Christmas Walk 2013

We're pretty minimalistic when it comes to traditions, but we've got a few things we try to keep consistent every year, no matter where we're at when Christmas rolls around.  One of them, speaking of rolls, is cinnamon rolls for Christmas breakfast.  This is a tradition both Andrew and I grew up with, so it is not like we had to choose sides or anything when it came to deciding what to have for our own family's Christmas breakfast!

Another tradition that we have is going for a Christmas day walk.  It's a great tradition for folks who might be anywhere in the world December 25, because you can (almost) always go for a walk.  In 2008, on our very first Christmas together, (side note: this was two days before we were engaged) we were in Olympia, WA, and it was really snowy.  We bundled up in hats, scarves, boots, and all of that nasty junk and tripped and stumbled around the neighborhood where my parents live, wading through the drifts and trying not to slip on the hills.

The next year we had been married for five months, and were between our time in England and moving to Tanzania as a couple.  We were in Arch Cape, OR, with Andrew's family for Christmas.  We went for a short little walk, and I don't remember much about it.  I think it was raining, but we toughed it out for a wee while.

In 2010, we were living in our first house in Tanzania.  For lack of much else to do that day, we decided that since we had gone for a walk both of the Christmases before, we should do another and call it a tradition.  (To read about Christmas 2010 and see pictures from our walk: http://www.amsandeen.blogspot.com/2010/12/christmas-2010.html.)

We kept up the tradition in 2011 (in Tanzania), in 2012 (on the Oregon coast for a beach walk with Andrew's sister Karen and her family - although we confess we did that one on the 26th due to Christmas day logistics and two tiny babies involved in the event), and in 2013 - see pictures below!

The little strip of blue just below the far-away hills is Lake Victoria.

The lake really is huge - this is just a wee inlet of it between two peninuslas

Zarya loves going outside!  As squished as she appears here, she's really quite happy in her carrier.

I love the ginormous rocks around here!

Hi everybody!  I can walk!  Zarya got to walk the last bit all by herself.

December cold snap

Walking!

Zarya is now walking everywhere - crawling is like, you know, so totally for babies, and she's a big girl now, you know.  I wanted a picture of her walking, but she kept following me, so I took this picture while speed-walking backwards.  Her forehead got trimmed off, but it's the best I could manage under the circumstances!

Playing with Baba and CowCow in the morning

As you might have noted in the picture above, Zarya is sporting long sleeves and shoes.  It's pretty cold here this week!  This morning we woke up to a 70-degree house, so had to pull out the fleece and socks and shoes.  It feels like a true December day, with us all bundled up to endure the cold snap.

So cute!  We love our baby. :-)

What to do if you think you might be ill and you're in Musoma

This is a post without pictures, because, trust me, you don't want pictures on this one.

Well, who can resist a cute Zarya picture?  So here you go, a not-really-related-to-this-post picture:

Anyway, so I thought y'all might like to know what we do around here when we suspect we might be ill. Unfortunately, I've got two recent examples.

The first took place several weeks ago.  I had been feeling uncomfortable in my interior regions all day, gradually getting worse.  That night, I spent a fair amount of time in a room other than the one where my bed was, if you know what I mean.  Unfortunately, we were scheduled to go on a trip, leaving early the next morning.  I was acutely miserable and was 99% sure of what was ailing my guts - amoeba.  And so, not having time to do anything else before leaving town, and anticipating a four-hour-long trip with no rest stops possible (well, possible - there were bushes), I went online.  Who needs a doctor or pharmacist when you have the internet?  I found out which amoeba medicine is okay to take when nursing, and then on our way out of town, we stopped at a pharmacy on our way out of town and picked up my drugs.  They cost about two dollars.

The other example is from yesterday.  Zarya had been showing some signs of perhaps being sick, but I wasn't sure if she really was, or what it was.  All I knew is that what I was finding in her diaper looked a little different than normal.  (I told you this post was better without pictures!)  So, I got a toothpick and scooped out some evidence and put it in a plastic bag, strapped Zarya into her carrier, and changed into my outdoor flip-flops.  Then she and I went off on a three-minute walk to the other side of the compound where we live, where there is a little medical clinic.  We carried her sample to the young man who runs the laboratory, who looked at it under his microscope.  He told me that he didn't find anything out of the ordinary in it, so we paid our thirty cent fee and walked home again.  At this point, I am not sure if she's sick or not.  Maybe it's the kind of sickness where you need to do a test other than looking at poo under a microscope, or maybe the young man just missed it.  Or maybe she's perfectly healthy and just ate too much fruit.  I guess we'll see how she does over the next few days.

Masatu wedding

George Masatu and Amanda Swift got married on November 30, and it was one fun party!  I was honored to be the "besty" - matron of honor/bridesmaid/attendant/witness for the occasion.  It involved a lot of smiling, standing, sweating, eating, waiting, dress-carrying, and even some kneeling.  I thoroughly enjoyed being part of the festivities.  I played a tiny role in getting George and Amanda together, so feel very successful as a matchmaker now - only twice (that I remember... but successes are easier to remember than failures) have I tried to set folks up, and twice they've ended up getting married.

This is me and the bride standing at the back of the church, waiting for the wedding march to begin for us to start going down the aisle (we walked in side-by-side - the bride's family is at the front of the church during the wedding, but don't parade down the aisle in TZ weddings).  I was very surprised by how so many people crowed up right behind and and were actually pushing against us, stepping on the back of the bride's dress and squeezing in between us at times, trying to see into the church.  I mean, like, hang on folks, this is the bride you're shoving!

Amanda's parents and family attended the wedding via Skype at about 1:00am their time.  Helping them attend was the gift of a few fellow missionaries who held this computer up, carrying it and applicable cords and antennae around for the entire wedding and reception.

Rings!  I like how they hold the hands and rings up while putting them on at weddings and engagements here - it's a big deal, so why not act like it?

Gift-giving is a big part of the reception.  People come up in groups (this is the choir that sang at the wedding, thus they are dressed alike) and gift group gifts, for the most part.  If a large piece of cloth is part of their gift (and many were), they are draped around the bride and groom.  I think there is some humorous significance to wrapping the wedding couple up in sheets at the front of the reception hall, but it being a very proper wedding, no overt jokes were made (as is I think more normal at some types of receptions).  But everyone had a good time, and I think dancing your unwrapped gift up to the front of the hall with everyone watching has a few fun points to it, although I don't think the idea will take off at American weddings.

We wish the Masatus all the best in their new marriage!