Debi's May 25 post

It is hard to know where to begin!  I think I will try to just hit the highlights because there is too much to tell!

Don and I flew out of Spokane on Monday, May 15, after the most amazing weekend. We celebrated 20 years of being cancer free and Mothers Day and a baby shower for my niece,Mari, who graciously had her baby four weeks early just so we could all meet him! All of my sisters and their kids came so it was a delightful reunion and that is rare since there was no wedding or funeral. 

Packing was a challenge!  There were so many "creature comforts" we wanted to take now that we are "experienced" with what is not available here!  We had five 50 pound bags and 2 carry-ons each!  Monday morning was the last time we saw our 5 checked bags until the following Saturday afternoon (5 days later!). I got really tired of my traveling clothes! At first our bags were LOST. Turns out they took a detour and went to Germany!  They then had to be rerouted to England, then Oslo and then Sweden!  Fortunately they arrived the day before be left so we were able to give Kine and family the gifts we had packed. 

Our first stop on our trip was to Oslo, Norway. We have been meaning to visit Kine, an exchange student who lived with us for a year in 2001-2002. She is now married and the mother of two!  I just marveled at watching her drive a car and cook and so capably manage a 2 1/2 year old daughter and a 4 month old son!

We arrived on May 16....just in time to experience May 17 (their independence day) in Oslo!  I've heard about this celebration for decades and I had very high expectations!  Nothing could have prepared me for the actual event!  Wow!  I still cannot believe we were lucky enough to experience this in our lifetime! Kine even got us tickets so we could watch the parade from the castle!

That evening we had the most special dinner at Kine's parent's house. What a feast! They served meatballs, salmon, shrimp, lamb, and pork and salads and two fancy desserts! I was very glad I was not a vegetarian!  Three of her sisters were there along with her 93 year old maternal grandmother. Everyone was in their bunad (traditional dress) and I did not take a picture!  I think it is seared in my memory because it was so very special!  Not surprising, the entire family was just so warm and welcoming!  Why did it take us do long to meet them!??

The next day we drove to Halden where Kine lives in a beautiful house built by her husband, Joakim. We stayed there one night and got a tour of this beautiful community. I could definitely live there!  

On Friday we drove to Sweden to stay at her parent's "cabin" on an island for two nights. Actually, they have a five bedroom home and guest house with a huge deck for socializing. The weather was perfect and we even got a boat ride. There are many islands close together so the scenery was very interesting. 

The food and the conversation were absolutely delightful. We felt so at home!  We honestly felt like family!  

The only problem was that I could not sleep! I had trouble sleeping even before we left home (too keyed up!) and then I did not sleep for 5 nights except for a couple of two hour naps. I actually started to feel sick!  Finally I crashed and slept 12 hours. I hoped I had turned a corner. 

We got our bags on Saturday and repacked, and changed clothes. Our projector came so we were able to show them our Tanzanian pictures. It does not get dark until nearly midnight!  It is still dusk at 10 PM!

On Sunday after sad good-byes, we left in the afternoon to be in Oslo in time for our 7:30 pm flight. We had business class tickets where we could lie flat...even Don!  Don slept, but I did not! I must be the world's worst traveler! So we arrived in Arusha Monday afternoon. Erik picked us up in our car. We dropped him at work and proceeded to get cash and groceries just like we knew what we were doing!

The roads are remarkable!  All that construction is paying off! The main east/west road through town is so much wider and has a median between what will probably be at least two lanes each way. The median makes it impossible to turn right any old place like before. There are even street lights installed!  They don't work yet, but that will be such an improvement! There is also no paint on the road yet and we saw cars going both directions on both sides of the median!  Oh yes!  And NO traffic lights!  There were only four on this road, but now negotiating a major intersection is tricky!

The weather has been unusual...so much more rain! We purposely try to avoid being here in April since that is so rainy. This year the rains have continued into May. Our road, which is NOT paved, is a giant mud hole for several blocks near the highway. I had no idea where to drive. I could see major ruts (12 inches deep) and I was afraid of getting stuck. 

When we got home, no one was around to meet us and we needed a key. We decided to unload and put everything on the porch. When we got to the house, we discovered everyone was there!  They were hurriedly putting the house back together. I had asked to have our house painted while we were gone (at our expense) and that had just been accomplished in the last two days!  What an improvement!!!  Gone are the stained ceilings and the peeling paint and the cracks!  The sunny yellow color is so clean and pleasing!  I was reminded that painting is only part of the work!  The worst part is taking everything down and putting it all back!  The floors also got a good scrubbing! It looks so good!  I am so happy!  Linda worked HARD!

Linda had also bought us groceries!  We had eggs, milk, bread, snacks and much more.  She also had emptied our store room/pantry so they could paint and had started to find new homes for things stashed there. The result is that I have twice the storage as before!  This is a serious improvement!  Good thing cuz we have a lot more stuff than  before!

We had dinner at Erik and Bernice's house that night. It is truly a treat to have Bernice's food again. There is something so special about how she cooks!  I need more lessons! And we got to take home warm banana bread/cake!  Mmmm

Even though I was so tired, I could not sleep again and then I started to get the chills and a fever!  My Grandma Nicol always said, "I can sleep anywhere...just hang me on a nail!"  I take after her in many ways, but not this!  My biorhythms are entrenched!  I notice daylight saving changes for a week!

So, here is the sad news...today is Nashesha's graduation and I am too sick to go!  I know I have trouble pacing myself sometimes....I just want to do it ALL!  I fear that the reason I got sick was because I was run down. Or maybe it was lack of sleep?  Don is at the ceremony and he can tell me all about it!  I just hate missing this!  This was the event that made us rush to get here!

Then I have to remind myself...we are here!  Safe and sound!  Our house is better than ever! I am experienced now!  I can no longer worry about one more thing at home!  We will get Skype working and I can start calling...especially to my Mom who worries. There is no one like my Mom for caring about my welfare. Oh yes!  We have not been without power once since arriving!  That is three days!  Linda says it is better!  We may have power 90% of the time!  I could get used to that!

Tomorrow is Friday. I hope I feel better and we can finish settling in. I think it would be fun to go see Wema at her school on Saturday. Don wants to go too but we still have three spots in the car for her family members. That will be a fun reunion. 

So if you have managed to keep reading this long, I should say again, you have permission to forward this to people you think would be interested. I thought no one read these messages and was surprised when we got back how far they had been circulated. I type one letter at a time on my phone and do not know how to do group messages. 

I think I am the most  unlikely person to ever try and do something like this!  I LIKE efficiency!  I like reliability!  I like cleanliness!  I like my home and my family and my friends!  I guess I like my husband more!

Thank you for following our journey. I appreciate your prayers...I feel very far away right now.

Debi