Mambo from Tanzania! The Shooks, including James, are back together again with malaria medication of three varieties, 16 gig camera memory cards, questionable electricity, and lots of laughter. We are so grateful that we were able to safely travel to Africa and spend time with Andrew over the holidays. Every day we learn more about what Andrew is experiencing here in Tukuyu and couldn’t be more overwhelmed by how he has learned to speak another language and live in another culture drastically different from our own. You can tell his students respect him and they were all excited to meat us and laughed as we tried to eat ugali and beans.

Andrew has been an excellent host! We have seen the town, shopped in the market, eaten the local fare and hiked in the beautiful countryside (a lush jungle of sorts)! The first hike took us to the Ngozi Crater Lake, a dormant volcano now filled with water that magically changes color. Our guide (Andrew) thought we’d make it in an hour and a half… He forgot to account for the elevation change (1.5 miles higher), and those of us from the flat lands struggled just a wee bit. We didn’t quite make it in the hour and a half, but we made it and took lots of pictures.

The next day we hiked to Kaparogwe Waterfall. The children in the village where we parked followed right behind us down the trail and stayed with us until we were ready to hike back. They loved Dad’s whistle and all tried to whistle like him.

It’s an interesting experience to see just how well accustomed these children were to the surrounding topography. A steep muddy path and a jump to a rock across a rushing river would take us a few minutes to navigate but a single child was able to simply hop across these various obstacles like they were a few decorative stones in a garden.

The majesty of the surrounding environment is incredible. It’s like a piece of the original earth God created has been left untouched; a beautiful masterpiece for us to observe and admire. The waterfall was a towering force of nature. The water spilled over the edge and fell crashing into the rocks below; transformed then into a calm pond flowing into a river that had cut a path through the stones and jungle. It felt a lot like being in part of a Lord of the Rings movie. Due to some event long ago there was a cavernous space in which we were able to sit just behind the waterfall. The view was simply one of the best things I have ever witnessed. Just gazing around I realized just how incapable my human brain was in attempting to fathom the magnificence of this place. I would walk for half a minute to turn around and find the rest of my family looked like toy soldiers as they entered the space carved out behind the falls. Then we could turn and look out at the world of Africa. I really wish I had words or a picture that would allow me to convey the mind blowing capacity of awesomeness I was able to experience by standing there. A picture is worth a thousand words but being there is worth more than a lifetime of pictures.

The people were all inviting. We heard Karibu (welcome) everywhere we walked. We also saw stares, as we literally are the only white people there and an anomally for the young ones in particular. Wazungu (white people) the young people would call. They would laugh as we would respond to their shikamoo (how are you respected one?) with Marahaba tentatively. The market place was a conglomeration of energy; shacks with 3 sides and a roof, barely. You could buy almost anything you wanted. Fresh fruit and vegetables are laid out for all walkers by to see and purchase. We would walk through a maze to move from one shop to another, following Andy like a row of ducklings. We are transformed by witnessing how a developing country lives contently with the simplest items. Yet, we ponder how all have certain 1st world items, like cell phones.

One of the fun things at the market was choosing cloth. Andrew decided to have dresses and shirts tailored for us. We each chose cloth and went to the tailor to be measured. Andrew will bring the finished product in March.

We traveled cross-country via bus, an interesting experience anywhere, but especially so in Tanzania. The driver raced as fast as he could over mountains and through jungle, managing to pick up three speeding tickets in the process. The bus, overloaded and top-heavy, swayed dangerously on the narrow mountain road. Although the driver approached the drive as a sprint, it was a 14-hour marathon (each way) for the passengers. We were squeezed, hungry, and a little hot, but the breathtaking scenery more than made up for the discomfort. In addition to the natural landscape, we spotted zebras, elephants, giraffes, water buffalo, wildabeast, rhinos, warthogs, and baboons while driving through Mikumi National Park. We also “saw” lions, or at least thought we did; each rock held the potential to be a lion when we directed our imagination to make it so.

Once the Shook family returned to Dar es Salaam towing a suitcase full of exhaustion and happy memories they quickly exited the bus so as to not have their luggage picked by the money grabbing porters. As they waited for the bus doors to the luggage compartment to open they gathered around and tried to prepare themselves in case the luggage had been taken off at an earlier stop. The doors opened and the family quickly ceased their luggage and went to wait for their driver to arrive. By the time the luggage had been taken off and placed with its rightful owners the family noticed another package that had been stowed beneath the bus of chosen transportation during the voyage. Goats. Live goats as a matter of fact. During the death defying bus ride there had been big clunks when careening around the corners which some had thought was the bus beginning to fall apart. Low and behold as the family came to find out it was live animals being stowed for milk or other needs.

It was great to share my home here in Tanzania with my family. The country has so much to offer with treasures to behold around nearly every turn! While many volunteers develop an independence here, I was raised with a healthy need for family and this week has really filled that void in my Tanzanian life. The time was too short, but it has been wonderful to see the family’s reactions to things I have come to see as mundane. While I do enjoy my work here and look forward to the next year, I am always looking forward to returning to the states to see everyone on a much more frequent basis!

Love from all!
Shook Family

Text Key

Hannah

Erik

Tim

Vicki

James

Samuel

Andrew