i'm in my new home...tabata. sorry, no pix, but coming soon...well, i have my little quarters with cement floor, sleeping under a mosquito net, but it's nice to have my own space. ok, i have to get out and go into the main house if i want the toilet, but i'm still in africa after all!:)

i've living with 5 kids that have hiv, 3 boys and 2 girls. the youngest girl is 5 and her name is mboni and the oldest boy is 12 and his name is erick. the other kids are johnny, laurin, zufla. i'll definetly take tons of pix of them! mama agnes also lives there and she's also a nurse. they also call her bibi or grandmother. they call me auntie or auntie rose. yet, another alias!:) they are very affectionate, which we all know i love! they are teaching me swahili and i am teaching them english. kibwana also lives in the house and he was the once nice enough to take me on the bus to the internet cafe. sounds easy? don't be fooled. it's like camping, but i actually live here! over the hills and through the woods to the bus stop. oh, and the buses....never had an adventure like this b4. you saw the last pix, but you didn't get the smell, beyond lack of personal space, and yesterday i didn't have a seat going to the medical clinic, pasada. crazy, it's funded my italians in padova of all places! what are the odds?? anyways, my body is contorted every way bc the dalla dalla (bus) is a minibus. too much! i stretch when i get home and move on. i've never loved water more...never loved a lot of things more actually. i love cell phones, and internet, and variety in food, and family and friends, and the list goes on and on.

anyways, other anecdotes include the way the kids pray-like a baptist revival on the floor and everything! yet another sight to see.

adjusting ok though all in all. just need to get used to things and make friends and everything. kids are so great. we even play what time is it mr. wolf and think of ready by 5!

take care and sending you love from tz!
ar.