Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Obama takes the cake, hope for hope!



This is the one van in and out of my village



Witi, Me, Mama Witi and my baby Heverittie :) Yeah, I'm tired!


Making banana pancakes,
well I will be when the load of nanners I chopped from my tree are ready to eat in a few days. I guess I gotta wait for them to chill out and soften up in a bag for a few days!
No sad news this week. I’m going to keep this update short, sweet and happy because that is how everything should be.
I have seen the most beautiful stars of my life the last few nights. I have eaten a lot of fresh tomatoes that almost taste like my dads…almost! I have made real coffee, not instant garbage, and it is WONDERFUL. I created a collage of pictures and letters and all things wonderful that everyone is sending me and I hung it up to smile at everyday. I got the best letter from my Grandma, with a picture that Annette took a few St. Patty’s Days ago (a picture that I didn’t want her to take and now I am soooo grateful she took it)! My lettuce has started sprouting. My green pepper plants are stellar and so is my lone stalk of corn. My avocado tree refuses to bear fruit, but we have been having some chats and I think that it might give me one, just one rich and nutty little morsel of joy.
I met with the Mwalimu Mkuu (principal) of the primary school and have a whole slew of projects to start working on when the rain comes, it’s so funny but we are all waiting for the rain to come! That’s so to the root of life, just waiting for the rain. Really? I love it. I love life.
I miss my family, neighbors, friends, lovers, roommates, my old everything, but I wake up to the sound of chickens and birds of all manner and I know that I would not be happy being anywhere else but here. Really, it’s true.
Peace Corps came to my site the other day and it was really strange having visitors. I didn’t do a great hostess job, but I answered all of the questions of Novatus (who speaks English) in Kiswahili and he laughed and told me he was impressed. Haha, let me just pat myself on the back a little more.
Mama Witi is doing good. We went to her farm last week and I dug around and picked some leaves and water some potatoes and my village thinks its crazy that I went to the farm. It seems that anything that I do that they would do on a daily basis is totally mind blowing. Whatever, I’m white, I speak your language, I have working hands and feet and I can do your work. Does that make me an anomaly or a threat? Who knows.
Halloween has come and gone and I’m glad it’s over. I went to the disco and had too much fun, and the next day Tara and I took over the kitchen at the hotel in Njombe and made ourselves a huge fruit and veggie salad and sat on the roof getting sun burned and pigging out. It was wonderful!
Everyone in my village is doing good except for the people who are dying of AIDs and Anita, my little buddys Heveritte’s best kid friend. Anita fell off the back of a bike a few weeks ago and now her leg is broken and she can’t move until January. My heart is only so big and can only bleed so many tears feeling bad for everyone so I gave her some candy and I gave her mom and bunch of tomatoes to say sorry and I’ve made peace with it all. What else can I do?
That’s my life!
I think I am going to hibernate in the village for a few weeks until I venture off for Thanksgiving so this will be the last update for a little while. I want everyone to know that I am full of nothing but love and peace and send it with a smile and little bit of sunshine right to your door, just look for it and it’s there.

P.S. Rode the bus to town this morning with a woman who was in labor and then a Tanzi told me that Obama won the election! WooHoo! I am so happy! Also, got a random package from Sister Young from Detroit....thanks! Love the art supplies and candy

ALSO, I got a great e-mail from this fair trade company called Global Sistehood the website is: www.globalsistergoods.com Check it out, I'm trying to hook them up with Tanzi Kitenge fabric...! The owner of the companry is a RPCV from Namibia!

13 comments:

Nathan C Tomson MA, ATC said...

Hello hunny! I hope you are doing well. How about Obama? I wrote in Connor Lincoln's journal about this historic election and how happy we are that he might have that same opportunity some day. Thank you for keeping us updated and thank you for all the work you are doing in Tanzania. You ROCK! Love the Tomson family.

Margaret said...

Nathan! Thank you so much :) How is little Connor Lincoln doing? I would love to see some pics...guess I should check out facebook! Glad you're reading! Love to you all, and FYI YOU ROCK, I'm just living the dream! : )

Unknown said...

Hey Girl;

I see that the fruits of your labor are now paying off, now if the Avocado's would just listen to your little chat with them, you'll be enjoying them in no time as well. Nothing tastes as good as the fruit and vegetables cultivated with your own hands, there is just something about it which makes it taste so much better :) Not sure if you know this, but my heritage is American Indian, when we were kids we had to participate in an Indian Guides Cultural Course and at the end we had to have this big Pow Wow, well I won the First Place Prize for my Rain Dance. Now it has been roughly 33 years since I have done that dance and my husband is gonna laugh at me later tonight, but I am gonna do the Rain Dance for ya (who knows he might actually like it, lol). Let me know if it works hahaha! Take-Care and we'll be looking forward to your Thanksgiving post. Peace & Love~
Rose

Margaret said...

Oh Rose! I hope that you really did do that rain dance because I totally got rain! Thank you so much for being awesome! : )

Unknown said...

That is just too funny! My husband laughed at me that night because I actually put on my Pow Wow garb that I wore as a kid which consisted of all hand made items, we had to make our entire costume ourselves. So it was a yellow dress, moccasins a beaded head band that was my first place prize and my yellow fringed shaw. I will send you a picture of what it looked like back then, we did not take a picture the other night, well because I'm old now and I like to keep the memory of me as I was when I was young hahaha! Anyway, I did do the dance, and he did like it as I predicted, he liked it way too much :) Funny thing is way back all those years ago it rained then too and now for you. Either coincidence or I'm onto something here, I choose to go with the later, lol. Bet the kids in your town would love to see me in my costume doing that dance, they would think I was some crazy person!
Let me know if you need more rain I am sure my husband would appreciate a repeat performance!
Take Care Margaret and thanks so much for the reply, I am smiling right now :)
Peace & Love Always...
Rose

Angela said...

wow the adventure your on. I cant even go camping. Well were all good. I typed out this huge comment well more like a letter, and it didn't work. So I'm a bit frustrated and tired. So OBAMA won!!! Sam got to vote. She was so proud. And so was i. We just love your posts. And cant wait to read them. I'm so glad your doing well. And doing what YOU want to do. You LOOK GREAT!!! Keep the post coming. Ill write soon. love Angela,XOXOXOXXO

Angela said...

AND WE LOVE YOU SO VERY MUCH!!!!!
PLEASE TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF!!!!!
HAVE FUN!!!!!!
TEACH!! TEACH!! TEACH!!
AND WE MISS YOU!!!
AND NOW THE WATER WORKS ARE COMMING!!!! boo hoo :(
I DONT WANT TO SAY GOOD BYE, SO ILL SAY GOOD NIGHT LOVE!!!
XO

Unknown said...

yo margaret all of your family misses u !

Unknown said...

hi your family misses u [some how even tommy] :]

Unknown said...

This is Karly...........PEACE 2 Afraica

Unknown said...

hey margaret ! i did'nt read your last 2 until after the election. i told he's (obama) the one.

i'll put together some guitar tabs for you to play with, and send them along.

have a happy thanksgiving.

- mr. pete

Danelle said...

Margaret,
It's been such a trip to get your letters and to see pics of my old place. I have to admit reading your blog and hearing about the old village brings back a lot of memories, some good some bad. I remember the ups and downs of PC life and I have to say it was probably the one thing I disliked the most. The dishonesty with money always drove me crazy! Now I just chaulk it up to "thats TZ". I would love the chance to call and talk about the village. Who better to understand than someone who spent two years there? Besides I'd love to know how things are going. So really theres a selfish reason for it too. I would like to send you a package but I'd like to know how strict of a veg are you? Any cravings? I had a thing for beef stew. Strange but then dreams of filled donuts might seem odd for some people. I remember spending hours talking of the foods we all wanted and missed. Cold milk was the top of the list for a lot of us. My son is having a break down so I will go. He's teething. Please give my love to Mama Witi and Witi, By the way I was thinking of sending some money for them. Any suggestions? Does witi need money for school or did she fail out of school? Must go the screaming is louder,

Peace,
Danelle

Unknown said...

Hey Margaret,
Just wanted to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving. Hope you spend it with the people you have come to love in TZ. Peace, Love and Happiness to you always. Gobble, Gobble :)
Rose