My World in Pictures

A number of you have asked for pictures so this blog will include pictures and general info on life in Moshi. (I actually live in Soweto which would be like a neighborhood of Moshi.) Most days I get up, eat breakfast and walk to the TAFCOM office in Moshi. It is about a 35 minute walk. The roads are mostly dirt. Only a few of the most heavily travelled roads are paved. All the walking paths are dirt and very rocky. Potholes are everywhere and during the rainy season I am amazed what these cars can get thru. The rains are very heavy but so far they have come at night. It makes for a slippery walk the next morning. People walk everywhere so there are always people on the roads. People are friendly and appreciate when you use Swahili. My Swahili continues to improve but is very rough and limited. I am having fun trying to construct sentences and Deborah and I teach each other a lot.

Raheem

Ibrah and Deborah are wonderful. I feel totally at home with them. Raheem, their 11 month old son is a total joy. I have never seen a child eat so much and he will eat anything put in front of him.

                                                      Their house is cement painted orange and there are 2 buildings, one being the volunteer house. There is a gate (right pic) with a doorbell and a security guard at night. The gate has spear-like ornamentation across the top, however it is not ornamental. They are very sharp. The wall around our house has broken glass bottles embedded all along the top (their concept of barbed wire). It is really quite safe here, however we do not walk at night unless with a local person.

The floors are cement or tile and cool to the touch which I love. The kitchen has a very small stove and refrigerator/freezer. We still do not have water during the day. Water is saved each night so dishes can be washed; and water is boiled so there is enough drinking water. I fill my water bottles from my sink at night so I can wash my face and brush my teeth in the morning. We do not drink the water unless it has been boiled and I have other bottles for drinking water. I use a lot of hand sanitizer during the day!

Showers are typically cool although I have had hot water a few times. It is summer here so the cooler showers actually feel best. I either wash my clothes in the shower or in a bucket. Everything is line dried.

I have used a bucket or my large water bottles for my shower a few times and it is really quite fast and efficient.

My Room

I had a fan in my room but it is so noisy I prefer the roosters in the morning. I love the heat so the nights have not been that bad for sleeping (low to mid 70’s). I can always just dump a bottle of my saved water over my head in the morning! We sleep under a mosquito net year round. Rainy season is the worst time for mosquitoes and malaria. They also have really cute little lizards about 2 inches long that appear fairly regularly on my walls. What I don’t care for are the cockroaches which are huge. We do not wear our shoes in the house so sometimes when I come out to go to my building they are on my shoes. Needless to say, walking barefoot across the short way to my room is just fine. I usually only see them at night.

Lunch - Cabbage slaw, Beans & Eggs w vegetables

Obviously by American standards I am living in poverty. However I feel quite spoiled as I am very well taken care of and there is always plenty to eat. This time of year we have mangoes, bananas, pineapple, papaya and oranges. Sometimes Deborah makes a juice of mixed fruit. Vegetables are also plentiful, so being vegetarian fits very nicely here. Eating habits are also different here. There is a small sink in the living/dining room which is used to wash your hands before dinner. There are no napkins and a lot of food is eaten with our hands or a spoon. After dinner you just wash your hands again. Makes perfect sense to me!

Mgembe and I took a walk around Soweto two afternoons so I could become familiar with the area. We went to Mussa’s shop and later, after running, I returned to buy some honey. My breakfasts are now almost perfect: bread, peanut butter, banana & honey. I just need some cinnamon!

  

There is so much to share so I will try to give you a glimpse of my life and more importantly the lives of the people I will work with using stories and pictures in each blog.