Uncle Tim's Visit

It was great to have Andrew's brother, or "Uncle Tim" to the children, here with us in Dodoma for a week, after his trip to Malambo with Andrew. We always love having visitors out here in far off Africa! Ben was particularly excited to see Uncle Tim again, as he had heard that Uncle Tim now lives in Hong Kong and had convinced himself that Uncle Tim must therefore be Chinese and would come to Tanzania to teach us how to use chopsticks (with all the carefully thought out logic of a 3 year old!). 

Ben was rather disappointed to see that Uncle Tim was actually not Chinese!! To compensate, we all went out for lunch at Dodoma's very own Chinese restaurant at the main hotel in town- and Uncle Tim shared with us all his experience of eating with chopsticks- much to Ben's great delight!

  

Tim also got to see more of the sights of Dodoma, even though he has visited us once here before (during our very first Tanzanian Christmas).By the way, those are live chickens in the basket on the back of the bicycle, on their way into the market- for the very last time!

  Tim helped me out with a trip to the market, with a few more pictures here for you of our Dodoma "shopping centre", the market, as we bought some spices, peanuts, veg and fruit...

 ...and even a new bin, storage container and basket at one of the plastic stores:

 Tim poses with the heavy basket of potatoes and vegetables outside the main market entrance:

 ... and a shot of a nearby city street with some local "duka" -or shops:

 There was also time to drop Ben off at Nursery- and we are so pleased that Ben has settled in well and is thoroughly enjoying his new school- here he is registering his own name on arrival at school with his MAF friend, Aleah...

 ...and posing with his (kneeling!!) Nursery Teacher Miss Marion:

It was good to show Tim a bit more of our life in Dodoma, and spend time with Andrew's brother AND sister Claire all reunited together here in East Africa for a short time! (Thanks again Tim for the photos :-) )

MAF at work in Malambo

 Exactly two weeks ago today, Andrew's brother Tim arrived in Dodoma all the way from Hong Kong, to pay us a visit and meet his little nephew Joel for the first time. The day after arriving, he was whisked away by his brother Andrew to the north of Tanzania, in the Malambo area. He joined Andrew for 3 days of MAF work amongst the Masai people and was able to observe Andrew at work and help out with some of the practical aspects of the work. Above are are the Parker brothers, ready for action, by the MAF plane usually flown by Andrew...
... and following on from this picture are some of Tim's great photos. (Thanks, Tim!! I appreciate you letting me use your pictures!!). Seeing as I never go on these work safaris, it is always fascinating for the children and I to see a snapshot of Andrew's working life. I thought it might be interesting to share some of them with you as well. Andrew works for 3 days each month up in the north of the country with the Masai, flying their Evangelists and church workers to remote villages to assist them in their work, as well as being available to help out with medical emergency flights should the need arise. There are many rather difficult and remote airstrips to navigate as Andrew flies between isolated villages, but it seems that there is always a warm welcome for the MAF pilot!

 Safety is of paramount importance and part of Andrew's role is to carry out regular checks on the aircraft, sometimes with assistance:

 On a 3-day trip, there is also the need to refuel from the jerry cans kept up in remote Malambo for that purpose- an activity which apparently creates a lot of local interest:

 And here is the MAF pilot at work: meeting and greeting at various airstrips, flying over rugged terrain, organising passengers, making 32 take-offs and landings over the 3 days on dusty, sometimes challenging bush strips, taking the workers and supplies to places where land travel would take significantly longer- it's all in the 3 days' work!

 

 

At the end of the day, the pilot's hut in Malambo provided shelter for the weary pilot and his brother, after a meal shared with a local family in their nearby home. The plane is neatly parked outside- although Andrew and Tim are up at sunrise, to get the day's work underway!

More Health Issues...

Over the past week, we have had more sleepless nights and, as any mum would, I have been worrying over my children's health. Ben has come out in a nasty, itchy rash (scabies??? we hope not- not again!!), Esther has developed a week-long temperature with a nasty, hacking cough and Joel contracted an awful-sounding, chesty cough accompanied by wheezing and gurgling in his chest.
In my home country, these ailments would concern me, but out here they seem more frightening when there are so many nasty, tropical infections that they might be exposed to and when finding a reliable doctor is a hit-and-miss affair.
Having no medical training myself, imagination can run away with me as I wonder what they might be suffering from. Going to the doctor becomes a last resort instead of a first port of call, since we do not always feel we can trust the diagnosis given or the medicine prescribed. A trip to see the doctor means a whole morning put aside, with lots of waiting around outdoors, surrounded by all the other patients with various illnesses: that is the last thing you want when your child is feeling unwell and you are worried about exposing them to the sun and to new germs!
However, on Monday morning, Joel's cough sounded terrible and his wheezing was worrying us, so it was off to the clinic I went with little Joel... driving across to the other side of town and up the hill to DCMC- Dodoma Christian Medical Centre:

 The road is somewhat bumpy and sandy...

 ... but at DCMC it was not too busy on this Monday morning. Most of the mums, wearing their colourful khangas, were attending a Mother and Baby clinic, rather than waiting to see the doctor, meaning that our wait was not too long:

 We even met some Dutch friends up at the clinic, who took this picture of us sitting on the comfortable benches in the outdoor courtyard waiting area:

 Joel saw a very nice Tanzanian lady doctor, who is a trained paediatrician and had excellent English, which was very reassuring as we were able to discuss Joel's symptons easily. She diagnosed "pneumonia", which seemed a little extreme, but the antibiotics she prescribed for Joel seem to be the right medicine and he is now making a good recovery. It was a successful morning and I'm glad we made the trip up the hill, even if the traffic on the way back down had become rather busier, with a few more stops necessary:

As for Ben, we have treated the whole family for scabies, just in case, with mounds of washing of bedsheets, towels etc.- now we need to order more scabies cream from the UK in case we need it again in the future (I sincerely hope we don't though!!).  Esther is still coughing and after 7 days of fever, and 3 negative malaria tests ( :-) ), she is taking the same antibiotics as Joel (bought without prescription over the counter at the chemist!!) and seems to be turning the corner. So here's hoping that we get a better run of health for the next while ahead!

Spot the Difference?

Andrew in England (April)

 Andrew in Africa (August)

Nane Nane

Nane Nane means "Eight Eight" and refers to the public holiday on the 8th day of the 8th month, a day of national recognition for all farming and agriculture of Tanzania.
Each year in Dodoma there is a great Agricultural Show just outside of town. This year, I braved the crowds and took the children along to see what it was all about. A great area of land is dedicated to the event and despite the dried, brown land of Dodoma, an impressive array of crops, plants and livestock is displayed. There are also various stalls promoting Tanzania's tea and coffee products and others promoting farming machinery, tractors etc.
Andrew was supposed to come along with us, but at 07:30 on Monday morning, he was called out on a flight. Not wanting to let the children down, I made plans to go along with American friends from SIL (Wycliff Bible translators). I was grateful for the help with the children in what turned out to be a busy and noisy environment, but very interesting.

Not to be outdone, Andrew managed to fly back to Dodoma over the NaneNane site and smapped a great overall shot of the event from the air:

Meanwhile, on the ground, Esther, Ben and their American friend Josiah were drawn to the National Parks display of (caged) wild animals and reptiles, including a leopard (in the cage pictured below), a lion, a giant tortoise aged 152 years (!!), monkeys, an enormous python, cobras, vipers, scorpions, chameleons, mamba snakes and other charming creatures of Tanzania!

While crowds marvelled at the wild creatures, Joel proved to be quite an attraction himself, as the baby front-carrier caused many comments and a fair bit of laughter, as a novel and strange way to carry a baby according to many of the local Tanzanians!

 The size of the display tractors and their mighty wheels amazed the children...

 ... and there was time to sample the delicate texture and scents of Tanzanian tea in the Chai tent:

The sunflowers completed the interesting sights to see and enjoy on our Nane Nane outing.

Licence to Drive...

...in Dodoma! The red book is my old Tz licence and the other card is my sparkling, new updated licence! It is very exciting to have my new licence. These new licences have recently been introduced and we all need to switch over to them over the next few months.
There is good reason to celebrate the receipt of my new licence- as it is not a straightforward process! It took a couple of days, with several drives across town... I joined forces with Keep Fit teacher Margaret and her hubby Andy, plus Yoram, a very helpful Tanzanian MAF worker who came to assist us with our Swahili.

We started out at one building, where application forms are filled in, then a somewhat intimidating trip to the police station to get some forms signed, then back to the 1st building to get another paper signed, then back to the police station to see another official. One of them was absent, so we returned there another morning... but the required staff were still unavailable, so we returned home for a welcome morning cuppa.
The next stages were another trip to the police station, then back to the original offices again- and then a trip to the bank to pay the fee, followed by another trip to the offices after a couple of days to pick up the newly issued licence! Fortunately for me, my papers were all in order and just needed a couple of signatures, so I did not need to go along for any of these final stages. Yoram was able to follow these through on my behalf. Margaret and Andy also had to do a Highway code test, which I missed out on (to my relief!), but that is a whole other story...
Yoram delivered the new licence on Tuesday afternoon to a very grateful Liz!

Having a new licence is one less matter to worry about on the subject of cars, as I am now adapting to driving a different vehicle... we have switched over to using the Cousley's car, since it has more room to fit in our expanded family. Getting used to gears again after driving an automatic since we got to Tanzania, I am lurching my way around Dodoma in the new Parker Mobile- already decorated with evidence of my driving, as it sports the dust of Dodoma's roads! (at least the dusty exterior doesn't bother Ben, who is enjoying a little nap in our car this afternoon!)

Keeping Fit in Dodoma

There is no "Fitness First" gym in Dodoma, or any public swimming pool or Sports Centres. Taking up fitness as a recreational activity can be an alien concept to many; there may be little time outside of work and many people keep fit by necessity as they walk or cycle to get around. So when the doctor in England suggested that I should work on keeping fit, I was rather concerned about how I would manage this in Dodoma. Cycling is not an option until Joel is big enough to sit on the back seat of my bike and even then it can be dangerous in the Dodoma traffic. Walking around here with the pram causes so much attention, it can be a little draining at times, since prams are such a novelty in a country where mums carry babies on their backs.
One solution I came up with was to arm myself with "Rosemary Conley's Fat Burner and Fat Attack" fitness DVDs. However, I do not relish the idea of making a spectacle of myself prancing around my lounge on my own, in time to the energetic beat of Rosemary's classes!
Fortunately, help is at hand right here on my doorstep!! I was so pleased to meet Margaret on my return to Dodoma, who is here for a few months. Margaret is a physiotherapist and is now leading a Ladies Keep Fit class every Saturday morning in the front room of her MAF house. What a bonus to be able to join in and work on my fitness with some other MAF ladies, as we learn from Margaret and benefit from her expertise!

This is now what my Saturday morning looks like, with children in and out the room as they keep an eye on their hard-working mums!

The First Day

Today was another first in the Parker family. This morning, Ben set off bright and early for his very first day of Nursery School! The beginning of Ben's school career...

A very excited Ben packed his school bag first thing in the morning and was all smiles as we left the MAF compound:

 Ben and his little Swiss friend and neighbour from MAF stand ready to enter Nursery School at the playground gates:

Once in the classroom Ben sits down to draw a self portrait with his little friends from Switzerland and Australia while one of his Tanzanian classmates looks on:

Andrew collected a very bouncy and delighted Ben at 12pm. He came home full of news about his new school and playground. Lets hope this is the first of many happy school days ahead!