Pare Mountains

View from my window
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The Pare Mountains are rather lovely, if a little remote (but I knew that when I chose to come here!) Everything is green and lush and there are loads of birds and butterflies to be seen.

I am staying in Kirongaya, which is thirty minutes walk up the mountain from the main village of Usangi.  Very good exercise for me and I'm glad I bought walking boots (and waterproofs as the (short) rainy season does exactly what it threatens!) Where I am living is surrounded by banana plantations so I get several very fresh bananas every day, which is lovely.  My host family, who live next door to the guesthouse I am in, bring me meals and hot water when I need to wash (which is most days after walking home up the hill!).  There is electricity but it can be erratic so the headtorch and wind-up radio are wonderful toys to have at such times as I can sit inside while the wind and rain lash against the house in the evenings.

Banana plants outside outside the guest house dining room
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So far I have been very brave and coped admirably with the various bugs who feel the need to share my house with me. By brave, I mean that I haven't actually gone running screaming next door and asked my host to remove them..... I did have to go to bed early as I didn't like the large beetle thing that was flying round the living room the other day. It sounded like a light aircraft and DID keep trying to fly directly at me - I wasn't imaginging it! As for the (medium-large sized) spider last night that decided it would sit immediately above the toilet - that was just plain rude! Luckily it had moved elsewhere by the time I got really desperate! I cruelly murdered a rather large centipede thing as well as I didn't trust it not to try and go into my bedroom!

View walking down to the village
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The Primary school where I am helping (not teaching yet as exams are starting) is about 15-20 minutes walk through the village (up another hill) so it's about 45 mins from home in the morning.  I am also starting adult classes at a local pottery cooperative.  The ladies are very keen and friendly and the class is well attended.  Will probably have to split into beginners and intermediate as there's a big range of abilities.  I am also picking up a few more words of Kiswahili every day.  (The teachers at school are also trying to teach me the local language - Kipare, so it could get very confusing!)

The village itself is spread along the road (unsurfaced, so somewhat muddy during the rains) and has various shops and a small hotel with a restaurant. There is a market twice a week selling mainly fruit and fresh produce, but also shoes and clothes.  I am planning to visit a tailor next week to get a dress made so I don't stand out so much - I had to wear a kanga (colourful piece of cloth worn in various ways by women) over my skirt on my first day at school because the children had noticed that it was slightly translucent when the light was behind me.  It's quite conservative here so I thought I was well covered with a full-length skirt but had not taken fabric thickness into consideration!