I sat down to write this blog 4 days ago and just as I was logging in to this travel journal...the electricity cut. It doesn't happen often here but when it does, it can last up to a few hours. Since then the internet connection has been painfully slow. So if you have sent me an email and havent heard back, thank you...i have read it and i will reply...soon! some days I lose the will to live when I check my email as it takes ages just to open. Never take for granted internet speed and access in the UK!
I got to test out my new wind up torch though (thanks Rosie - its brilliant) when the power went...and it got me excited about my upcoming safari trip. I leave on Sunday for Kampala and then the trip officially starts on Monday. Everyone I have told about it here is so encouraging and supportive- i have a list of people who are based in Kampala to call if I need anything.
Which brings me onto the people and the place here. I am pretty settled now after a week here-its hard to believe a week has gone by already. It is hot here, not hot by their standards as the really hot dry season is Dec/Jan/feb but its hot enough, esp. at night. I'd say at least 30 degrees if not a bit more. It's an exhausting heat so you go out for an hour and are tired..which is why I find myself taking a lot of naps (that is my excuse and I am sticking to it!)
Dar is dusty and noisy, it is more developed than I remember from the last time I was here, with more tall office buildings and so many appartment blocks- they are building them so close together you could lean over from one window and practially climb into the next building! In contrast the shops still look like shacks- its a funny contrast.
My aunt and uncle here have been great at settling me in and showing me around. the first week i was here my cousin from london was also here- it is her parents I am staying with. So mostly we were going round town doing some shopping, going swimming with her 2girls and catching up with family.
My aunt gave me a "Dar Guide" booklet- a bit like the time out guide. It makes you realise that there is a lot happening in this little city...a lot of arts and culture with art exhibitions, cultural dances...even a few rotary club dinners and ex-pat pub crawls! i am looking up yoga classes for when I am back after my trip...i am going to the buddhist temple today, round the corner from where I am staying as apparently they run classes.
The main thing that takes getting used to here is the pace of life. those of you who know Dar, and know me well will be highly amused I am sure, as I am not a laid back, relaxed kinda gal. The internet speed alone has tried my patience, forget how long it takes to get anything done. for example, you want to get some curtains made. So you buy the material. They don't have enough in stock. so you ask them to bring more from their warehouse. they do, but its the wrong one, so they have to go back and bring the right one. then when you finally have the material you give it to your tailor (fundi...i am going to do swahili lessons in my next entry!) and then he doesn't show up....its all such a process but people here are used to it, and the trick is to go with the flow and just take it as it comes. something i am not used to!
it is amusing and frustrating to see how things are done here. amusing because I don't have many time pressures so I can afford to take it easy. but it is frustrating too as life in england is much more ordered and i wonder if this country would be more advanced if there was less bureaucracy (sp?) and faff and more organisation! don't even get me started on the queue for a visa at the airport! it was chaos and i was so tempted to start organising people and getting a proper queue going (people were just in one big crowd trying to hear when their name was called...it was madness). but in the end i squashed the inner event organiser in me, shoved my passport and money in the nearest official's hand, grabbed my visa when it was ready and ran!
That said, for all the slowness here, people are incredibly helpful and friendly. I forgot to say in my description of Dar that it is poor...and you see it on every street corner. But even the beggars are smiling and friendly and helpful - its amazing that people with so little are still so positive.
So my first week here has been just settling in and spending time with my family. My cousin left to go back to London on Sunday as her kiddies have school...so now the house is really quiet. This week I want to get a few things set up for my time here after my trip. I am meeting 2 ladies who run orphanage programmes across Tanzania to see if I can get involved and visit them/ work in them. I also want to check out the arts scene here and see what is going on...
there is still a lot more I want to share but after the dramas with the internet I have decided to do this in small entries so the next one will be coming soon....i still need to tell you about Miss Tanzania and teach you some of the swahili I have learnt.
Kesho...Laila x
