5.11.14

This much i know - the Tanzanian edition


















1 team of 8 people who barely know one another, and not a single falling out or cross word. hashtag beeteam hashtag invincible.
Saving the world would be easier if Kenya airways had functioning air con / tv screens on their planes. hashtag princess
Driving from Kilimanjaro to Babati means you witness almost every imaginable landscape, from the arid dustbowl to lush greenery and enormous bougainvillea and jacaranda.
I will never be a carpenter.
Even without a common language you can tell that a Tanzanian farmer is thinking why have they sent you? You can't even hammer a nail.
And you can't find the words to say back, i know what you mean i'm starting to wonder the same thing, so you just bite harder on your lip so you don't cry. Hashtag first morning going well then.
I can weave strengthening wire into the beehive frames. Fear and self loathing diminished.
You can fit 11 people and baggage into a Land cruiser.
Banana and intestine is an actual dish.
We built 58 beehives
Piga Piga means hammer hammer
Haraka Haraka means quickly quickly
Karibu means welcome, everybody says it, everybody means it.
If you enter Tanzania, you will have to fill out a long form to assess your Ebola risk
and then you will have a mandatory temperature test
this has been going on for 3 months, impressive.
There is no ebola in Tanzania. Or indeed East Africa.
The work that Farm Africa do empowers women, I have met such women, and over the coming days i will introduce you to them.
You can spend a lifetime building walls to hide behind and then 7 other people break them down over the course of a week, and then they leave you. (too much information? i will probably delete this bit later)
There was a tent.
Being back is strange, things look different now.
I haven't laughed so much for a very long time.
Don't do that.
A masai wrap can definitely benefit from a wash at 40 degrees with some lenor.
I drink beer now.
The African sun has turned my hair ginger.
I can't remember if I've taken enough Malarone
Every child in Tanzania has a smile bigger than the last.
I want to go back.
I miss Adam, Ally, Caroline, Emma, Matthew, Sarah and Tom a lot

You can donate here we need to raise £50,000 to fund more projects.

That is why i was there Herman, not for my carpentry skills.

More to come.


7 comments:

Mother Hen said...

Fantastic post and superb images, can't wait for part two xxx

Laura said...

Gorgeous words and deeds.

i like the nonchalantly-checking-phone picture a LOT.

Avril said...

Wonderful work and a delightful description of it all.

Caroline said...

Oh god, this post has got me blubbing again. And laughing. I love that you got Matthew's bracelet on the montage.

Don't do that x

Mrs Beard said...

What a moving post, lovely. So glad to hear that no only did the Tanzanian people benefit from the visit but that YOU did too. Well done Bee Team!

Anonymous said...

Look forward to the next installment!

cara said...

Oh wow. Beautiful words and photos and wow with the going to Tanzania at all. Just wow.