Happy, Tired Sunday

Yesterday was our play day!

Playday happens once at month at the Faraja Trust Fund Home Based Care Center (or HBC).  It is a day where people from all ages, little mtoto (babies) to 20 year olds, come to the HBC center to play games and sports in the morning, have lunch, and then we take the 12+ group to the Rock Garden!

It was SO MUCH FUN.  All the little kids were so cute and so happy to play play play play play!  It was a little intimidating first walking in with all of the children running around, but 5minutes in and you had no room to breathe!  Some of the kids jumped on us right away but a lot of them were really shy.  Especially if they hadn't seen many wzungos before.  It happened quite frequently that morning that the kids would come up to me, slowly, and then carefully touch my hands or my arms, then my fingers, and my face.... and my hair.  Our hair is a lot different then what they are used to and they just marvel at the difference!  And they were touching me, if felt like, to see if I felt different or if you could actually touch me, something like that.  It was cute - but as soon as they determined I wasn't much different I became another toy (hahaha)!

One group of little girls that was around me were looking through some story books and there was one of Barbie.  In it Barbie was babysitting a little African girl, but the little girls would stare at Barbie, then look at me, and go back and forth... and then. Mzungo! Wewe! (White person - you!).  Like, I'm Barbie - we have the same long straight hair and white skin.  Frankie and Devon certainly thought it was hilarious... but it was kinda cute.

After lunch - wali, marahaga, and ndizi: rice, beans, and a banana - we took the older kids to Rock Garden.  Now the Rock Garden is this stream/river that comes down off of the mountain.  It is beautiful! Actually, it feels like you're back in Canada.  It is surrounded by trees, and trickles like a stream.  So there are certain parts where there are rocks in the water and other parts where it's flat - none of it is steep, but a steady run down the side of the mountain... so we swam!  The boys hiked further down stream to go swimming while the girls got to stay further upstream - it is taboo for the genders to swim together.  It was really nice.  Jenn and I and the girls ran around in the water, going a little up and a little down, deeper and more shallow, through rapidy rocks and calm pools.  SO fun!  And as a plus there is no seaweed or zebra mussels and completely cool to walk barefeet - no one got cut or anything! Poa sana!

So we followed the older girls, carried the younger ones and just hung out.  Splashing and talking - having some girly fun!  And then we all packed up and everyone got dropped off!

Anthony, Devon, Jenn and I went to Magunda's basketball game last night after we got home from our day!  It was cool - a lot like street ball.  Then we walked home, had some delicious dindin, and watched a movie with Mama Mwendy, Prisca and Happy (our neighbours, 20 and 18), and Zabi, and gossiped while they tried to get Jenn to agree to marry Mama's brother or Prisca/Happy's uncle - good times, good times.

Today we went to the market!!  Crazy crazy busy place.  It was fun, we were in a group of 5 white girls and one local guy (HP - one of the girl's boyfriends).  We just walked around, took everything in - then went to town for a bite to eat - yuuummyy fresh mango/passion fruit juice!.  

Now home time and then the next week ahead!

The four of us are going to Zanzibar this weekend!  Google Zanzibar beaches, you'll be jealous! :)

sending lots of love home!

J