Riverside Campsite, Iringa

Just a couple of our "neighbours" here at Riverside campsite. Tame compared to some other neighbours...

There are two things that I am very afraid of. One of them is snakes. The other one is rats. Since we got to Iringa, I have had every reason to be afraid. On the very first morning here, we decided to go for a stroll along the river in the campsite, being assured by other guests that this would be very pleasant. So we set off, and I led the way past the dining banda, around the corner- and straight into the path of a long, grey snake! With great fear, I leapt back, grabbed my children and screamed, "Snake!!" The Tanzanian staff nearby were quick to repsond -and let's just say that Mr. Snake is no longer around to tell his side of the story! Apparently, the snake was either a spitting cobra or a mamba- both very dangerous.
Thankfully, I have not yet encountered rats so closely, but I found it very hard to relax in our stone banda last week when we learnt that previous guests had regular rat visitors: but they just killed them themselves. I can't imagine having to do so gruesome a task myself! I was very relieved on Saturday when we changed bandas! We are now in a very pleasant wooden banda where rats have not been known to disturb residents.
We came by the banda thanks to a kind American family who have been on the campiste since the end of July, studying Swahili before working for SIL (Wycliffe translators). They are out on "homestay" this week, where they go and live in a Tanzanian home to improve their Swahili, with their 2 small children. What an experience! They come back here for a few days to complete their course and then depart for Dodoma. They very kindly arranged for us to swap bandas with them, so I am feeling much better in our new "home".
The campsite itself is in lovely surroundings, on the bank of a river. Our little thatch classroom is right next to the river, so we are soothed by the sound of flowing water as we attempt to conjugate our Swahili verbs! Meals are provided and eaten in a large dining thatched banda together with all the guests, both language students and private guests. The food is great and we are meeting lots of nationalities here.
I must stop now. It is time to go and revise Swahili, before our early start tomorrow. Here's hoping that Ben will be happier and Esther healthier in the week to come!

Week 1 at Language School

jifunza, angalia, hitaji, ongelea... our heads are buzzing with Kiswahili verbs and our minds are muddled from trying to make sense of how to read a clock in "Swahili time"- a very confusing challenge for me, although Andrew copes well with this more mathematical task! The weekend provides us with a chance to take a breath before we start lessons again at a bright 8am on Monday. Our teachers are enthusiastic, with quite a gleam in their eyes as they present us with verb tenses, sentence structure, negatives, question words etc etc!!
The first week has been a challenging one. It has been a difficult one for Esther, who has been unwell and still has a bit of a fever, and for Ben, who hates the separation from Mum during lessons and has not bonded with our young Tanzanian nanny, Emma. Esther has had a mystery illness, which the doctors in Dodoma could not explain on the day we left for Iringa. She came up suddenly in spots all over her chest and face, a fever, conjunctivitus, sore throat and has been listless. Not at all like her usual sunny self.
Ben has been most indignant about Mum and Dad disappearing into a their small thatch banda for lessons from 8am until 1pm. He has cried so much this week, and gets upset at the mere mention of "Emma". The crying has even continued into the night and most nights have been disturbed, by Ben's tears or Esther having nightmares- which could be a result of the larium anti-malarial pills. We are therefore changing the anti-malarials we use, which should really help little Esther.
Hopefully, next week will be a little more settled- we will keep you posted from our campsite where we are staying and where the lessons take place...

Unasema Kiswahili?

We woke up early this morning and after the immediate tasks - changing Ben's nappy (a nasty one!!) and cleaning Esther's eye (poor little poppet has conjunctivitis)- it was time to reach for our Swahili phrase book.

The milk-lad came at 07:45 with our milk (still warm from the cow) and we needed to explain to him that we are going away tomorrow, for 4 weeks, as we go to language school in Iringa. We had a hotch-potch conversation and we think he understood, but if he turns up with milk tomorrow morning, we'll know we failed!

Then it was time to chat to Jane. Jane is a lovely Tanzanian lady who is coming to help me twice a week at home ( horray!! it's great to have an extra pair of hands!) with the bread-making, hand-washing, ironing and cleaning. I needed to explain how long we'd be away and plans for coming in while we're away, holiday leave, Christmas arrangements, wages etc. Swahili phrase book in hand, and pencil and paper at the ready to write the words I can't pronounce, we muddled through and all was arranged, with much laughter and patience! My Irish neighbour came in later to translate everything, as she's fantastically fluent in Swahili, but it appears all has been understood! The Lonely Planet phrasebook works well!

Next, it was off to the local duka (shop), a small wooden shed-like building opposite the MAF compound. I needed tomatoes ("nyanya") and all went smoothly, but the drama started at the next duka when I tried to buy margarine and tea. The young shopkeeper was very friendly, but you can't go into the shop. You have to ask for things through a metal grill: so we can't just wander in, select what we want from the shelf and pay. That would be cheating. No, we have to use our Swahili! My attempts to get the correct margarine and the right tea caused much hilarity to the shop-keeper, the other customers leaning against the side of the shop and to me, as I kept getting it all wrong!! Working out the money took a while as well and by then, it was a community affair, with many interested onlookers and lots of smiling and commenting!

Anyway, our Swahili lessons start on Monday. Hopefully, after 4 weeks of language school, we may be able to do our shopping with a little less drama and have easier conversations with our milk-lad and Jane...

Introducing you to Jane

Warning: not for vegetarians!

When we get meat from the butcher's out here, this is how it arrives at your house. No nice clingfilm packaging and smart labels, but beef direct from the cow! Therefore, I found myself in another role today, as I took up the task of washing, then chopping, the fresh meat, so that it will be suitable for home freezing and cooking. A tough task- this beef needed a firm hand to be cut!

Whilst Esther, Ben and I held the fort at home today, Andrew has been exploring the car dealerships of Dar es Salaam. Not having a local vehicle dealer in Dodoma, Andrew had to make the day-long bus journey to Dar on Monday in order to go and find us a suitable vehicle for our time out here. He has had a successful day and found us a car, but the paperwork will take some time - maybe a few weeks?- to complete. He has started the process and can do no more at this stage, so returns home tomorrow on the hot, sticky bus journey. I must make sure there is a tasty beef casserole awaiting my travel-weary husband when he arrives home...

P.S. Esther would like you all to know that she took the photo today, of Mummy with the beef!

Domestic Duties

A muddy shopping trip

Andrew has bean very busy!

A look at life on the domestic front

Shopping
There are a couple of small food shops in Dodoma, but no supermarket. Supplies seem to vary day to day. Last week, I planned a minced beef dish- but there was no mince available in any of the shops. So we had chicken instead! The chicken was tasty once roasted, although far skinnier than the chickens I'd find in Sainsburys! We have to be careful about preparing chicken, though, as they are sold frozen, but may have been defrosted at some time in their shelf life, due to being transported in non-refridgerated lorries, with only bags of ice to keep them cool, or there could have been a powercut in town whilst they sat in the shop freezer...
For fresh produce, we go to Dodoma's market. So far, I have been accompanied by MAF ladies, but I am apprehensive about going alone. It's not just the language barrier, it's also the struggle with the mental maths, as we deal in cash, with huge numbers: £1 is equivalent to about 2,500 Tanzanian shillings! It's quite tricky to work out the totals and change whilst trying to choose decent looking vegetables and avoid getting squashed by the myriad of other shoppers in the dark, narrow alleyways between stalls.
Then there is also the mud if it has been raining. Esther and Ben joined me and MAF lady Angela on a market expedition, just after a downpour of rain- and we got FILTHY, as we slipped our way through muddy alleyways and puddles!! Next time, I'll choose a sunny day!

Food preparation
It's not just vegetables and fruit that need cleaning. I bought a kilo of beans on Friday, and Andrew gave them a good clean and sort before I soaked them overnight and cooked them (most delicious in a nice stew). Andrew found several stones and a piece of glass, so I was grateful for his help!

Laundry
In Dodoma sunshine, my laundry dries outside amazingly fast and is crisp and fresh when it comes in. But there is a catch. Everything hung outside must be ironed, to ward off the risk of
the evil mango-fly, who could potentially lay eggs on our washing, which could then hatch and bury themselves under our skin as we innocently wear our fresh clothes! Ironing kills any eggs, but this was not such good news for me: I hate ironing!! And it's hot work in 30'C heat!!

Cleaning
This is not just a matter of having a dust-free house: it's also a way of combatting bugs. However, we do have fly-screens on all our windows and doors. What a great invention! Still, I am on high-alert at the moment, as 2 scorpions have been found (and disposed of!) in a nearby home and garden...

Meanwhile, Benjamin is doing his bit to help out on the domestic front. To cut back on washing,
he's found a new way to play outdoors...

Cross-cultural Living

This morning, I was very happy to have an opportunity to speak French. I stopped for a chat with one of the French-speaking Swiss volunteers. I was on my way to use the washing machine at the home of the other MAF pilot, a Swiss German family. (I can't wait until we get our own washing machine- we just need our container to get here!).
This afternoon, I took the pram with Ben in it and Esther and I walked across the dusty local streets to the other MAF compound, where there are 4 other houses for MAF staff. Esther was on her way to play with her new little friend, Elisabeth, age 4. Elisabeth is Swedish and apart from her native language, is becoming fluent in English and will soon be learning Swahili in school.
As we walked out of our compound, we greeted the guards in Swahili (very basic Swahili!!) and set off on our little journey. The first sight to greet us was a group of 7 or so Tanzanian men in orange overalls felling a large tree with the aid of a long rope, supervised by an imposing man in a khaki uniform, his arm resting on his rather large rifle. It was apparent that we had to walk through the centre of this group, which was a little unsettling, as I had correctly assumed that here was a group of prisoners from the Dodoma prison, out and about on work duty. Fortunately, Esther was distracted by the local ladies wandering past on the adjacent street, attired in bright kangas and gracefully bearing enormous loads on their heads. This took little Esther's attention away from the gun and she ambled past the prisoners without a backward glance, but full of questions as to what the ladies might be carrying and wondering, why can't Mummy carry the shopping like that when we go to the shops? (It would be a very messy affair if I did try such a skill- it wouldn't take long for the contents of the shopping to fall off and be strewn all over the ground!!)
Once on compound B, Esther ran off to play with her new friends in the communal garden, whilst Ben and I shared a cup of tea with Elisabeth's mum and admired Elisabeth's 4 month old brother. When it was time to go home, I went outside to find Esther. Following the sound of great shrieks of glee, I discovered Esther and 4 other little friends being wheeled around by the Tanzanian guard in a wheelbarrow- and there was Esther, sitting up front, with a little Dutch girl, 2 Swedish children and another little English boy! A multi-cultural barrow of children, with a Tanzanian escort!
We walked home, to the amusement of many of the local teenageers, who enjoy shouting to the "wazungu" (white people) as we pass them. I'm not sure yet whether I should be happy that I can't understand what they are saying, or whether they are being friendly! On arrival at our home, we made hasty preparations and then joined Mark Laprini, a South African MAF pilot we met whilst we lived in South Africa. He is here in Dodoma for a few days and was taking us out for dinner at the city's main hotel, to their Chinese restaurant. So we ate Chinese food, with a South African, in the Tanzanian capital, after a day with a mixed group of nationalilties... This is our new life with MAF: a real cross-cultural experience.
As for venturing into the city centre of Dodoma, I am still coming to terms with the fact that we really do stand out with our white skins. It is strange to be in an environment where we are so obviously foreign and it can feel very uncomfortable at times. Yesterday, however, I did draw comfort from the fact that other European MAF staff seem perfectly at ease. Our Irish neighbour kindly offered to accompany me to town, lending me her husband's bike and child-seat. So Esther and I joined JulieAnne and her daughter, also Esther Elizabeth (!!), and we had a great time being shown the sights and facilities of Dodoma- the post office, the local Asian foodstore, the chemist's, the smaller market stalls and, most importanatly of all, the ice-cream "parlour" where we stopped for an ice-cream, despite the powercut, and treated our Esthers to a cool vanilla/strawberry ice-cream- a comfortingly familiar taste, in the midst of our new cross-cutural experience!

Off to town on our bikes, with the Two Esthers in tow!

Rain and Flowers

It's been raining today, and when I say rain, I mean REAL rain- huge drops teeming out of the grey sky in a furious torrent! When the pounding on the roof became quieter in the afternoon, we knew the rain was dying down. Now the compound where we are living is a riot of colour, as all the flowers seemed to breathe a great sigh of satisfaction and flex their floral muscles to compete with one another in displaying the very best of their colours. It seemed that the flowers have visibly grown and sprung up in just one day of rain! Here are a few photos to prove that it's not just sunshine and dryness out here in Dodoma!

After the rain, Esther and Ben bounded outside to splash in the puddles and run in the fresh air, after a morning indoors reading stories with Mum. They also took a moment to examine the garden. Esther was particularly fascinated by the (unripe) mangoes on the mango tree, whilst her little brother found that squelching in the flower bed mud was much more fun!!

Getting Used To...

... many new aspects of daily life- here are some examples:

• brushing our teeth using bottled water, rather than turning on the tap
• tucking my children up under mosquito nets each night
• boiled milk in tea- and reboiling our milk to make a sauce or custard etc.
• filling the kettle from the water filter and trying to remember not to fill it from the tap
• sterilising all our fruit and veg- a time consuming activity, as I discovered after my trip to the market today. There is no such thing as quickly putting the shopping away once home!
• concrete floors. Dropping something on the floor creates a most spectacular noise and things break with great dramatic effect, as little Ben found out when he dropped his enamel cup on the floor yesterday. This signalled the sad demise of his cute drinking cup!
• the NOISE! Dodoma can be noisy, as we found out on Saturday night. It seems that a party is to be shared with the whole neighbourhood, with the help of loudspeakers to broadcast the music and DJ far and wide across the city. It was 1:30am before a sleep-deprived Andrew and I hit on an idea to try and get some rest: we closed all the windows and drowned out the external noise with the whirr of our brand new fan! The fan which seemed noisy by day now provided welcome relief with its consistent buzz drowning out the throbbing bass of the party across town! Then there is also the call to prayer from the mosque, which starts early in the morning but is quieter if the wind is in the right direction...
• Dodoma is dusty and I am already guilty of having a dusty home: there is much work to be done to keep the home looking reasonably clean!

A little bit of flour

It is now our 4th day in Dodoma and I am learning lots on the domestic front. For the first 2 days, we were spoilt and made thoroughly welcome by the MAF staff. They arranged a rota so that we had meals at different people's homes, which was a big help, as I am only just learning to navigate around my new kitchen.

But now reality sets in! I have so far conquered the art of boiling our milk on a 5-minute "rolling boil", with a saucer in the enormous pan to alert us when it boils! The milk comes fresh from a local cow and is brought to our gate by a young lad at 8:15am, but needs to be treated by us once it arrives. And I have just peeled a cucumber for the 1st time and popped some more veg in a pot to be cleaned by 'Milton' solution before I prepare them for eating.

Yesterday, I was taken into town to buy a few necessities, including flour so that we can get on with making our bread. It was suggested that I get just a "little bit of flour" and some oil, to see us through next week before we leave for language school... and I came home with a 5kg bag of flour! It is the biggest bag of flour I have ever bought, but apparently, the norm for a family purchase of flour is a whopping 25kg bag!! So here is Ben, posing with my purchases... And the next task in hand is to learn how to clean rice- we shall see how I get on!

Here at last!

Well, here we are, settling in to our new home in Dodoma! The first impression of Tanzania was the heat, when we arrived early on Tuesday morning in Dar es Salaam. Apparently, we have arrived just at the start of the "hot season" and the temperatures have soared in the past week. It has made us all very sleepy and after our long journey, we all kept falling asleep all over our new house for the first 2 days! Next week, we won't have the excuse of the overnight travels, so we'll just have to adapt instead!
We were met by the MAF plane in Dar, ready to take us to Dodoma. This was a huge advantage compared to the other travel option of a bumpy 8-hour bus ride across Tanzania. Sitting on the cool plane, we watched the vast country of Tanzania slide away underneath us. There are such vast areas of open country, populated now and again by small, spread-out villages, appearing on the hot, orangey-brown land. Then we flew over some sharp hills, where there was more green in evidence and then back over the dry, open plains. It certainly brought home to us the difference that MAF can make, as it took less than an hour and a half to arrive at our new home from Dar and we arrived far less exhausted than we would have if we'd taken the bus, with 2 small children, 8 suitcases, 2 car seats, 5 pieces of hand luggage and a pram!!