More tid bits

I realized that we haven't clarified well how we were able to visit with the Tatoga and Hadzabe tribes- Sululu is good friends with a Tatoga man, Momomya, who took us around after clearing it first with the families.
A highlight has been visiting the schools, particularly a boarding school in the very rural area outside of Karatu. This is primarily a girls school, but a few boys attend as well, but the dorms are only for girls. While wandering around the campus, a few students stuck their heads out of the window, saying their teacher had not shown up that day, but would we like to come in to teach them English? So, we did! It was really fun- we had them ask us questions in English and answered them. They found my name really difficult to say, but me easy to understand and Mike difficult to understand. Two favorite questions... one from a boy (after learning about my profession and after I explained a bit about the field of psychology) who informed me that his passions were dance and football, but he was still made to come to school and learn all of this other stuff. How might I help him? I said he would find good company in the US :) I also emphasized that he could choose his subjects in university, but in order to get there, had to stay in school. And not to lose his passions, that those were important.
A young woman stood up and told us of the terrible AIDS problem in her country. What might I do in the field of psychology to help a person with AIDS and what are we doing in the US about our AIDS epidemic? Powerful questions. I explained that I work in matters of the mind and heart and would want to support that person in their emotional process- likely grief and loss- sadness and anger- as well as work with that individual's family. However, as I do not deal with medicine, it would be critical to support that person in getting medical attention, however available. As for question two, Mike gave a brief lesson on safer sex (both of us wondering if we would be escorted out of the class or laughed out), but they were very serious, listening closely and I talked about blood transfusions. There was much more to say of course and more importantly, much more to listen to...
On another note, the streets here are crazy- tons of gaping holes, busy traffic- communicating largely by honking and blinking lights, so you have to make a run for it, and I cut my arm on a street sign (They are low- ripped my shirt and all)... wouldn't happen in our sue culture of the US, as the things are so low I am surprised they don't regularly take someone out. We have also been escorted to bathrooms with much effort by shopkeepers, people going way out of their way, whether we were patrons or not, also not my experience in the US, bathrooms for customers only! And so life is good here, if only I can shake this cold...