Visiting Musoma

This last week, Dr. Chirangi, the physician who invited me to Tanzania has been visiting the hospital. He is finishing up a public health degree in Holland. We have come to Musoma (the regional headquarters) about 2 hours from Shirati. It is the city where Dr. Chirangi grew up.

I'm traveling with a large group of people, a women from Holland who has been here for 8 months, four Dutch nurses who are finishing up a 3 month stay at the hospital, and a missionary who is on his third year in Tanzania, two of which he and his family worked in Shirati.

The trip has been nice and relaxing. We have visited Dr. Chirangi's home, and had a wonderful meal. The food has been plentiful. No ones seems to serve the traditional "Ugali" to me. I'm told rice is considered more appropriate for a foreigner. As a result, I eat a lot of rice. Eggs, beans, cabbage, and spinach are plentiful. And fruit such as bananas, mangos, papayas and oranges are easy to find as well. In general though the cost of food is expensive, especially for local currencies.

Musoma is right on Lake Victoria so they have a busy ferry port with a market moving goods between Musoma and islands and other cities on the coast. The boats are leaky, colorful vessels that require constant bailing out of water. In addition, most people can't swim and the water if full of schistosomiasis. I'm trying to stay draw and out of the water.

Today we head home and I'm looking forward to the slow, relaxed pace of Shirati. The urban life, especially the pollution gets to me very quickly.

Best wishes to everyone, feel free to call any time.