Epilogue

I stopped posting rather abruptly in the last days of my study. A combination of no internet access and too many things to do!

An update for the curious:

I had a baby girl named Amelia in mid-December 2007, and will defend my dissertation on her first birthday. She was born at our home with highly skilled nurse-midwives. That fact alarms a number of people in the US (who don't realize the training or equipment of the particular group that helped me deliver Amelia) and in Tanzania (who don't realize that a home birth in the US isn't necessarily anything like a home birth in Tanzania). She was born with the easygoing temperament I saw in so many children in my study area. Life with her has changed beyond my wildest expectations.

Spending a year away from my husband was harder than either of us expected, and something I could never do again. Still, every now and then I miss parts of my year in Tanzania. I miss that life was simpler, even though it was harder. I miss Indian food (though I still don't miss rice, beans, and greens). I miss being able to speak freely and quickly in Swahili... even though I still understand it my tongue seems to have become stuck after a year of atrophy. I miss the vast expanse of the Indian Ocean. And I miss my friends, some of whom may never meet my "field baby" Amelia who was knitted together in a rugged place in Africa. I hope she can return one day.