Overnight

Arne and I only had 11 days in Kahunda between coming back from the TZ Men's retreat, and heading up to Mombasa for Christmas (the short term retreat). We arrived back in Kahunda to no cat, our house help had been feeding our cat and another we were looking after. But this cat ate our cat's food and so our cat left, maybe it's time for a dog!

I was at the AIM Short Term Retreat over Christmas, nice location 5 minutes from a white sandy beach, just south of Mombasa on the Kenyan coast. Of course it was the people I got to spend it with that made it enjoyable and different to a 'normal' Christmas. We had various fresh seafood for Christmas dinner. But as we talked, I said how it didn't feel like Christmas. We came up with a few reasons: because it's so different from what I'm used to, there isn't the usual full on commercial build up to Christmas like there is in the west, not spending it with any of my blood relations, the climate being hot instead of cold, being so far from what's happening at home and finding it hard to imagine or relate to what is actually happening at home.

Losing my passport/leaving it on a bus on the way up to Nairobi wasn't the smartest idea! It was going to be 6 weeks wait in Nairobi for the new passport. But instead I have received a temporary passport which will get me back into Tanzania.

I have had the privilege of being able to stay with the Short term coordinators and their family, which has been great fun and helpful. Today 5^th Jan I am heading back down to Mwanza on an overnight bus. Probably around a 13/14 hour ride.