Morning walks

Morning. The sun sprinkles on the Uluguru mountains and clouds wisp around them. The sounds of a Morogoro morning – nearby roosters crowing, birds in their air conditioning unit nest outside the window, goats and cows protesting as they're herded out from the pen on the other side of the hotel wall -- often wake us before our alarms. A few of us have been jogging some mornings, and others of us have been going for morning walks.

The stream of people along the hotel road seems to start at early dawn and continues well past our 7:30ish start, as people head to work and school. We stand aside for motorcycle taxis and a few cars as they swoosh past, moving from side to side on the road, searching for the least bumpy route. Secondary students head to the school down the road and a few say hello. Our attempts in Swahili are matched by their attempts in English resulting in smiles, gestures, and laughter.

 

Off the main road, we wander in a nearby neighborhood as it prepares for the day. Small buses packed with waving school children go by. Chickens wander and scratch in the gardens, yards, and road. The sun beats across the small fields and house gardens

 

We attempt the correct response to the greetings from the friendly residents tidying up their yards, sending their children off, opening their shops, and starting their day -- Habari. Nzuri. Mambo. Poa. -- and call greetings of our own.

A drumbeat sounds from down the road. A private school owned by a US-based church is assembling its students. They line up as the small student band plays and then fall in line to their morning classes. Latecomers slip past the gate and join the line. A teacher calls us over and is interested in why we are here. Before he heads to class he invites us to Easter dinner, an invitation we can't consider since we leave Morogoro this Wednesday.

Which is hard to believe. There are only a a few days left for morning walks in Morogoro.