Meet the Maturo's

Today we had another morning in Tarangire, where we saw some lions! After going on our safari and camping, I’m so glad I brought binoculars, a headlamp, and flashlight. I felt very prepared.

Then we went back to Arusha airport and I met up with two of my host family brothers, Emanueli and his older brother, Winston. We got back to the rest of the house and met the family. I got a tour of the house and my room, which is very nice! The restroom and washroom (bucket area) are outside by the cowshed. They have a very big compound and grow their own banana trees!

Maturo family: There is Baba and Mama – Baba speaks very good English and he was a math teacher in primary school and then a program officer for primary schools at the Ministry of Education. He is Masai, but the last person in his family to live in a Masai boma (village) was his grandfather. Mama is Chagga (the tribe from Mt. Kilimanjaro) and she speaks very limited English; however, she is so nice and welcoming! The kids are Winston, Irene, Gladys, Emanueli, Stephen, and Clemens. Winston is the oldest and he used to be a shopkeeper for a tourist office, but now lives at home and also takes English classes. Irene and Gladys sometimes decorate and cater weddings to earn extra money. Gladys teaches primary school and is taking classes to resit the Form IV exam so she can get a certificate, which will allow her to earn more money. Emanueli finished through form IV and enjoys painting and drawing. He was an art teacher. Stephen is a chef at a restaurant that makes American type food and he is going to cook for the family next week. Clemens is in Form IV and will be taking his national exam in October. He really likes the sciences.

I will be working with Irene and Emanueli for Sustain Foundation and I can’t wait to get started!

I played outside with some of the neighborhood children and we played jump rope, ball, and Giraffe, Giraffe, Elephant (twiga, twiga, tembo), a version of Duck, Duck Goose.

I was not feeling very well, so I got tested for malaria, which was quick, painless, and luckily negative! We had spaghetti (which they call superghetti ) for dinner.

Vocab word of the day:
Simba – lion