A few photos from our wonderful campsite overlooking the Ngorongoro Crater. In the middle of the night, we woke up to some loud screaming and squealing. A bush pig attacked a tent near ours and ate their scented lotion. (Yes, with them inside the tent!) There was a lot of screaming, and in the end, the fancy NorthFace tent was destroyed. The two people spent the rest of the night with the cooks in the cooks' building (concrete with wire around the windows to keep animals out of the food).
We started our drive back towards Arusha- spending the afternoon in the car on the way towards the crater. The wildebeest and zebras were completely absent in the Serengeti- but in the Ngorongoro highlands, they were EVERYWHERE... This is also the area where the Maasai are still very active, tending their large herds of cattle alongside these amazing animals. The Maasai have a very iconic style about them- I'm sure you've all seen pictures. They are fascinating. We weren't comfortable taking pictures. (Mostly because in these days, they then expect money. And I don't do that.) So, enjoy the photos of the animals instead!
Here are a few more pictures from the next morning, our last run through the Serengeti. We caught some early morning rain, but it cleared off really nicely. And we were lucky! CLOSE encounter with more elephants, tons of giraffes.. and our first cheetah!
Once again, we managed to get ourselves into a little bit of trouble with monkeys. This seems to be a trend with us! 
It probably is worth noting that these monkeys are known for the males having bright blue testicles. Sorta funny.
Some photos from the second day- over eight hours cruising the Serengeti plains. (Well, after an early morning campsite photo shoot.)
tracking a pride of lions... to no end. 
hippo out of water!
(above) a leopard! A real, live leopard! Close enough to jump in our car, if it wanted to. Everyone says that these are rare to find, as they hide themselves away in the trees for most of the day. Jackpot! 
(above) Our campsite for the first two nights. While we were camping, we were also pretty taken care of. It was just Emily and myself traveling with a guide and a chef. They would set it all up for us and make us delicious food. The campsite itself was pretty basic. It was also inside the Seregeti- no fences or anything, just open plains. In the night we heard lions roaring and hyenas wailing (cackling? laughing?). CRAZY!
(above) looking into the Ngorongoro Crater
(above) Chameleon on the arm of our guide
(above) Emily, her box lunch, and her new friend
(above) A pride of lions resting on the rocks
(above) Looking out over the Serengeti
Our buddy from upstairs, Melissa, joined us for coffee this morning. Since we were cooking breakfast at the time, we dragged two chairs into the kitchen. (Silly me, I thought Emily was making me breakfast and I would get to sit and chat.) Well, before I got the chance to sit, it became clear who the chair was really for. Here's Toab and Melissa, enjoying coffee and some trip planning.
We're not sure what to make of the new developments on Africa Road. It looks like the government is installing a series of pieces dedicated to traditional culture here. This seems to be the first one finished- the jebana or traditional coffee pot. There are more in the works. (Right now they're just concrete, not yet painted up all fancy.) We'll try to snap the whole series before we leave here.
To celebrate the start of spring break, eight of us went to try a popular local restaurant. Despite being told repeatedly how good it was, none of us had ever gone. And boy, are we sorry we waited so long! It was a no-nonsense kind of place- plastic wrap on the tables and huge piles of fish, lamb, chicken- whatever you wanted. And it was delicious. We all agreed it was probably the best fried chicken we've ever had. Anywhere. Sorry mom and dad for not knowing to take you there!
We leave tomorrow night for 9 days in Northern Tanzania, including 5 days on safari in the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater. This will be our last tour in East Africa- and we're excited! Happy Easter to everyone! Hopefully we'll have great photos to share when we get back!
We survived karaoke! The kids were all so, so excited- dressed up all sharp and fancy. We had arranged soda, popcorn, and a karaoke list of about 80 songs. And I had worked with the tech guys to set up a whole karaoke system with my computer, speakers, microphone and projector. And it all worked!
I've attached some photos. The videos are pretty awesome too. Those will come later. I feel really good about the night. For some of these kids, it was a really big deal.
I certainly kept looking around for a surprise bride! I hope below video works- Sudanese wedding-style party in action! And if you're lucky you can spot Emily in the mix, dancing!
A little excitement in our house- Last Wednesday, the business manager at school found us to say that there had been an 'accident' in our kitchen. It seems the maid and her son (see above photo) were in our apartment and realized that the fan in our refrigerator had caught on fire! She ran to get the guards, who busted in and expertly doused the fire (and the rest of our kitchen) with the fire extinguisher. They got a hold of the maintenance supervisor, who came to check it out. It was quite the mess! He brought 5 workers from school to clean up the mess, washing every individual item that was salvageable from our fridge.
One of our favorite things here- Labne. Its almost a thick, thick yogurt. It's sorta like a soft cream cheese. Whatever you call it, with a little olive oil and spice, it truly is delicious. We always order it alongside our hommos and other mezzes. We even buy it by the quarter kilo at the deli. AND we've found that its going to be super easy to make at home! See the device to the left? Look at the product HERE. I'm pretty excited to get one this summer to try making my own labneh!
