Wednesday, January 30, 2013

PIzza Wednesday

It's finally Pizza Wednesday! We have been planning this evening for many days, giddy in anticipation for the gooey goodness of greasy comfort food. However, it marks a bittersweet night: the night before our beloved daktari Jane and Nurse DeDe and Mary will be leaving. This mini party will be a small going away party for these wonderful people. Jane and I had a fun rain run this afternoon, since last night's downpour encouraged a lazy morning this morning. We returned to a wonderful post-run feast of rice and peas, cabbage, pineapple, mango, and of course, Jane's Tony Chach seasoning.
We have spent most of our day preparing for our training sessions about Diabetes and Hypertension that we will present to the medical staff here at Ilula tomorrow and Friday. Yesterday was another incredibly stimulating and exciting day. Ken and I headed to a small village with the director of the Institute of Agriculture at Tumaini University, who sponsors the COmpanion Village Project, aimed at increasing the crop yield of villages through collaboration with the village pastor. We were able to fit in a small nutrition lesson, as well as a water purifying technique using the heat and UV rays from the sun. The villagers were very responsive and it was a very rewarding experience.
We distributed more Plumpy'nut today to malnourished children, whose parents were very appreciative. It is always a wonderful feeling to pass out this nutritional supplement, but you always wish you could do more for the family.
The Minneapolis weather is not at all inviting. How I wish I could stay in this sunny 85 degree weather forever. We only have one week left here in Ilula before 2 days in Dar, where we will fly out of. I am already dreading the transition back to reality, where chickens do not run wild and clothes are not hung to dry in the sun. The good news is, I have a feeling this is not my last time here.

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