Thursday was a good day! I would say, just about perfect. I taught class in the morning, getting my dose of kiddie hugs and fighting over hand holding...and then we took a well deserved break and snuck off to the hot springs. We were going out to some remote Chugga village were there was some kind of paradise awaiting us. We got into our suits and packed 9 of us into the van. I had no idea we would be 4 wheelin to get out there. We turned off the main road onto a dirt road where we bumped and rocked and slid through some mud...laughed and held our breath as our expert driver Paul got us through some sticky parts on the road. We passed cow herders, small children chasing our van to follow the blaring hip hop, old men shaking fingers at us to slow down (or turn down the music haha), women walking with bundles of firewood on their heads and talking on cell phones (my brain can't wrap around that one), mud huts and small churches. About 45 minutes of slow going over rocks and mud, we came upon a what looked like a few trees. Driving into the trees, it was magical. Who would have thought something like this little paradise would be out here in the middle of nothing? The water was crystal clear and warm (not as hot as I thought the "hot springs" should be though). We all stripped down and a couple of us got in then started screaming like little girls! there are little fish that start to "clean" you- you know, the ones you see cleaning the sides of aquariums? Well, I was warned it would happen but had no idea how much it was going to tickle. Once you push away from the edge, though, it's smooth sailing. For all the rain and mud and dirt and no good showers...this made up for it. We climbed the trees, jumped off branches, swung from the swing. I followed a stream to a clearing at the other end where I could feel the sun on my face. Had I not trusted our guide, I would swear there would be crocs or snakes in here. I felt like I was in the Congo. But I trusted I would be fine and floated in silence on my back. My face being the only part of me out of the water, soaking up the sun, staring at the clouds. It was quite the magical moment. As I came up, I heard some giggling and on the side of the pond were a couple of village women pointing at me. I laughed and waved and they made the gesture of me floating on my back and giggled. They said "mambo!" I yelled "poa!", smiled and swam back to the group to drag them all out to my new found bliss to experience for themselves.
As it started to get dark, we knew we were out of time. We packed up our stuff, paid the 5000 tsh each to the village chief for using the springs, then made our way back home. A few of us wanted to go out, so we ate dinner and cleaned up a bit. It seemed like a good idea as we were singing and laughing in the van, but now that we were full and sitting, we started to fade. However, it was my last couple of nights, so we said we'd just go out for a bit. A bit turned into hours. I almost beat Frank at pool (but didn't). One of the guys almost got into a fight with the motorcycle taxis (but didn't- thanks to Frank). And I almost got a good night's sleep (but clearly didn't). An hour and a half after hitting the pillow, I was up and on my way to my last day of volunteering.
