also met new friends and I got to meet the Swiss MAF family who used to live in our Dodoma house!

Each day, there were workshops, teaching sessions and sport or family activities to choose from. The teaching sessions were excellent and led by an Australian church minister who worked with a church mission group for 10 years in Indonesia.
The accommodation in small cottage-style rooms was lovely- with the HUGE bonus of NOT having mosquito nets! Brackenhurst is too high for the malaria mosquito- for me, it was such a huge relief to be in a place where I did not need to worry about my children catching malaria. Joel approved the accommodation...

 ...and we all loved the food. Esther and Ben loved being able to have meals again with their little friend Esther Cousley who is now living in Kampala:

 The setting for the meals was very grand and the food was always fantastic:

 We also enjoyed the regular outdoor breaks for tea, coffee, cakes and biscuits:

 The grounds of the conference centre were beautiful. We loved the greenery and the cooler environment, which made it far more pleasant to be outdoors compared with the burning sun on hot Dodoma days.

On New Year's Eve, there were lots of fun events for the children: short horse riding treks...

 ...bouncy castle adventure, although Joel is not too sure about all the noise and bouncing!

 And we all had fun spotting the wild animals hanging out near the bouncy castle- some more scary than others:

 In the evening, there was a short children's party, with a treasure hunt for chocolate coins...

 ...and glow sticks to wave in the dark:

 As night fell, apparently there was a watchnight service, then a midnight bonfire and fireworks- but some of us were just too worn out to attend, especially with a long drive ahead of us the next day... We had a fantastic break at Brackenhurst and are grateful for the opportunity we had to attend as we welcomed 2012.

Road Trip

Early in the morning on Boxing Day, we 5 Parkers and our friend Jenny (the music teacher at Esther and Ben's school) set off on an exciting 2-day Road Trip in the Parker Mobile, headed for the Brackenhurst Conference in Nairobi.
It felt like setting off on an epic journey as we packed the car with holiday luggage, nappies, baby food, picnics, baby-bed, mossie nets, toys to keep little ones occupied- and of course, the smaller items such as hand-gel for those necessary road-side stops (and loo roll of course!!). Our route would not be taking us via any handy Costa Coffee or Motorway Service Stations or M+S Food shops, so everything we needed for the 2 days had to be packed and arranged before we hit the road.
In total, our reliable and excellent driver, Andrew, reports that we drove 1,600 km (1000 miles) on our round trip, up to Nairobi and back to Dodoma. It was a long ride, with 4 days in the car overall to drive up and return home, but we enjoyed it. The children travelled really well and it was fun to have Jenny with us for the journey up north. Here are some of the photos...

Boxing Day- and it is mid-morning: time to stop to feed Joel, make a cuppa and get some exercise by this pretty little lake:

 The children managed well in their car seats for most of the 4 days of driving:

 Some roads were in good condition and we whizzed along...

 ... stopping every now and then for pedestrians:

 Other roads were not so great- somewhat bumpy!

 And sometimes the road simply disappeared! Arriving here, we had to ask where the road had gone- and then followed an hour and a half of off-tar diversions...

 ...which was a bit of a bone-shaker of a ride, but fascinating for Ben, as he loved all the diggers and dumpers busy constructing a new tar road to link Dodoma to northern Tanzania:

 On Boxing Day, we arrived in Arusha after a 9 hour drive. We stayed in a Guest House situated on the same compound as the home of our MAF Arusha friends, so we enjoyed some tea/coffee with them in the evening, followed by a fabulous Norwegian-style breakfast (fresh bread, cheeses, cold meats- delicious!) with them at their home the next morning.
After our fab breakfast, we hopped back in the car and drove to a coffee plantation lodge in Arusha, to meet up for mid-morning coffee with our friends from St Michael's in London. It was wonderful to see Rena and Jon and their boys and the children had fun with a brief swim in the pool at the lodge- a good start for Esther and Ben, to burn off some energy before being contained in the car again for today's 6 hour journey across the border and up to Nairobi.

 A couple of hours later, we crossed into Kenya!

 There were some interesting sights on the road- just like Tanzania:

 We arrived in Narobi that evening and stayed in another Guest House, before heading off to the Brackenhurst Conference the following day...

Four days later, it was time to take up another Road Trip- but this time we were headed home to Dodoma.
On Sunday, we left Brackenhurst after the morning tea-break and drove away from Nairobi, out of Kenya and back to Tanzania:

 We were excited to have AMAZING views of Kilimanjaro for about an hour of the drive either side of the border. Andrew often flies near Kilimanjaro but tells me that it is rare to get a day when the cloud lifts enough to be able to see the summit so clearly. On the way up to Nairobi we had not even been able to see the mountain at all, never mind the summit, so we made the most of the beautifully clear day and enjoyed the views of Africa's highest mountain:

A short while later, the stunning views of Kilimanjaro were replaced by stunning views of Mount Meru.

  Since it is rainy season in Tanzania, we saw Tanzania at its best, with beautiful green scenery most of our trip- it was so refreshing to see such fantastic views and to enjoy the green while the grasses and bushes are still flourishing. There were plenty of other interesting sights and views to enjoy en-route, such as seeing the Masai in their coloured robes, or "shuka", buying and selling at the side of the roads:

 We even saw a baptism in a river on New Year's Day:

 There were frequent stops along the way and we were sometimes joined by the locals, whether that was curious children, friendly villagers- or wild donkeys!

 Joel did well to manage the long drives, but he also got his own little road stops to fill up on babyfood and milk, while we grabbed a moment to make tea- a refreshing change after munching sandwiches in the car while speeding along the highways, in order to save time!

 Joel's babyfood was not the only essential to pack into our car. I also travelled armed with a sewing kit, which proved very useful in Guest Houses along the way to repair gaping holes in mossie nets!

 And finally, wherever we may roam, there are always reminders of my roots along the way, to keep me in mind of our family and friends in distant England!