bye bye to my sad swahili

so, i tried my hardest to speak as much swahili as i could muster (and lonely planet phrasebook could provide) but it was, on the whole, very inadequate. there's something very frustrating about managing sad little pitiful "sorrys" and "pleases" and "thank you very muches" for two weeks straight. when i return to tanzania (i've already decided i have to) i have resolved to do the following:

1. speak in complete sentences (even if those sentences could have been constructed by a 3 year-old).

2. visit zanzibar, kilimanjaro in the *daylight* and any one of the big game parks. it's kind of unforgivable that i didn't manage even one of these...

3. stay in one place for more than 3 days!

i have to say that my last few days in tanzania were the definite highlights. hanging out with anna and molly was fantastic, mostly because anna, with her savvy swahili, gave me a great whirlwind tour of kigoma city's markets (you thought your local flea market was crazy) and helped me slog through they muddy streets after we finished up data collection at the hospital (thanks anna, i could not have done it without you!). lake tangayika is GORGEOUS. more beautiful than i ever imagined. and, given that the day was exceptionally clear, we could see the mountaintops of the congo across the water. dreamy. yes, i definitely need to go back with more time on the agenda.