Mtemwo Town

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>> We spent an unforgettable day in Mtemwo Town. Moses introduced us
>> to Abraham, a friendly, knowledgeable, community-minded young man
>> who took us through the paths and alleyways off the main drag where
>> we made new friends every few steps. The people here are so
>> friendly and eager to talk, particularly the kids, most of whom
>> appear to be limited to the word 'hello' in English. We met the boy
>> pictured above who, like most of the children, was excited to have
>> his picture taken so he could see it on the camera or the phone.
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>> Ben learned to carve ebony with a chisel, Grant learned to paint
>> with a knife in the traditional way (and got to keep his painting
>> of Masai, which turned out great), and Monica enjoyed drinking
>> banana beer with the locals. We also visited an orphanage where I
>> think we all had trouble keeping it together when we saw the
>> sleeping conditions. The children did all seem happy and the
>> director, Oscar Ngunga, seemed like a great guy.
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>> We enjoyed spending time with Mama Tito, a 74 year-old grandmother
>> who was sitting in her yard doing her laundry. She has 12 children
>> and we learned that it is traditional for women to be referred to
>> in relation to their oldest or favorite son (in her case Tito).
>> She first tried to give Heidi a cat and then asked Heidi if she
>> would stay and live with her. In fact, many of the mothers and
>> grandmothers wanted Heidi to sit on their laps and several offered
>> to raise her if we tired of her, so she has some nice options.
>>
>> I am writing these blogs as we go, but they will only send when we
>> are in certain areas, so I expect they we get posted in batches. In
>> fact, I am writing this in our tent at Eyasi at 3:00 a.m. I can
>> hear some animal snorting outside, maybe attracted to the light of
>> my phone. Everyone else seems to be sleeping well but, either
>> because of jet lag or just the excitement of being here, I wake at
>> 3 most mornings. Oh well, it gives me a chance to keep up on my
>> blogging.