It’s normal for a volunteer to come full-throttle to a new place, ready and gung-ho to start making moves immediately. In Tanzania, though, patience is essential.

My experience thus far has consisted mainly of observing and familiarizing myself with all the many day-to-day operations. It’s pretty essential here to know even a little Swahili, so I’ve been trying to factor in daily studying. It’s coming along polepole, slowly, but the people here are really responsive to any effort. Though she is slow to admit it, Kim has become impressively fluent in a matter of only months.

Government officials, including Levina, are sworn in to new or re-appointments

We’ve been invited to various events— including dinners, a housewarming church service party, a confirmation celebration, long governmental reappointment meetings and others—giving us a closer view of Tanzanian culture and customs.

A young boy, who has just been confirmed, feeds cake to a Maasai elder

Cake for example, isn’t just dished out in thick slices to impatiently waiting guests as it is at home.Instead small bites are cut, which invitees line up to feed to the person of honor with a toothpick, and then vice versa. At one recent gathering no less than 25 people—patient children included—quietly took part in this tradition. It was at said party that we received our little feline bundle, tentatively now named Zuri, meaning handsome.

Jaime scoops up Zuri at the confirmation party, before bringing him home for a good cleaning

He came about 8 weeks old and chockfull of fleas, but he is now clean, content and rapidly growing. His little presence has sure enhanced everything except sleep, and we now work at home with him curled up just above our keyboards.

And despite the hot, rainy weather and lack of snow, we’ll make the holiday as festive as ever with a homemade tree, Christmas movies, stovetop cookies and Bing Crosby.

Zuri makes Kim’s work difficult