Most mornings i start out by taking a 40 minute dala dala ride to the neighboring village where we have our demo plot. it's a great ride through beutiful countryside packed into a mini bus- the conductors swinging half in and half out of the bus like cowboys, recruiting riders as we go, traditional or bongo flava (swahili rap out of Dar Es Salaam) in the backround- great microcosom of local life- i haven't tired of it yet. everyone here that can afford a cell phone communicates on it by text messages- so there is a nice absence of phone conversations. the two locals who work on the farm are great and don't speak too much english -they give me swahili instruction out there on the farm, calling it shamba ki-swahili darasani- farm-yard swahili class. one of them has begun teaching us karate after work! he has nothing but he's probably a blackbelt,though he's never tested, and he teaches several guys and boys in his two
small bare concrete rooms, and now me. it is very cool. others in our ag. program are studying it as well- we had several of us lined up near the compost heaps practicing one afternoon.
This weekend i went on another amazing
hike in neighboring town Moshi- the same guide that took us on a wild hike last time i was in africa. these guys traipse up and down the mountains like it's nothing.
we swam at the waterfall which was like swimming in the ocean in
maine- freezing! just as we were leaving the water a couple of other muzungu women and their guide cme to go in. i thought, they must be swedish- sure enough they were. the last part of the hike included winding steep
downhill trails, you sort of free fall, running down with gravity whipping around sharp turns - and then even when the trail started winding upwards we kept
running, so we probably ran the last 2, 3 miles- it was a lot of fun and
of course gloriously beautiful.
The bio Intensive Ag. program is based here, all our bio-ag experts live out here, and many teach at the agricultural institute which is hosting our demo plot- about 21 double dug beds demonstrating companion planting, crop rotation, and natural pestisides, and several compost heaps. I may even move out to this village and commute into arusha, rather than the reverse situation i'm in now- it's called Tangeru, is very beautiful, and a lot sleepier than arusha. My group sets up homestays here, as well. the idea of getting my own place is still a possibility but for now i like living with others and having more of a sense of community. Plus in my current homestay the food is excellent. they want me to cook them lasagnia. it's been interesting to get information from all these characters as to what is working and not working regarding the trainings with the farmers. one guy went out and interviewed about 300 of the farmers one on one, so i am going to help him sort through that info. since that month intensive training i haven't had such a direct aids focus- the farming techniques of course are to produce better nutrition and economy, so it is still about aids.

the other day while walking my great 40 minute walk home from the center of town a young woman befriended me- interested that i was teaching about hiv- which is how i explain my work because it would be hard to convince anyone i'm a farmer.. anyways she wants me to meet with her and her friends because she says they want to know more about how to prevent hiv- i thought that was great that they are so interested- in my homestay they have two young dogs yapping outside my window at night, so i am a bit sleep deprived-