I see white people...

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...AND IT'S REALLY WEIRD!!!

We arrived in Iringa today and there are so many Wazungu around after only seeing about one or two (apart from us) in the last three weeks in Morogoro and Njombe. It's Ex-Pat Central here!!!

Today has been so exciting, though - Iringa is soooooo much bigger than Njombe (the side-roads are tarmacced!) and it has the best cafe in the whole wide world. It's called "Hasty Tasty Too" and it's about one minute's walk from the SPW office. I just had a VANILLA MILKSHAKE and a SWISS ROLL.

Now, you haven't been eating rice, beans, beef and non-specific chopped up leaves ("green stuff") nearly every single mealtime for three weeks, so I understand that you probably don't quite grasp the gravity of what I just wrote.

So, I'll say it again.

I JUST HAD A VANILLA MILKSHAKE AND SWISS ROLL!!!!!!!!

This last week before going to the villages is going to be so much fun. I can buy newspapers, and chocolate (African chocolate is rubbish. Please feel free to send me as much as you can afford - in fact, any exciting food will do - other people are getting parcels and I feel left out!) and Hasty Tasty's even sell BN buiscuits and Mars Bars (as well as fry-ups - hurrah!!). They also sell postcards but they're all wildlife postcards, and I haven't done the whole Safari thing yet (that'll be August probably), so it's seems a bit crap to send those now - I'm sure I'll find some Iringa postcards for people though.

So, I've seen Iringa now, and I've seen the SPW office - like I said, no post today so slightly disappointed (though I'm expecting one letter before the end of the week) - just in case you need reminding:

Phil Hatchard
xxxxxSPW addressxxxxx

If you want postcards/letters, I'm happy to fork out for a few - money goes a very very long way here - so just send me your addresses (that means you, Ben and Charlie!)

It's much hotter here that Njombe, and I expect it will be much drier too - at least until I have to move to placement next week. Had to make our "Hit List" for our groups on Tuesday morning - that's people who we'd rather and rather not be placed with. It's no guarantee, but I'm not too bothered as I'm getting on pretty well with most of the other volunteers.

I think I'll leave it there for the moment - everyone has abandoned me and gone back to Hasty Tasty's - besides, I think I need to prepare a fuller account to send out by email in a couple of days or so.

Placement looking fearsomely close now, but I really can't wait to get stuck in.

Badaaye

Phil :)