a big round of applause

...goes out to my parents for a great visit and treating me to lots of good food, even when they were full.

After two surreal weeks, especially on safari and in zanzibar, I am now chilling in Dar es Salaam and waiting for a conference in a week and a half.

The visit was great, and my friends in Misungwi town were very excited to meet my folks. Guests are a big deal, so there were numerous dinner invitations and gifts and more-extended-than-usual greetings. And as fun as the safari was [we saw all the animals and lions devouring a wildebeest and baby cheetahs etc etc] and zanzibar is always nice [beaches, enough said, though will try to post more pictures again], I think it was this time in my town that was the most fun for me. I try my best to express some of what I hear and see and feel and say and think and do here, but a lot is lost in this medium, and it was nice to fill in the gaps for them.

Last night about 30 PCVs went to the American Embassy to sing national anthems for an official 4th of July party thrown by the ambassador. There were fireworks, which were nice, but most people were focused on the free drinks and bites. I tried my best to hobknob with some important people, but am not very good at shmoozing. Maybe one success story is that I met the general manager of the Dar es Salaam Holiday Inn who said we should let him know whenever we're in town [please refer to a previous post regarding breakfast buffet to understand the importance of this networking].


Short post now, as I have some grant report writing to do, want to go to the big holiday market in town, and then try to find a place to stay - the tourist season has started, and the hotels are booked.