The Race is On

Last Monday (11/09/09) marked the beginning of an epic battle of speed in Iringa. There are now 12 or 13 kids after the title of "Fastest Jumper in Tanzania". The record at Iringa International School stands at 47 right-footed jumps in 30 seconds, but the bar was raised on Saturday at IDYDC (Iringa Development of Youth, Disabled, and Children Care) to 49, just 6 jumps short of the Tanzanian record. The scores will continue to rise, and I have a feeling that the current record will be shattered by the end of this week. Most of the kids are still developing the timing between their arms feet as they increase in speed, but once they have that figured out - the sky will be the limit.

I continue to be amazed by the speed at which kids are learning skills. Buddy bounce, caboose, inverse toad, frog, various wraps and releases, you name it. I'll post a video later this week.

Frequent power outages (as often as every other day for 5-6 hours) can make it difficult to keep phones, computers, and cameras charged, but it definitely makes me appreciate the electricity more when it is working.

Iringa is a really nice place. It's a quiet, small town, but there are a lot of really cool craft stands with beautiful handmade jewelry, cloth paintings, and wooden sculptures. There are some really nice restaurants (check out Hasty Tasty Too, Sai Villa, and Mama Siyovelwa), and the hills are covered with huge boulders, the biggest of which is Gangilonga (Talking Stone).

Amani,
Mike