15 and 16 February 2009 - Settling in

Today (15th) is another day without electricity. Maybe there is repair work being done, and so when the work week starts it will be back to normal? Who knows. Anyway, jet lag caught up to me last night and I was wide awake until after 2.00 a.m. That will be finished before too long, I'm sure, and I'll be back to normal. Geri took me for a get-acquainted drive around the environs and city, and that helped me get some perspective. A lot of the buildings look the same but there are also a lot of new establishments, new hotels, new businesses. There are so many advertisements on electric poles for cell phone services, and I'm told that so many people in the country now have cell phones. Some services reach way out in the villages, and some of the services are relatively cheap, especially texting. Another thing that caught my eye was the color of the buildings along the road. It seems that the cell phone companies are recognized by certain colors so the companies give free paint to shops to paint the outside of the shop their business color. And some of them are really bright!! And then of course there are the people. There are so many walking along the road, riding bicycles, as well as riding in taxis and daladalas. These latter are the minibuses that transport people around the city. I was also reminded that one needs to be a very alert driver on these roads..... It's a little haphazard with not a whole lot of regard for the traffic rules, but somehow everyone seems to get where they need to go.

I'm trying to note experiences/sounds/scenes that new eyes see, that would impress a newcomer to this country. I'm finding, however, that my senses are already getting used to these things. I'll keep on trying though so that you all have something interesting to read.

(16th) Monday and the start of the work week. I'm so lucky to have this time to adjust to a new time zone and not have to go off to work. Everyone else in the house was up and busy while I had the leisure to think and read and write. This morning it was cloudy, with very, very small showers passing through. The electricity is on today - Yea!

This morning there was a yard full of crows picking up the scraps after the dogs were fed. These crows aren't completely black but have some white on them - and they're BIG! There are a lot of dogs on the property. They act as watch dogs and guard us well at night together with the watchmen. This area hadn't been very populated and so it was bothered quite a bit by thieves wanting to come in. Of course knowing that Wazungu (root word means "dizzy" and refers to Europeans/strangers/non-natives) live here is also a calling card. History has led people to believe that all white people are rich, and so for those who don't know us that is a calling card. And of course we do have more than most. Just living in this nice house proves that. There certainly have been a lot of folks moving into the area, however, and that is a big difference from five years ago. This section of the city was almost on the outskirts then; now it's been built up so much.

Late afternoon brought a heavy shower of 15 minutes. It poured straight down for that length of time and then that was the end. The grass and trees loved it. In the evening some dear friends came to visit and it was wonderful to get caught up on all the news, especially that of Singida (where I lived when last here). We got caught up on our families, mutual friends, and we talked about how many new schools have been built, the shortage of teachers for them, the state of education in the country, the differences among schools as to quality of education, etc. One of the friends is Headmistress of a school in Singida, the other a teacher in schools in Dar es Salaam and Bagamoyo, and both are such dedicated professionals.

When we took them back to town to their brother's house about 8.30 p.m. it was a good reminder of how many people in urban areas live. After leaving the paved main road, we drove on a very rough road for about 1 - 2 km. There were plenty of people walking along the road, probably just now getting home after work. Many of the houses along the road also serve as shops. People use a front room to put in a few basic supplies and sell them to make a little bit of money. There were also many people who had set up their small tables along the road, selling peanuts, fruits and vegetables, sweets/candy, tobacco/cigarettes, rice -- anything that might be needed for the evening and that could be picked up as people walked home. The tables were lit by kerosene lamps; some of the sellers were men and some were women. The shops in the downtown area are all shut up, with gates and shutters at night, and watchmen are posted.

You'll hear from me soon again. Thanks for being interested.