Words from Tanzania

We now are residents of the northeast side of the town of Same. Our lane into the neighborhood is packed dirt and stone, and the front street which runs into town has no name and is also packed dirt. All the roads of this type suffer from water erosion when the rains come in November and December, and then again in March and April. Last April there were rains of the magnitude in northern Tanzania such that washed away bridges and created mud slides over many roads. Some village homes were washed away and there were lives lost in one rain-induced flood. But for now it is the dry season in Tanzania and the nights can be a bit chilly, 52-55 degrees in Iringa which has an elevation of 5,000 feet, 56-60 degrees in Same, elevation around 2,300 feet. The days warm up if the sun is out. Here in Same we have noticed that almost every morning there are low clouds and haze which slowly push their way over and around the South Pare Mountains which are to our east. From our front porch, we are allowed an expansive southwest view of the plains that become the Maasai Steppe. This is a part of Tanzania that is extremely flat and dry and was used as grazing areas for the migratory wild animals such as wildebeest, gazelle and