last walk to the market

April 25th The teachers’ never played the students in netball after my last post. Every time I would show up at the court no one would be present. Not sure why I was ever asked to play in an imaginary game. Today, there is supposed to be a student versus teacher soccer game but I am not counting on it ever happening. It rained all last week. The weather was quite miserable and the footpaths became extremely difficult to walk on. I think my butt is permanently bruised. Fortunately, on Saturday I woke to perfect weather. Friday afternoon the rain stopped and I prayed that meant the end of it. I thought it was (for the last four days at least); the sun was shining and the footpaths finally dried over. Unfortunately, last night the rain returned in full force. For much of today it hasn’t stopped. Maybe this will be the weather routine for the next month: rain for a week, then no rain for a few days, then another week of rain. I truly don’t mind the rain all that much but it’s the cold weather that bothers me. I’ve resulted in sleeping in socks, sweatpants, and a sweatshirt again. If I can’t stand 60 degree weather I am not sure how I will deal with a Delaware winter this year! I celebrated the perfect weather by walking to the market in Katengele on Saturday. I did so much needed laundry on Saturday morning then left for my walk. I was happy to be on my own and climbed the mountain in record timing. Tanzanians make straw mats at the market which they use for sleeping. I think they are very good mats to stretch on. I’ve been using one all year and decided I should bring one back to the US with me. While walking home, I got many congratulations on my new purchase. If only they knew that I didn’t actually sleep on the dried grass. Along with my mat, I bought some food for the next week. Nothing else is going on on this side of the world…the garden is still growing well, still running a lot, and still working a lot, but no new rats to report! Tomorrow there is no school. On Union Day Tanzanians celebrate the unification of Tanganika (former Tanzania) and Zanzibar. Lindsay and I hope to celebrate by taking a trip to the local natural bridge: ‘Daraja ya Mungu’ or ‘God’s Bridge.’ Still waiting to find out if the hospital will lend us their car or not. Hope you are staying warm and having a great week! Love, Gretchen