In Transit; Tidings of the New Year

Hey y'all... I've been on the road for the last week or so, and still have another week of being away from site. I'll write about it all when I get back to sweet, peaceful Bukoba. I went to Zanzibar and Moshi again, and the next stops will include Arusha and Dar ("Dar" is the way we locals refer to Dar es Salaam; it shows that we're down). Its been good times, and Arusha is the tourist capital of Tanzania, so perhaps the good times will continue.

Word on the street is that we have just started a new year. I hope you are all in good places, and that '07 finds you happy and well. Its a bit strange for me to realize that this is my last year here in Tanzania (no, I'm not planning on extending my service; my masochism has a two-year shelf life). Our official close-of-service date is around late November. There's still a lot I feel like I need to do, so I'm hoping that the year doesn't pass me by too quickly. I haven't finished my first grant proposal yet, and I have three or four I want to complete; I still would enjoy learning more Kihaya and Kiswahili (although from spending time with the other volunteers I realized my Kiswahili isn't that shabby after all); my students are not yet all-powerful physics masters; my kitambi-prevention routine needs to be revamped (kitambi = beer belly); I've never learned to do a cartwheel. If you stay entertained by my posts over the next year, maybe you'll watch me slowly check these goals off, except the last one. I think cartwheels might be a hereditary thing.

I'll cross my fingers for you all, and whatever resolutions and such you may have made. A little effort towards self-improvement can go a long way, for all of us. I got into a little debate with a guy the other day, largely about what the purpose or driving motivation of life ought to be. We discussed utilitarians, and their ideas that pleasure or happiness is life's most desirable end. I guess I don't disagree with that, so I'll wish you all a good year, full of both happiness and pleasure.