Some months have passed by, and it\'s time for an update in pictures:

• Mid-December we went to the Annual Conference by VSO, this year in Dodoma- the official capital of Tanzania. A good opportunity to catch up with our fellow VSO\'ers who are spread out over the country.
• For Christmas, Marije\'s mother and Tim\'s father accompanied us for two weeks. During that time also Tim\'s sister Maaike and her boyfriend Dennis joined us for a good New Year\'s celebration!
• Last month, Tim\'s former rowing team from University visited us. We showed them around in Mtwara and went for an exciting and adventurous car safari through the wilderness of Selous Game Reserve, and a hike in the scenic Uluguru Mountains- it\'s so great to track and spot all the wildlife, driving through vast array of landscapes passing local villages.

This post is not only about beautiful photos. 2013 started with some Mtwara survival tests for us. Firstly, the rainy season started quite heavily, with our house almost flooded, but luckily all our furniture is hard wood, so no damage. Some people were more unfortunate, like our cleaning lady Agnes. She had the water in her house up to her waist for two days...movieThe same month people started rioting against the government gas policies (remember the huge gas discoveries offshore Mtwara), even burning down some buildings. Another town in the region (Masasi) burned heavily. Although officially protesting against government gas policies, many sensation seekers are attracted as well. On Friday evening, coming back from Mikindani on our way to Mtwara, we were stopped by road blocks and angry mob, throwing stones at our car (window broken). Luckily we could escape, turning back to Mikindani, returning to Mtwara on Sat morning. After a few hot days everything went back to normal pretty quickly, especially after some Presidential promises to give everyone a better life.

Seeit allhere.