Serengeti Bedtime Rituals: Stories, Hugs, Kisses, Beanie Babies

My favorite part of everyday is bedtime. It's pretty much the only moment in the day when the entire house is physically in the house, and isn't getting ready to go to school or go out to play or do any of the other things that occupy their days. At story time you've got their attention and at least 4 of them are usually in the mood to snuggle. I love it. And I see it as one of the most important parts of the day to make them feel safe and loved.

In my early weeks, the bedtime routine was crazy. We started with a story. The kids would argue over story choices, then jump all over each other, jockeying for a good spot to see the book we'd chosen. This quickly spurred me to awkwardly learn to read upside down, with the book perpetually facing my kid audience. After the story, I'd tuck the kids in. That's when the mayhem really started, especially with the boys. I would be carrying each of the eight to his bed, launching every other up to the top bunk (the strength and logistics of this are pretty impressive) and within a few seconds I'd turn my back to find the recent bed-delivery anxiously awaiting a re-do drop-off. "Yeah riiiiight" I'd say and they'd giggle and affix themselves to my legs like superglue. When they finally all got into bed, I would begin the hugs and kisses.

On my first night I didn't realize the excitement with with my little boys would approach goodnight kisses, but I quickly realized their plan: work together as a team-if one of us can get her on the lips, we all win. You may remember from one of my first TZ posts, Christopher was the winner the first night. As I leaned in to give this cute little 9 year old a hug and a kiss, he swooped in without warning and planted a big one straight on my lips. The entire boys room erupted in laughter as my jaw nearly hit the floor from a combination of embarrassment and total love of the scene that made them laugh so hard. Needless to say I have yet to be tricked again.

They've each developed their own little hug/kiss routine, too. Vicenti, who is 7, still has me lift him into bed. He gives me the tightest hugs of all. Paulo and Isaka both sleep on the top bunks; their beds make an L-shape and I fit right between where the beds meet. I stand between the two and they simultaneously give me a peck on the cheek. This has become the cool way for the oldest boys in the house to say goodnight. Whatever the particular hug/kiss routine, tucking the kids in is my absolute favorite part of every day. I wish them sweet dreams, tell them I love them, and really mean it.

Then there are the Beanie Babies, which have become an integral part of bedtime activities in Serengeti House. It all started in about the year 1996 when Beanie Babies became an American phenomenon. And being good little tween-aged American girls, my sister and I (and to some extent even my mom!) bought into the Beanie craze and started up our collections. In the next few years we amassed an embarrassingly large number of Beanies, and when the craze died out among us (even though it was still going strong in the mainstream) our Beanies went into Tupperware containers while we waited to figure out when their second lives would begin. And then while packing my already small backpack for Tanzania, it dawned on me. Why not put several of these 200 or so Beanies in your bag for the kids at RVCV? So out went some shirts and shampoo and in went 40, yes forty, Beanie Babies.

So one day about a month ago Paulo was feeling pretty sick and had stayed home from school. In an effort to make him feel better I brought him the golden retriever beanie that I had snuggled on my first night in Africa. Being an older kid, Paulo was relatively uninterested, but Boazi who is 7, was instantly obsessed. His eyes lit up at the sight of that dog, and we talked about how to take care of it (his name is Fetch...) and how to play with him and make him happy. I've recently had to start a snuggle-with-Fetch schedule because of his wild popularity.

Here are some shots from the scavenger hunt we organized last weekend. Kat (the blond volunteer) and I were a hunt item: Take a funny picture with Kat and Taylor. (The products of the kids' search are below! Click the images to see them larger!)

Last week the volunteers had an Obama Kanga party (kangas are wraps that all of the Tanzanian women wear, all the time). They are graced with a huge portrait of Barack Obama and two maps of Africa that appear on either side of his face. You can get them in red and blue and they’re wildly popular in Tanzania. So in honor of Obama, we had our little kanga party last weekend – another volunteer, Kat and I decided to wear ours as dresses. Tracie, a lady from Dallas TX who is great and who has become a great friend, fashioned hers as a head wrap and skirt (picture the Chiquita Banana lady). It was a great time. There's nothing like a late night dance party in rural Tanzania while you're wearing Obama-kanga gear.