Graduation, camels and monogamy

So, another busy busy weekend. On Saturday morning the kids and I headed to the annual "Karibu" Tourism Fair to catch up with friends in from various camps in the bush, eat the free snacks, bounce on the bouncy castle, ride camels, sit on monster quadbikes, play in the back of Overland Safari trucks and get faces painted. Meanwhile, Mr B headed off to Mungu Ishi Bible College, run by our Australian Friends for the Anglican Church. It was graduation day and he was to give the graduation speech. Fortunately he and M are about the same size so he was able to borrow a suit, shirt and tie (shame about the shoes but never mind!).

Meanwhile, the kids and I returned home for a short breather before heading to a wedding. No ordinary wedding either. It was the wedding of the parents of one of the girls we take to school 3 days a week. Her father is Maasai and her mother is French Canadian. Sadly I forgot to take the camera, but it was a lively and multicultural event. The men and women from the Dad's village had all come in traditional dress to bring in the bride and groom. Traditional dancing and singing, with great leaps in the air, was interspersed with French love songs and 'Panis Angelicus' sung by the bride's Uncle and Aunt. The snacks we nibbled on while waiting for proceedings to start included samosas, vegetable kebabs and swiss cheese. The wedding was held in their garden and they had microphones so that we could all hear the "I do"s and also hear the Dad committing publicly to a monogamous, not polygamous marriage. This is a legal part of any wedding in Tanzania, so even  European friends of ours who have married here have also had to choose which box to tick, or rather, which box the husband to be ticks.... I enjoyed joining in with the loud uulations that greeted each new event.

Mr B got back from the graduation and joined us about two hours into the proceedings, arriving just before the bride...

Then on Sunday, after a moving farewell service at church for us and others leaving imminently, we had a lovely afternoon playing boules, drinking beer, blowing bubbles and eating brownies with some friends. The Dad is from Zimbabwe and the Mum from Puerto Rico. Then heading on for an evening with other friends, Dad American but raised in Tanzania and Mum German. They had also invited our friends from a lodge near Lake Eyasi, who were in town for the Karibu fair. Mum's Argentinian and Dad's German but raised in Tanzania, kids first language swahili....

Only pics from the weekend were of Mr B helping graduate students.