Deja Vu

Nine months later and here I am, back again in Moshi, Tanzania. In some ways, it feels as though I never left (is that good or bad?). This time around, I've decided to try to write shorter posts and more often, though a week has already gone by, and this is the first you're hearing from me -- not a very good beginning!!!! Since beginnings are important, however (though we don't often realize why until we look back), I will begin with my arrival at Kilimanjaro National Airport, the starting point of the most recent turning point in my life. As I walked through the sliding doors, I was very excited to see what kind of welcome Monika (Give A Heart To Africa's director and now a dear friend) had planned for me; I had been told that the red carpet would be down and that the Maasai mamas and warriors would be out in number for the occasion. Bear in mind that I was the official welcome sign designer/maker during my four-month stint last year, so I was curious to see how the new sign would compare. Well, needless to say, when I walked into the arrivals hall I didn't see anyone familiar anxiously waiting for me to appear, or any sign with anything close to my name on it. I tried to think positively, telling myself that Monika probably figured that the plane wouldn't be on time (after all, this is Africa) and that it would take me a little while to pick up my bag, etc., and therefore she'd probably appear a few minutes late, accompanied by Kasanda, our taxi driver. So, I patiently waited, watching  the hall empty out little by little, my heart growing heavier by the minute. Hmm, still no sign of any greeting party for me... Finally I had no choice but to face the facts -- I was alone in the arrivals hall. Not a good sign; was this an omen of things to come? Luckily (or was it fate?), I had decided to bring my Spanish cell phone with me with enough credit to send a few text messages if needed. The occasion had arrived. I texted Monika asking her if I should take it personally that nobody was at the airport to greet me. A minute later I received her panicked response: Was I joking? She wasn't expecting me until that night. As the reality settled in, so did I, at the "outdoor cafe" in front of the arrivals hall, a cup of tea and my book in hand, and my eyes watching the two men sleeping nearby on the grass, all of us waiting for something or someone to rescue us from our current situation. Monika showed up about an hour later with Kasanda and whisked me away. The men were still sleeping.