Merry Christmas!

Before getting into the good things, I have some sad news from the past week. I could no longer stand the heat produced from the mop on my head. I succumbed to the pressure and shaved my head. Please do not morn my loss, however, for I will suffer less in the heat now that I have lost a significant layer of insulation. It's been 5 years since I last had short hair so I, at least, had a moment of reflection. You'll notice pictures below (some pre-cut, some post-cut).

I hope everyone back in the states is having a great holiday and Christmas time. I've been enjoying some cooler weather, some American food, and some kids play time with the Andersons in Uganda.

I was worried I had been looking forward to a break from the heat in Tanzania so much that it would be a let down but I haven't been disappointed. I've had more restful sleep and have felt more clean this past week than I have since arriving in Africa. The Andersons have a wonderful home with many of the ammenities you'd find back in The States (basically all the food products you could get back home, a projector movie set up with speakers, Christmas tree and Christmas tree lights, virtually no mosquitoes, hot showers, etc). It's been a restful haven and I'm very thankful for time off to relax and regenerate.

Our Christmas has been mostly what I'm used to from home (insert new family with 4 children though :) ). We did have a traditional Ugandan meal today with all the kids from the Rafiki village that Tyler and Kim work for (the Rafiki village is an orphanage and school that houses 100 family-less Ugandan children). But, otherwise it's been a lot of family hang out time, food, and relaxation.

I'm sad to leave tomorrow morning but excited to meet up with a number of other Global Health Corps fellows who've traveled to Zanzibar to celebrate New Years together. Zanzibar hasn't had power for over two weeks now so I'm sure I'll have more stories to tell from next week. But for now, happy holidays!

Here's me with the Andrson family after opening Christmas gifts (Tyler, Josiah, Keidi, me, Maggie, Clara, Kim).

Here I am with the kids after a great game of whiffle ball.

On Christmas day we went to visit a number of orphans in their cottages.

Rafting the Nile

I rafted the Nile on Monday and had a total blast. It was by far the largest rapids I've ever been on (and they claim one of the rapids is the largest commercially rafted in the world). Our guide flipped our raft a few times in the smaller rapids just for fun. Check out the video for some clips of what I rafted through.

Christmas in Uganda

It's hard to believe it's almost Christmas time mainly because of how not in your face the holiday season is in Tanzania. That, and it's super hot so it just doesn't feel like the season. Either way, happy holidays to all!

I'm heading to Uganda for the Christmas week this Saturday to spend time with some long time family friends, the Andersons. I've already requested some sausage from their dutch butcher, booked a rafting trip down the Nile, and plan to get a lesson on running from Mr. Anderson (a former collegiate runner).

Though it's going to be tough not being home with my own family, I'm sure being with the Anderson family (of 6) will be a fantastic group to celebrate with.

As a little blast from the past. Here's a picture from the Anderson wedding. Can you spot me?

Health HR Challenges

U.S. Cooling Off, Africa Heating Up

My dad emailed me the other day to let me know it was 16 degrees in Seattle right now. I day dreamed yesterday the next time I'll be cold.

I thought it was hot when I arrived here but that was the tail end of the Tanzanian winter. We're just now getting into the heart of the summer and it's actually getting hotter. Imagine July in Washington DC and that's what kind of weather we get here (80 degrees with 80% humidity). Now imagine there's no electricity (so no AC, not even fans), the wind dies down, there's no insulation in your house, and the bathing water is as warm as it is outside.

You know when you take a shower and start sweating right after? Try literally non stop sweating all day. As long as our power is off (as it has been the last 4 days), there's no way to cool yourself other than the ocean. I sweat every minute of the day including when I sleep.

Here's to more dreams about cold weather because I'm not getting it any time soon.

Map of my house.

Here's a map of where my house is in Kilwa Masoko.