Gone Fishin'

I left Dodoma for Morogoro on Friday afternoon with our friends from St. Ignatius College, Enfield, London, UK. This group of students and teachers makes their annual trip to Dodoma in the second half of July. The students spend most of their time at St. Ignatius Preparatory and Primary School, teaching some lessons to the students and generally playing the role of older brothers (who speak good English, providing the students a chance to hone their own English skills). The students are hosted by families, which provides them some insight into living in TZ.

The gift for me is not only to meet some very committed young men but to meet their equally committed teachers as well. The trip has been organized by Fr. Tim Byron, sj, a Jesuit's Jesuit.

We spent Saturday reflecting on their experience in Dodoma, and tomorrow we'll head to Mikumi National Park, hoping to see lions among other animals. (I earnestly hope we do, for I have counselled the group that there is no need to leave here earlier than 6:00 a.m. in order to have a chance to see the lion.) After the trip to Mikumi we'll all head to Dar es Salaam. It is there that our paths will diverge. They'll spend one day in the city proper, and I will head to Kipepeo Beach for some r 'n r.

Quite frankly, I'm exhausted and need this time to re-energize. I've brought my Kindle and some books with me to read, some movies (if the power outages permit), and paper for some brainstorming/planning for the next steps for SPCHS and OLQP.

I might even manage to catch up on some more entries here!