Shagalabagala

Okay, the title today is one of my favorite words in Kiswahili and it means chaos, or disorganization . . . often times here I find myself in mass "shagalabagala" . .. such an appropriate word :)

So, I have had an eventful past two weeks. Mikumi National park was amazing. . . I stuck my head out the dirty bus window, let the wind blow through my hair, and took picture after picture of elephants, zebras, hippos, impalas, etc. . . but alas, no lions or leopards to be found. They were all hiding somewhere . . . I did, however, climb part of a 500 year old baobob tree, and I have a picture to prove it . .. but of course, can't upload it just yet.

I got really sick the week upon return . . in fact, many of us did, probably from some under-boiled water or something we injested on the road or at the motel (which, by Tanzanian standards, was extra fancy!) it had showers!!! However . .. freezing cold showers, which I would prefer my bucket bath over that anyday.

I am happy to say that today, I am feeling healthy- energy and apetite are back to normal! whew, I was a little worried when I didn't want to eat anything . .. that is very unlike me, very.

I got my hands on some red wine! at mikumi . .. though it was really acidic, came out of a box, and was reminiscent of "church wine" . . .

Cheese, on the other hand, is still nowhere to be found :( A really understanding volunteer who has been here for a year offered to get us some chocolate from Dar es Salaam, and he came back with a twix bar for me in exchange for 1000 shilingi .. . and my god, was it heaven. even though, I don't ever eat those in the states, it was like dreaming . .. two minutes of chocolate and caramel bliss.
seriously, you never know what you're missing until it is extremely hard to find and way out of reach.
there are rumors that we may be getting ice cream next time we visit dar .. . and we are all counting the days.

So, I have so much to talk about and so little time left at the internet cafe, so here goes:

the following weeks I will_
go to Nane Nane- the country-wide agricultural fair which we will be attending in Morogoro
after that, I will be shadowing a volunteer for an entire week, though I dont' know where yet
after that, we are in Dar es Salaam for our site announcements!
I can't wait to find out . .. I'm just itching with curiousity . . .

I will be taking my final exams soon . . . so far I have gotten b averages on my midterms (not unlike college . . .) but I hope to improve for my finals.

I will keep you all updated, and please, keep the emails, messages, letters and phone calls coming!
I appreciate any and all support, really!!!! It's what keeps me going on my down days . . .

If you would like to contact me or send a letter/package, here are my contacts:

Cristina Lalli
U.S. Peace Corps Tanzania
P.O. Box 9123
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
East Africa

I will let you all know my permanent address as soon as I get it, but this one works for now.

I love and miss you all.

Kwa herini!

love,
cristina