8.8.12 (Nane Nane)

Today is a Tanzanian holiday, Nane Nane. It means eight eight, as in the eighth day of the eighth month. No, there isn't a holiday like this every month, just this one and Saba Saba (seven seven). Because I thought about it and actually took several pictures today I thought I would share them.
We woke this morning to an all out storm, clouds, thunder, and yes rain! Not sure if you can tell in the picture but the walkway is wet! Also the grass in the background is looking pretty rough. We are currently in dry season so this rain was much appreciated.

We collected 2500 liters of water, about 5 days worth of water. Carson gets 1000 liters every time he goes to town.

Jude helped me make bread.

Then, he took a break to hang out with the guys.
Clearly Silas finds the Olympics to be riveting.

Here's our bread out of the oven. We had already eaten some of one of Jude's little loaves.

I used some of this fabulous sprouted Finger Millet in the bread. It was my first time sprouting anything and I think it turned out pretty well. You have to look pretty close to see the little white sprouts.

I also sprouted some Bullrush Millet, but haven't used any yet.

 Next up Green Gram, aka Mung Bean, aka the stuff you are buying when you buy bean sprouts at your local grocer.

Jude played with Legos a lot today. I built a garage for the 4-wheeler, and when I came back Jude had disassembled the roof and grouped all of the blocks of the same color together. This kid is very concerned with things that match going together. He also tries to avoid using anything that is not blue or yellow. I don't know who he got this tendency from. :)

Carson worked on more editing and we finished the day with dinner at the Groen's. 

Happy Nane Nane!

Dry Season in Geita

We’re from Tennessee, a place with 4 distinct seasons. I love that about Tennessee and I miss it terribly. In Geita the seasons in the course of a year are supposed to go, rainy, dry, rainy, dry. I’m honestly still not sure exactly when each of these seasons is supposed to start, because every Tanzanian you ask seems to have a different opinion. One will say it’s not supposed to be raining and another will say that he’s worried the crops are all going to die because it is supposed to be raining. 

It's hard to photograph the dust, but here is one of my attempts.

In dry season the red Geita dust abounds, forming a cloud each time a car drives down the road that lasts for several minutes. The house gets more dusty (since we keep our windows open) and white clothes turn beige hanging on the line. Dry season means months without a single drop. The world around us turns brown. And then the clouds start to come. We have overcast days without a singe drop of rain. We watch the dark clouds blow in and then away without leaving us any of their liquid. And then it happens. One day the rain comes. Today we had several minutes of sprinkles, for the first time in months. The last rainy season was pitiful so we are more than ready for the next one. It probably won’t really get going until sometime between September and December, but every little drop brings hope and anticipation. It’s the cycle of life. The more dry seasons I experience here the more I appreciate the rain. I no longer wish the rain would go away and let my laundry dry. I savor every drop because I remember what dry season is like. I remember what a gift the rain is. Rainy season for us means that Carson doesn’t have to go and get water in the truck. (He goes three times a week during dry season.) It also brings cool mornings that feel like Fall and the sort of calm that makes me want to drink tea and take a nap.

In this picture you can see the tiny sprinkle droplets hitting our walkway.

*The dry season we’ve been experiencing isn’t the drought you’re hearing about in countries north of us. 

I wrote this post yesterday, but didn't get it posted. This morning we woke to slow rain which has now turned into- the bottom dropped out pouring with thunder to boot! Our tank is filling via the rain water collection system and Carson is sitting on the front porch eating Reese's cups, wearing a coat! It's a beautiful day in Geita!