Selous Riverside Safari Camp Selous Game Reserve

... It was nice of him to want to fill up the space for Jeremy. An MC talked, they had a comic for entertainment, there were a few speeches. Us Mzungu talked amongst ourselves in English. Someone from Happy's family began to introduce family members. The MC had said that Jeremy's family was here which was not completely true so Tim decided we should act as stand-ins. He introduced Jan as Jeremy's mom then said, 'Since Jeremy's father could not be here, I'm standing in ...

... Tanzanian and American began walking up the aisle. The piano was soon drowned out by the brass band and loud trilling. No one knew the band would do that. Soon Happy and Jeremy were at the alter and her mother's brother, another bishop welcomed all. During the two hour wedding, three choirs sang, the bishop gave a sermon in English and Swahili,and many other things happened that I can't describe because it was all in Swahili. I knelt on ...

... a head band around my head and inserted ear rings they had pressed from kanga material. Linda, Amy and I had headbands, Happy had another elaborate head piece. The reason for the kangas was the kitchen party. Similar to the bridal show in some ways, the kitchen party is when women give the bride-to-be gifts and advice. Linda and Happy told us that these can get quite raunchy as the women give rather graphic advice. Happy's parents made ...

... moving their tongues side to side. One woman I call the Blue Dancer was always the first out to dance. She is a large woman who can move. She runs up the aisle, arms waving in the air, a large grin on her face and her rear bouncing in rhythm. I'm not being rude about the rear. The Hey Hey dances are about stomping and sliding you feet while sticking your butt out behind you. You'll just have to see the video; the dances are really fun to watch and do. The relatives ...

... onto the table with a thud for no obvious reason other than it annoyed Pat. Pat has now driven the gecko out of the shower but it had taken up residence in the tent and has been trying her bed out for size. We are escorted to dinner by the Masi watchmen who told us two leopards were in the camp in the early hours of the morning and had climbed the tree where the monkeys sleep taking one. They obviously fancied a ...

... Dar but was moved to Dodoma for a fresh start. Unfortunately Dodoma is still er.. developing. On the way stopped to see a project helping street children and a secondary school twinned with British schools where we had an enthusiastic welcome from the students. Some impressive traditional dancing including one which invloved burning sticks. It was even more impressive when he set his hat on ...

... hippo are mainly in the water and it was hard to get good pictures. That one was nice enough to get out for us :) The driving safari was the best except for the repeat of a bumpy 6 hour drive, the bumps and bruises, and the HEAT!!!! Gosh I got burnt even with a ton of sunblock on. We saw baboon, impalla, giraffe and zebra the most! We saw a large herd of elephant, a family of lions, birds, hippo, crocs, wild pig, wildebeest, and others who shall ...

... are so high and thus causing the high number of orphans. But it is heartbreaking and difficult to look at the children in the program and understand fully the stories of their lives. I spent everyday watching the girls who lived at the center dance and sing and work together. They were such a community and wise beyond years, so kind to one another....each woth a horrific story of becoming an orphan, then left to live on the streets ...

... went, eventually choosing to camp at the Riverside Campsite just 12 km outside Iringa town. We arrived in good time to do a load of laundry, shower and relax for a while. We opted to eat dinner in their dining room, along with the other guests. Another treat awaited us: a large Indian buffet was being served, and then chocolate brownie for dessert (with nuts, unfortunately for me). Riverside Campsite offers Swahili lessons to tourists, families, or ...

... police removed the road block and we drove the remaining 3 hours to Mwanza. Arriving only 14 hours late!!! It was an adventure to say the least. I can finally cross that experience off my list! I was lucky that the bus was half-full of students going home for a school break. I was actually able to make friends with one of them who explained what was going on. It was such a comfort to know that some people on the bus spoke English.