Tanzanian Heaven in Twenty-Eleven

Happy New Year all! I hope that you had a clamorous, maniacal, and yet somehow safe night and morning ringing in the New Year, wherever in the world you may be (especially those friends in the Pacific, Central, and Eastern time zones... go 'Mericuh)! It was certainly an eventful evening here in the future (being that we began our countdown about 9 hours earlier than all you coolest cats in Chicagoland). Aside from that time we drove truck-top-up under the endless blue sky of the Serengeti... and that other time I watched the sun rise over the Ngorongoro Crater... I've never felt more close to the heavens.

The remaining volunteers and I (Side Note: Fifteen more newbies start this weekend! Ahh! Quiet home-base no more!) kicked off our celebration immediately after finishing our morning volunteer placements by going out to lunch at Chrisburger (a small, outdoor restaurant in town mere feet away from the loud street and foot traffic, but blanketed by a a thin wall of ivy, where I adore eating my weight in samosas). That evening after dinner at home (complete with fresh mango pie), we strolled over to Mzungu Bar across the street from the home-base to wish dada Grace ("sister" Grace, who lives next door and runs Mzungu) a happy New Year.

After putting away a Tusker and spending way too much time chatting and reminiscing about all we have done together in 2010, we hopped in cabs and prepared to get "mzungued" (i.e., overcharged because we're foreign -- awesome) at the front gate of Glacier Bar, where, allegedly, every man, woman, and child in Moshi would be celebrating the New Year with food, strobe lights, and a giant bonfire. Incidentally, that wasn't an exaggeration; the place was packed, as whole families showed up to "shakey shakey" on the dance floor... our family of CCS volunteers being no exception (we're really, really good dancers, by the way... obviously).

By the time midnight rolled around, I was surrounded by friends from across the US, Australia, and Tanzania, including (much to my surprise and excitement) two of my new younger kaka (brothers), Nick and Josie (pictured below)! (For those of you who haven't been tuning in regularly, those are two of the three teenage guys who have helped me paint my classroom at Amka.) As a group, we counted down the final seconds of 2011, hugging, high-fiving, bouncing around (me), until we became totally drowned out by the sound of gunfire (yup, everywhere) and booming, beautiful fireworks... all under a clear, humongous sky of stars. (I cannot get over the night sky in Africa. It's phenomenal.) A New Years Ever I will never, ever forget. Asante sana, Tanzania, for your heart and hospitality during the last few months... Kwaheri 2010, Hujambo 2011! Most sincerely, Sarah