Good News for Turtles

This morning brought good news for turtles, in that I am now sure that the meat in last night's dinner was chicken and not turtle.

Not only were both of the turtles I saw yesterday back in the front yard this morning, but when I walked around to the back of the house (for the first time of my visit) here is what I saw:

So our cooks don't even have to walk across the street to Mama Kuku's to get really fresh chickens for dinner.  This also explains why each morning the roosters have sounded like they were sitting on my window sill as they greeted the morning (starting an hour before the first light this morning).  Because they just about are. 

The other surprise I had when I explored the back yard was even more unexpected, in that it was not at all connected to the food that ends up on our table.  At least, I really, really hope not.  Take a look:

If we have hamburgers one night, and the next morning, the donkey is gone, I am going to be very upset!

Unless they were really tasty hamburgers.  Then I'll only be upset if we don't have any more donkeys.

As you can see from the various pictures, the Volunteer House sits on a sizable bit of land.  That seems to be typical in this particular neighborhood, though you can't actually see much from the street because the houses are behind high hedges and gates.  Here's a picture looking down the street from across from our gate:

The wall and wire fence on the left is the back of Mama Kuku's chicken-raising farm.  The house that you can see on the right is our immediate neighbor.  And, yes, that is a dirt road.  But a wide, important dirt road.  About half a mile down the road is the Police Training Academy.  And about a mile away down a cross street is the Moshi Golf Club.  (Really.)  On the other hand, about a half mile in the other direction is a district of Moshi named Shanty Town.  I haven't been there, so I don't know if "shanty" means the same thing here as in the U.S., but I'll admit I was a little nervous when I learned that the name of the road in front of the Volunteer House (the one you are looking at now) is "Shanty Town Road."  Tomorrow I may go for a walk/jog on one of the main roads to Mount Kilimanjaro, which runs along the edge of Shanty Town.  If so, I'll report back on what I find there.

However, right now, I must engage in a serious cultural exchange--i.e., where I exchange my money for local Tanzanian craft work:

Cheers!