Sunday in Arusha

Today was our real day of rest where we could catch up on our sleep and didn't need to be to breakfast until 9:30. We all took advantage of it and I got my first night of 8hrs of sleep. So needed!

We spent a few hours in the morning planning our weekly lesson plan and getting ready for our first day with a new group of teachers tomorrow. With all the lessons learned from last week, it went pretty smoothly and we all clicked into our roles of planning.

Once we felt we were done, we piled into 2 jeeps and did what I know best...some shopping!!  We went to a Maasi market where they sell tons of local souvenirs. Maasi is a tribe of people who make beautiful beaded and patchwork items made from the traditional Maasi fabrics. Maasi are known to be very entrepreneurial. We bargained for 2 hours and then the group was ready for our next outing. Admittedly, I could have shopped for another hour...it was so fun and they had beautiful things!:)

We drove through the bustling city of Arusha - albeit quiet compared to weekdays since most people spend the majority of the day in church. It reminded me a lot of Bangalore with the combination of modern-"ish" and shack like buildings along the busy two lane roads. Roads are well paved and there is decent order to road rules (unlike Bangalore).

We arrived at the Rivertree resort. We found the beautiful huge green garden area equipped with its own wood fire pizza oven and settled ourselves into a Napa style table and ordered drinks. Some of us wandered over and sat under some trees along the river and enjoyed watching the young monkeys playing  above us. So cute! A few European families played with their children on the open grass areas and it just felt so relaxing. We ordered just about every pizza they offered and gorged out as they were so delicious. Really...I don't think I have ever eaten so many pieces..at least they were thin crust!  Even our Italian national, Marta, said they were great.:) Noel, our team4tech PM, certainly hit a home run with all of us on this choice.

While it was an absolute lovely place and somewhere many visitors stay, I was still glad to drive back through the chaos of the Arusha streets to our more local type hotel. Somehow it just feels more real to be in a place that has local charm and where we can hear the active streets outside through the night. I think we are assimilating back to civilization from
our experiences in Singida. That felt like the salt of the earth and I want to hold onto that special pure feeling where my modern lifestyle was fully put into perspective.