Tuesday 30 October 2012

Contrast

We visited Dar es Salaam a couple of weeks ago when the children had their 2 week school holiday. We enjoyed being close to water at the coast - and the Dar es Salaam rain was a real treat!
 Joel was rather confused about rain- he has never really experienced rain, except as a very small baby, so he was not too sure what to make of it! The last time it really rained in Dodoma was when his grandparents visited in March.





The following week, back at home, the children and I joined a group of friends for a walk around Dodoma's "reservoir". The contrast with our trip to Dar is stark! 449 km (279 miles) from the coast of Dar es Salaam, with no beach, rivers or lakes, we do not expect to see much water.
However, there is usually a bit of water to enjoy looking at in Dodoma's reservoir. But not this month! Not a drop can be seen...neither in the so-called reservoir, nor in the blazing blue skies, where not a cloud is visible and rain seems like a distant memory...

View across Dodoma's reservoir to our parking spot:

Joel contemplates the dry vista on the banks of the reservoir:

Walking with our friends along the dusty, sandy pathways:

Passing herds in search of water.. 


 Ben was fascinated by the bed of the reservoir, which has turned into dry, cracked mud:
 
Our picnic spot was situated nearby. We spread out on mats, sitting on the parched earth- but the dryness and heat did not deter us from enjoying the good company and good snacks on hand!

Sunday 28 October 2012

A Rose In Any Other Place...

...would not be so surprising! But a rose in Dodoma is quite amazing!

This weekend, we have all been enjoying and admiring our very first rose.
I never thought that we could grow a rose in such an arid place as Dodoma, but here is the proof that it can be done:

 We all agree that it has a lovely scent- even Ben deigned to smell the roses! To me, the scent reminds me of Summer in England, even though it is far hotter here than any memories I have of English summertime!

  With the helpful guidance and advice of my gardening-expert neighbour, Margaret, our rose bush has flourished and blossomed- and now I am feeling very inspired with my East African garden!

Monday 22 October 2012

Shopping for Shoes in Dodoma

Esther has been needing new shoes for a few weeks...

Buying shoes in Dodoma can be a real challenge- especially kids' shoes. There is really only one place to look for shoes: at the second hand clothes market of Saba Saba. The idea of taking 3 small children through the long, dusty alleys, pushing through the crowds and having my children being pointed at, called to in Swahili and having people stroking their hair and skin did not make me look forward to a shoe-shopping trip. I also dreaded the attention created by Joel's pram, which never ceases to amaze many Tanzanians, who do not seem to be able to get over the fact that I do not carry my baby on my back.
Our trip to the Saba Saba market was further delayed by the fact that Esther needed to wear her shoes for school each day. She only gets home in the afternoon, when the heat is at its most uncomfortable. Going out on a shoe-shop trip in the heat just did not appeal! So I had been putting the trip off for rather a long time...

However, last week, Esther and Ben were on their half-term holiday and the shoe situation was getting a bit desperate. The time for the Shoe Quest had arrived! Very early one morning, before the heat and before the crowds, we set off to Saba Saba market...


I am pleased to report that we had an amazingly successful trip on our Quest for New Shoes!
We went directly to the market stall that sells shoes, as recommended by my neighbour. I had never seen this stall before, but was pleasantly surprised to see lots of brand new shoes for sale, alongside the usual second-hand shoes. The stall holder was most helpful, telling me that the new shoes had been driven down from Nairobi. There were several pairs of sandals in Esther's size. It did not take long to select the ones Esther liked and felt comfortable in, at a price which did not require too much bargaining.
The seller was happy for me to get a snap of his shoe stall, with all the new shoes dangling on strings far above the dusty ground and the second-hand shoes piled high on the table behind Esther:


 We were home before the sun got too hot, very pleased with our unexpectedly successful trip. And here are Esther's new sandals!


Tuesday 16 October 2012

Flora

There is a shortage of margarine in Dodoma at the moment.

There are 2 shops in town where we can purchase margarine. One shop had no margarine at all today.

The other shop had a stock of about 10 tubs of margarine. I was excited to see that about 8 of those tubs were "Flora"- its the 1st time I've seen such a recognisable UK brand of margarine in Dodoma! I picked up two tubs and headed to the counter...but beat a hasty retreat back to the fridge when I was told that the cost of a single 500 gram tub of margarine would be 12,000 Tanzanian shillings = £4.72!!!
Does anyone know the cost of a 500 gram tub of Flora in a UK shop at the moment?? I am pretty sure it is not close to the Dodoma cost!
I ended up coming home with one of the other 2 tubs of margarine, which seems to be from the Middle East judging by the Arabic writing on the side. It looks pretty decent and was far less expensive. I'm hoping it will taste good on our home-baked bread- despite the fact that the expiry date on the tub is yesterday's date...!

Sunday 7 October 2012

Yellow

Yellow is THE team to be part of at the school Sports Day!

On Friday, I went along to school with Joel, dressed in our yellow outfits, to cheer on Esther and Ben in their races and to support their Yellow Team:

 Joel was not ashamed to support the Yellows, despite being surrounded here by the Reds!

Esther did well in her races- they were so fast, I didn't manage to get many photos!!

Here is the reception Class line-up- a tense moment (for the Mums!) as the competitors get ready to run!

And they're off!

 Poor old Ben took a tumble with a bit of a pile-up on the sports "field", but bravely picked himself up, dusted the sand off and valiantly ran to the finish line, despite being left behind after his topple:

I didn't manage to get any photos of the Parent Races, but am excited to report that I actually managed to win the Mum's Race!! A short moment of glory for me...but a bit too late for this year's Olympics!

Despite our colour preference for Yellow on Friday, earlier in the week Ben and Joel branched out to include other colours in a painting activity at home:

Ben stayed home from school on Monday after being unwell on Sunday with a very high fever. Both Ben and Joel suffered with fevers over 40'C on Sunday, but I'm pleased to report that it was short-lived and by Monday evening, both of them were well again. Monday morning's painting activity must have helped them along the way, with their colourful paintings to cheer them up!

Thursday 4 October 2012

A Room With a View

We are now well into Hot Season in Dodoma. Every day feels drier, hotter and dustier than the day before. The ground is covered with greyish brown sand and dust. Trees are stripped bare as their sun-scorched leaves turn brown, shrivel up and fall to the ground.

Despite the rather dull aspect in Dodoma at the moment, despite the dust and the flatness of Dodoma, we have special access to beautiful views of majestic mountains, shimmering lakes, refreshing sea views and flowerbeds bursting with life and colour!

This is thanks to our Parker Postcard wall, furnished by you, our far-off family and friends! It provides a beautiful vista every time we visit the (windowless) "smallest room" in our home! :-)