Well, at the risk of repeating everyone else…what an amazing week its been. As I remembered from the 2005 trip, Tanzania and Arusha are a very surreal study in contrasts…poverty and wealth, natural beauty and industrial grit. Like the clothesline drying bedsheets between low, dingy stucco buildings at Mount Meru Hospital literally in the shadow of a gleaming, glass-and-steel high-rise hotel being built.

Then there was the visit Ezekial’s house. I’m sure others have already written about it, so I’ll just say that it was a great sight to see the look of surprise on his mother’s face when she realized that the Land Rover of nzungus rolling by had her son in it! He was so proud to take us to his family’s house and introduce us to his grandmother. Then, to top it all off, today Sally was able to present him with a laptop that her company donated to the project! Now he can keep up with the rest of the med students.

Tomorrow we’re off on safari. With all the rain they’ve had in December and January everything is extra green and lush, so we’re hoping to see lots of animals. Unfortunately, that also means our time is winding down, so we’ll try to squeeze every last drop out of the next few days.

See you all soon,

Mick