let's begin some major road construction this afternoon

 

It started out like an ordinary Sunday afternoon.  I (Ben) drove into town to go to the market.  When I returned, I discovered the little cow path to our house was under major renovation.

 

 

As I waited for the road grater to pass, I wondered, "Why begin major road construction on a Sunday afternoon at 5:15pm?  And why not warn residents ahead of time?"

 

 On my third try I was able to build enough momentum to plow through the giant dirt mound.

 

We're thankful that after this is all over, our road should be nice and smooth. 

 

 



see the hippos, call the soldiers

It was 2:00 a.m. We were sleeping uncomfortably in the heat, under our mosquito net. Suddenly, the cell phone buzzed. It was our night guard. He whispered (in Swahili), "did you hear the hippos?  They're coming closer." Half-asleep I mumbled, "What?! What are you talking about?" He replied, "We have to call the government. They will send the soldiers to shoot the hippos and kill them." Still sleeping, I muttered, "What?!" Then the night guard asked me a fun question, "Do you have the phone number of the soldiers?" Well, surprisingly, at 2 a.m. I didn't have the government's phone number handy. Should I call the President and tell him we hear hippos somewhere nearby???

The next morning, all we saw was some huge poop on the beach outside our back gate. Jeannette had a faint memory of a strange sound like a deep bass drum underwater. Since then, we've learned that hippos really do pose a significant threat. Just don't get in their way! Maybe next time I should call the soldiers :)


Curiously Tanzanian...

Lake Flies Aftermath

You've seen pictures and videos of lake flies swarming and invading...
(check here:  http://gerthfamilytanzania.blogspot.com/2013/04/behold-mighty-swarm-of-lake-flies.html )

But this is the aftermath of lake flies....



...and everything stinks like dead fish!

Welcome to Musoma!

Mama's Lettuce

We planted lettuce!!!  We're not sure what species of lettuce it is but we sure are thankful. Lettuce is a rare food in the market.  We made salads of lettuce, tomato, hard-boiled eggs and avocado which acted like a dressing.  It was really tasty!!!