Mmm...Typhoid.

I took the last of four typhoid vaccine pills today. Yummy. Guess that makes me as protected from the creepie-crawlies as I can get.

Tanzanian Elections Are Largely Peaceful - Whew!

Looks like Jakaya Kikwete (above, on the right) and the CCM party have won the Tanzanian elections. You might remember my post from October 31 that described some violence in early elections on Zanzibar, where we'll be heading in the first days of February. This story from the BBC says there was some additional trouble this week on Zanzibar, where the majority favors the opposition CUF party.

Fortunately for our trip (as well as for the people of Tanzania), it seems that this is one African nation that is starting to do a fairly good job of holding elections; the international observers involved in the election said things went pretty smoothly.

It will be interesting on our upcoming visit to see if we notice a difference between the Tanzanian mainland and Zanzibar. Politically, it appears that these two locations couldn't be more different. President Kikwete needs to figure out a way to bring his people together. It looks like he's won himself five years in office to see what he can do.