Kelly 1, Malaria None

Just a quick note to say that yes I am still alive. I have been busy getting all the fun parts of being in Africa out of the way like Malaria, and a stomach parasite (at the same time - woo!). Work continues to be awesome, despite the fact that my boss keeps sending me home to rest and recuperate every morning (typical morning goes like this: Greg (in thick Kiwi accent) Kelly, what the heck are you doing here? Me: Working, Greg: Trying to work maybe, go home and get well, Me: But.. Greg: GO - I'll get one of the drivers to take you Me; fine.) Other pluses, there is a new Minister of Energy, and so far he seems to be doing a better job. We have had power for most of the day and large parts of the evening for the past 2 days. Will this trend continue? I hope so, although I would gladly not have power between the hours of 8-4 if it meant having power all evening and night. Cooking by candle light on a kerosene burner is just not quite all it's cracked up to be. In fact, Candle light is no longer romantic to me, it just represents yet another coping mechanism for less than stellar living conditions. Oh, here's a good one; so get this, in Tanzania there is a holiday based on the sighting of the moon in Saudi Arabia!! Eid may or may not be this coming Monday and Tuesday, no one knows for sure though so you certainly can't plan a trip! Seriously, hasn't science evolved to the point that we know when the moon will be out? I mean didn't Da Vinci pretty much figure all this moon stuff out centuries ago?? This weekend we have plans of going to the beach for the day only as we cannot guarantee whether or not it will Eid and thus worth staying over. Mind you, I guess I cannot complain too much, after all on my weekends I get to go to deserted beach islands in the middle of the Indian Ocean, and all of you are stuck in snowy Canada/drizzly Britain/where ever you are. Suckers.