Alice's parents and Paul's mother and sister landed in Mwanza late last Friday and after a packed journey in a Land Cruiser with a lot of bags and a Tanzanian welcome party, we arrived safely in Shinyanga. Bags were unpacked that night to get our much requested and begged for supplies of cheese, rashers and chocolate. The next morning further gifts and treats were unloaded and we are delighted to have cupboards full of mince pies, crisps and home baking. We're also all very glad that sufficient supply of deodorant for Paul has been delivered.
We've spent the last few days showing our guests around Shinyanga and they have experienced Tanzanian church in Swahili, visited the school and tried Ugali (local maize porridge), with the Ugali receiving mixed reviews! They have endured, sorry enjoyed, two church services of 4 hours each already but thankfully with the entertainment of a visiting choir and in the coolness of the rainy season.
In the spirit of African togetherness, we've decided to hand over the rest of this post to the initial thoughts of our highly esteemed visitors...
Dada yangu (Clare): the people are incredibly friendly and I have been surprised that they actually seem to like Alice and Paul! [ed. note: rude...]
Mama yangu (Joan): enjoying the beautiful country and people but unsettled by the poverty we've already seen and the global inequality that influences it
Mama mkwe wangu (Donna): I love and appreciate the sincere welcome and generous hospitality of Tanzanians
Baba mkwe wangu (Eric): people are great and I really admire their hard-working attitude but my head hurts from being confronted with how unfair the world is
We do miss the rest of our families, Paul's Dad and Alice's brother couldn't make it, but we are delighted to have family with us for Christmas! Click here for some photos.
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