Color, Color--Everywhere!

One of the things you notice when you arrive in Tanzania is the profusion of color, even in the driest dustiest areas. Any of our Western notions about coordinating color in our clothing goes right out the window. Women everywhere wear kangas and combine them in ways that make every passer-by come alive. The small fungas (piles of vegetables) sold by the road or at the markets brighten up the scene wherever you look. Brightly painted dukas and buildings--painted so either because no one can afford to be choosy about affordable paint or because they have an eye for color that is so different from ours--line the streets. Even the dalla-dallas, the crazy overstuffed minivan buses are wildly decorated (my favorite the other day proclaimed "damu ya Yesu"--"the blood of Jesus"-- on the top of the window, "Inshahallah"--the Muslim phrase meaning "if Allah wills it" --at the bottom and sported a giant marijuana leaf in the middle--go figure).

But nature provides some amazing color as well. Here in the fall/spring (fall back home and spring here) it's jacaranda season. These beautiful purple trees explode like fireworks and their beautiful lavender petals carpet the roads everywhere. These photos are taken in our yard and at the international school, but you can bet PHA will be just as colorful.
The bouganvilla spreading across the roof of the kids' dining area at school will be covering the 2 miles of fence surrounding PHA. It's amazing how everything grows so quickly here, given enough water. The weather is hot, the short rains are (hopefully) imminent, and things are BLOOMIN'! Come and see for yourself.

And thanks, Calandria, for your inspiration--you always capture the little things that are great about living in MN--including your nature shots--and I'm terrible about that. It took me a week to remember to drag a camera along on the way to school today!