So something exciting happened tonight night….. I found out there is a cinema here – and it shows movies in English!! It was like finding out the elixir of life was within my grasp so I made my way straight there to find out what was on. The answer – NOTHING! They are closed for the whole of July while they renovate… of course they are. So I’m back to my DVDs on the laptop and the books.
I have found a few decent looking little bars but I’ll admit that I’m not keen to be there after dark when there are no other tourists. Most tourists get home before the sun goes down.
I think I had my first bad food experience tonight as well. The food in the house has been by and large excellent but I was a little nauseous while eating so duly stopped and put myself to bed – with Lord of the Rings of course. I hope I didn’t cause any offence. Did I mention I found a place in town that does excellent pizza? I’ve already been there twice. I also had maize corn today for the first time. Its not unlike corn on the cob but its raw and tougher; they barbeque it on the side of the road and sell it for 200TZS which is less than 10p or 15c.
I’m heading out to one of the school projects tomorrow morning. Really looking forward to it. The schools are out in the rural communities so quite different from being in town. I’ll update you on that afterwards.
I think I’ve almost got this safari thing sussed. I have now found a good tour operator who is trying to pair me up with other people just for 2 or 3 days. It is still a little expensive but I think if I get to go with other people it will be really worth it. It would be a shame to be so close to all these parks and not get a glimpse of them. I almost went on a 2 day safari this weekend with a group of 13 other volunteers which would have been fun if all had gone well but I was concerned I was being taken for a ride. They tell you to watch out for people promising you the last seat in a group for an excellent price so it all felt a little too good to be true. One of the women in the office called the guy and spoke to him in Swahili to see what she thought of him and we decided we weren’t too sure about it so I decided not to go.
I think I mentioned it was a public holiday today. This actually worked out quite well because I was able to get into the office and actually get quite a lot done while no one was there. Tomorrow the power will be off again hence the trip out to the school. Four people from the office in London arrive on Saturday morning so I should be able to get involved in some meetings and project visits next week so looking forward to that. They are looking at starting up a scheme to link with schools in the UK (I mentioned Dad that you already do this so they may be interested in how it was organised).
The group from Glasgow Uni started their trek yesterday. They seemed to really enjoy their visit to the school and said they couldn’t believe how grateful people were for the facilities they have. At the moment in most schools there is about 75 kids to a class. It is free for all children in Tanzania to attend school but this means that facilities are overrun and there is little money to spend on infrastructure. Childreach pay for (among other things) additional school buildings and facilities such as kitchens, water wells and toilets. People from the UK (usually students) can get involved by coming out to help with the labouring work. Most come for 10 days and camp at the school sites.
I have managed to get through the first week with no mosi bites (which I think is incredible) and very few ailments. The dust and pollution takes its toll on the sinuses but eating a lot of curry seems to help this! I have at this point given up washing my feet because they are permanently black no matter what I do. I will definitely need a good pedicure before the wedding. It’s a weird experience washing your hair with a bucket of cold water but using Charles Worthington shampoo and conditioner (my hair is looking shiny mum you’ll be pleased to know but the rest of me is not).
Looking forward to getting home to a nice warm bath!!
