Goodbye, Hello, Uh-Oh

I said "goodbye" to the Bordens yesterday in Arusha. They waved me off on my 5-hour shuttle to Nairobi. I cried. And then I napped. I think those two things go well together.

I had two hours to kill at the airport so I ordered a veggie burger. A strange sort of curried-Kenyan version of a patty arrived, so I baptized it in remarkably gelatinous light red ketchup. The ketchup squeezie-bottle had a loose top, so when I squeezed, I emptied the entire bottle of mystery-sauce onto my plate.

Though I was sharing my table for four with three strangers, no one else seemed to think it was as funny as I did. They didn't even give my fresh ketchup pond a second glance. The only mzungu in the place was making a saucy-scene, but nobody was noticing. Maybe this sort of thing happens often. I felt like I was in a bad after-school special staged in an African diner.

After taking the red-eye flight to London, I arrived here in Virginia Water with Brooke and Tate and Baby Asher. (And Kerry, too.) I really enjoy these friends from Young Life UK.

I like that tired "goodbyes" are met with some sort of a fresh "hello." What would we do without rhythm? Exhale. Inhale. Exhale.

Baby Asher is making me grin a lot. He has clearly perfected the "uh oh" face. I think it would be a good exercise if we all worked on that face. We'd be more prepared to laugh at ourselves when we baptize our plates in accidental ketchup ponds.

I leave for Baltimore tomorrow. Then I'll be back in the States for awhile, but heading out to Pasadena soon. It'll be nice to hug my family again.

Things I Like Abut Tanzania - Part 2

(Continued from Part 1 here)

10. Learning from Byron how to wear my Maasai blanket like a proper warrior.
11. Dala dalas mini-buses with (curious) names such as, "Pimp My Ride - Go to Church" and "Jealous People Never Win," painted extravagantly on their back windows.
12. Making friends with the geckos that sometimes chill on the interior walls of my bedroom. (Geckos eat mosquitoes for lunch, you know.)
13. Avocados 'a plenty.
14. Multiple marriage proposals in one day. (Well, I don't necessarily like that, but...)
15. Seeing ladies carrying unbelievable loads effortlessly on their heads: baskets of bananas, bundles of timber, or, my personal favorite, hot burning coals in a metal bowl. (Doesn't the Bible say something about that?)
16. The slower pace.
17. The stars in the sky. I think they might be the brightest here in Arusha. Yep.

I Crossed the Ocean

...to get this haircut. Any body in Cascais with the least strand of hair-sense knows (the infamous) David from W2 Stylists in Monte Estoril. I've missed him. David said he affectionately refers to all us girls who left Portugal as "the mystery girls who came and went." I like that monniker. (Or, as Agent B calls me, I am a Portu-gal.)

I sort of feel like now I need an old Gibson axe with a crunchy Marshall amp.

This punker-do definitely highlights my silver "highlights." I'm ok with that. I hope I stay ok with that.

Three's A Crowd

My dentist says I have three tiny cavities. Oh dear. Too many cupcakes.

The smiling news is that it won't hurt to fill 'em. And it'll only cost me $20. I'm very happy I decided to sign-up for the dental health plan, ma'am.

I sat down in the check-up chair and felt compelled to confess with great severity, "Doctor, I haven't been flossing." He was gracious and just sort of laughed at me.