Meet the new "school owner!"

You may have to refer back to the post about Apa and her little school, but this is the text I got from her last night: "Now here the children have increased thus taking porrage which Juius has provided his own money. The government wants the school to be registered so please could you come and talk with them. They asked me who is the owner of the school. I told them that it belongs to you. There for could you mind checking your schedule and see how you can fix the matter. Am praying for you. Thanks." After one visit and less than $40 in food supplies, she wants me to be the school owner, or rather, says I aready am! NO! This involves endless money and red tape as you can only begin to imagine. I haven't even responded yet because I'm trying to come up with a gracious way to put this! But, my housemate Sarah said it would look good on my CV or resume'!

Eye exam, Part 2

I was going to title this, "Unfortunately, Color Does Make A Difference," but I decided I needed to explain it, instead. Sarah and I went to Moshi, about 2 hours away, early this morning to KCMC, a major hospital in the area. Took some investigating and navigating, but we found the hospital, parking, and the eye department. When we walked into the eye department, there must have been 100 people in the waiting room, all Tanzanians, but men, women, children, and babies. I had been given a doctor’s name and an actual appointment, which may have made some of the difference, but I’m pretty sure my skin color made the most difference, sadly for all those who were there before me. I found “my” doctor, a German lady, and we went into her office, sat down, and talked. For the next 2 hours, I was treated pretty much like royalty would be if doctors didn’t come to them! Either Dr. Mapoka or a nurse she assigned to me, showed me or took me to every line or room I needed to go to – and there were many! Though I never actually stood in a line, because they took me to the front of each one (which I felt very badly about). • Had to register at one place • Go pay at another place (cost in the last paragraph) • Go to another room for an eye exam (my second of the week) • Go for a consult in another room • Have another eye test somewhere else • Get my eyes dilated and wait 30 minutes • Go back and pay some more for the last procedure • And lastly, have an OCT. I don’t know what that stands for, but it’s very high tech, probably involves lasers, and a Dutch doctor I spoke with said there are something like 10 of these machines south of the Equator. This was the one that found the problem! I have a thickening of the membrane over my pupil (or cornea? Now I'm not sure which!), and it needs to be removed, or eventually I will lose my sight in that eye. However, the last of the doctors and Dr. Mapoka agreed that this can wait till I get home, thankfully. I don’t mind having this diagnosed in TZ, but I‘m perfectly happy to have it treated at home! Now for the amazing cost of this whole 2 day ordeal, counting Wednesday’s visit to 2 doctors, referral to Dr. Mapoka, and all of the above tests: 24,000 Tshillings! How much is that? About $17.00!! Seventeen dollars!! I spent twice that on the gas to and from Moshi! Can you imagine what this would have cost at home and how many days it would take to see that many people and have that many tests?! It’s almost too bad I can’t have the procedure here! So, overall, I am pleased to know what the problem is, that there is a solution, and that it can wait. Still disturbed that in their own country, in one of their own hospitals, I got special attention because I’m white. I got plenty of dirty looks and raised eyebrows along the way, and I kept wanting to say, “This is not my idea! This is not who I am.” Sigh.

Eye Doctor, Part 1

For a few weeks my vision has been blurry in my left eye, so I went to the optician first (if that's the who does glasses), and he checked my vision, then called to an opthamologist (if that's the other one) down the street and asked if she could see me (no pun intended!). Once I found the hospital and the eye department (wouldn't you think they'd make those signs more obvious?!), the sister there put drops in my eyes to check for pressure, which was fine, then she asked me if I'd driven myself. When I said yes, she grimaced, and so I asked her why. She told me she'd have to put drops in my left eye to dilate it, and it would take 6-8 hours to go back to normal! I asked if I could drive with one eye closed, and she said yes. (Most people probably do, anyway!) After that, she checked for catatacts but didn't find one. She said it looked like it might be my retina, but she couldn't be sure. KCMC is a very well recognized hospital in Moshi with an eye clinic that is considered one of the best, and she made me an appointment with a doctor there on Friday, saying to make sure someone drives me as they will dlate both eyes then.

More when I know it.

How I Spent My.....

Tuesday and Wednesday this week! I had so many errands to run in town that I was planning one whole day of errands, just not Tuesday. I have Home Group (church Bible Study) on Tuesday nights, and since I always make desserts, I needed to not have that riding around in my car all day, and Njiro Road is not the kind of road you want to drive up and down more than once every few days! But, Godfrey, our Karanse headmaster was coming to Arusha on Tuesday, and I needed to meet wth him, so I made part of the dessert in the morning before I left, with plans to finish it when I got home and before I turned around and went back out. I figured I could also run some of my errands then and just go back another day this week, which turned out to be today, also not my choice!

So, in 2 days, I did the following: bought a phone card and supplies for church refreshments; met with Godfrey (and spoke to everyone else at Imara, naturally!); realized my computer was on the blink, so dropped it off at the computer shop, went back and picked it up today; had a pair of sandals fixed (by a man on the street); had a pair of reading glasses fixed; made an app't wth an eye doctor (more on that in the next blog); went back today for the eye app't; went to the post office twice to mail packages; had lunch; did some grocery shopping (some of it from a man on the street, too!); picked up some printer paper for someone at Joshua who had forgotten it on his trip into town and saw me there; went to ATM for money for all of these transactions; and found numerous parkiing spots and paid about 25 cents for an hour in each one because, of course, these were not close to each other! The whole thing, at a Super Wal-mart would have taken about an hour and a half, and I could have gotten a pedicure, too, but where would the challenge be in that?!

I did make it home yesterday in plenty of time to finish the dessert and go back into town for Home Group, too.

Back from the UK - great trip!

Really wonderful time in England with my friend Megan. Unseasonably cold, especially complared to TZ, but "refreshing" most of the time! Lots of walking, eating, visiting, sight-seeing, more eating, going to see "Wicked" in London, Blenheim and Kensington Palaces, Oxford and Cambridge, afternoon teas with lots of clotted cream and jam (oh, that's technically more eating!), meeting her Home Group and church friends and mom and sister, shopping - all in very civilized surroundings:clean, paved, with electricity, etc.! My camera (story of my life) is presently not letting me download pictures, but here's one Megan took at the Hummingbird Bakery in London of me just finishing off Red Velvet Cake (that eating thing, again!).