A day of highs and lows today. Well, first, last night.



We went to a wedding send-off party which essentially is the bachelor, bachelorette, and bridal shower all wrapped into one. It is so different here because time doesn't exist. The first thing the MC of the send-off party said was where the bathrooms were, and that was a good idea because the party lasted from 6pm until well after midnight! The funny part about this send off was that it an Englishman and a Tanzanian woman were getting married. It was a bit odd to think that because we were white we were automatically associated with the groom, but that is what happened. The party itself was crazy. There was a pep band basically that marched in with the couple and throughout the night they would just randomly play loud notes whenever someone would get done saying something or when a present was given. There was also a choir that sang in Swahili. The highlight was definitely the Swahili Halleilujah's Choirs. It was so funny to hear and was especially funny because at the time they started I was going to the bathroom in the long drop toliet, which is exactly as it sounds, a long drop to a hole in the ground. Instead of a wedding cake they had a goat that was cook whole and they also had an enormous gift presenting ceremony in which everyone danced up the aisles singing and kissing the cheeks of the couple before setting the gifts down on the table. It was a high energy night that was incredible!



The energy continued into this morning as we went to a Tanzanian church service. There, everyone sang their lungs out in Swahili, even though most of the time they were out of key. They had a little pump organ in the corner to play the music and had a 20 minute offering. It was crazy. This little church that collects 151,000 Tanzanian Schillings a Sunday (equivalent to about $151) is building a new Lutheran University with a few neighboring congregations. The cost of the new university is 75 million T Schillings! They are very ambitious and had a huge ceremony for offering. Everyone brought their 5-10 cents and contributed. They had anyone who had been blessed give a special offering and people give offerings after the general and blessing offering for specific funds. It was great to see the generosity out of these people who have so little. Very unlike America. Also, unlike America was the alter- there were two chickens on it! IT was really funny because after the service they were holding an auction, so two people donated chickens and put them up by the alter with all the other offerings, and randomly throughout the service, the chickens would start to squawk and try to fly away! It was a sight to behold. So after church the auction was held. I had brought fabric that we bought at wal-mart for $10 for 10 yds. AT the auction it was bought for 21,000 T sch. Almost $21! It was a hit! Also a hit was my polaroid camera. Everyone wanted to get their picture taken because most of them don't have any pictures. It was a bit overwhelming as all the kids shouted "mi mi" which means me. I had to tell them I was out of film so I could leave.



The need for attention was also seen at the hospital we visited today. It was kind of a bleak site. A nicely kept area, but there were 4-6 people per hospital room. They treated everything from births to burns to malaria to broken bones, but their lab and facilities were frighteningly basic. The other portion of the trip that spooked me was the orphanage. There is a small orphanage associated with the hospital and it houses about 30 0-6 year olds. We walked towards it and when we got near we heard them shouting "wagazi" which means visitors. Before we even got to the door they were running out and trying to hold our hands and get us to hold them. We all had a kid in each arm, but they were so attnetion deprived they didn't want to get put down and just followed us around. Kids were screaming and a 5 year old was carrying an infant tied around his back. It was a sad sight. A little boy stuck his shoe out indicating he wanted me to tie it. The whole time all I could think about was the research paper I did this summer and how I know that orphans in Africa especially have a hard, almost doomed life. With only 2 supervisors for all these kids, it obviously is hard for them to receive the care they need. When we had to go, they wouldn't let us put them down and followed us to the door. It was a sad afternoon to think that we just come in and look at this kids and think, oh, they're cute, but don't take enough time to help. I sincerely hope to get back to the hospital, perhaps on vacation time to help. There just isn't enough hands here to help everyone.



So that's today I guess. I put some new pics on the web, so check them out! They are very exciting.