Days 16, 17, and 18

I apologize for putting all three days together, but the Internet has been down quite a bit lately and some days were fairly quiet so I didn't have much to report. Thank you to all who have been following my journey. I am sadly about to enter my final week.
On Day 16, I was invited to have dinner at Elizabeth's house. She is a Rotarian and primary school teacher at Mandela. Moses, however, also wanted me to meet with the man organizing my safari. Elizabeth and I took a taxi (with Peter - the driver from my first few trips with Delphine) to her house, passing through what looked like a cattle market. At her house I met her 4 children - Christina (9), Christian (7), Isack (5) and Inah (1 1/2). I also met her husband, brother and two other girls who work for her in the house.  I taught the two oldest children how to play X's and O's and helped Isack with his homework. Inah was shy with me at first, but soon warmed up to me. The children enjoyed the maple syrup candies and the stickers I had brought for them. They also immediately hung up the calendar of bird pictures (courtesy of my talented husband, Tim). Elizabeth gave me a kikoi (traditional skirt) to wear and her youngest son gave me biscuits. Even though they do not have much, they were very generous - with their time, gifts, and dinner. They even invited me to spend Saturday with them at the beach.
I was late returning to the lodge where the tour guide, Ben, was waiting for me. We made our arrangement for our safari and he stayed for at least an hour just exchanging stories - and identifying many of the animals I had taken pictures of locally. He promised to return after the safari, before I leave to return home. He, apparently, is good friends with Johanna - the woman I met on Monday at the women's centre.
On Day 17, Nuru walked me over to Elidaima's (Moses' wife) kindergarten class where I spent the morning playing games and teaching the children songs. I even joined them for their morning porridge. Instead of our 'Duck, Duck, Goose' circle game, I improvised with the Tanzanian version: "Kuku, Kuku, Bata" (chicken, chicken, duck). The children, being naturally curious, enjoyed the opportunity to touch my skin and play with my hair. I knelt down on the ground and allowed myself to be mobbed. One little girl, the granddaughter of the cook, came home with us and I continued to entertain her for the afternoon, even though she spoke no English.
Below are a few pictures of some of her students.

 Day 18 involved visiting the nearby private school where many children sponsored through 'Elephant Thoughts' attend. Here the students numbered less than 500, yet they still had classes come in shifts to allow for smaller numbers in each. These classes were much more manageable - with about 40 students. Most of the teachers here were male - quite the opposite of government schools. Four of the five female teachers were sisters from the Roman Catholic Church.
Timothy then took me back to Mandela Primary School where we handed out sheets of paper torn in half (no scissors or paper-cutter available). Interested Level 5 and 6 students were asked to create designs for the new school library which should hopefully be arriving next week. (Our task is to decorate the outside of the shipping container to complete a visually appealing and inspiring place to go for books.) As I suspected, most students were eager to be involved. Students were also asked to come up with a possible name or inspiring phrases to write on the container as well. They were given the weekend to complete the task.
Eager students wanting to draw designs for the new library:

Before returning to Agape Lodge, Timothy took me to the annual agricultural market set up on the outskirts of Igoma. Here local farmers and businesses set up many stalls/tents to display their produce/products for 8 days. I was able to see miniature fields of some local crops - such as maize, millet, tomatoes, and cabbage. Timothy was particularly interested in a garden tower and 'living wall' that had been created by one agricultural company. I explained how they worked - by providing maximum growing potential in a limited space. Although we have similar products in Canada, these were inspiring because of the use of found materials. The plant containers were all empty water bottles. Timothy could see the value of re-using these items to create an affordable garden for each school he oversees. I purchased some seeds and fertilizer to get him started. While enjoying the various stalls, we came across some coffee grown locally. I have to say it was the best/freshest coffee I have ever tasted. Timothy bought me a small bag to take back home.
Garden Tower ,'Living Wall' and Tiered Garden:

I am getting used to people staring at me when I go by - being a mzungu, and even expect children to follow me. I try to have Canadian stickers with me for those children who are brave enough to come say hi. I am getting a small sense of what if must feel like to be a celebrity and have people watching your every move. Many of the vendors were quite eager to have me visit their stalls and sign their guest book. Just about every place I have gone in (school, business, tourist area, etc) has a guest book. When all the other entries say "Mwanza, Tanzania" - my "Barrie, Ontario, Canada" is a real hit.  Later that afternoon the Lodge was the location for another local Rotary meeting. Some of the members (teachers I had met) were listening to my stories about visiting Butiama - the birthplace and final resting place of their first president. I was showing Erick - a teacher who apparently likes to take selfies with my camera - some of my pictures, when others came to see them as well. They admitted that I knew more about their first president than they did - since I had been given a personal tour by his son. Former President Nyerere, apparently, is in the long, drawn-out process of being canonized by the Catholic Church.
Erick's selfie: