Ok... Here I was starting to think that people weren't really reading my blog anymore and all of a sudden I get several comments about how long it's been since my last update.
Well, there is a reason there was such a long lapse which I'll explain in a moment. But first, I'm requesting some feedback. Blog? no Blog? was thinking to switch to group emails to allow for less public and less google-able communication... especially for work related stuff, not liking the public blog so much. So please, let me know what you think either through comments on the blog or to my email. That way if I switch to emails I'll also know who to include.
So, at first there was no blogging because I wasn't doing anything worth blogging about. Only thing that happened during that time is that I moved to a new place: a studio apartment on the peninsula with a/c and hot water and cable tv (yay movie channels!) Otherwise, things werenot so much fum... car needed lots of repairs, weather wasn't steller, didn't have a whole lot to occupy myself with.
then there was a delay because of work. I was going through an interview process that kept getting longer and longer but I kept waiting so I could tell everyone about the job and then I started with pretty much no notice and was very busy and then took off to Paris- which is where I am blogging from now.
Work: Am now the new events manager for a south african company with an office in tanzania that deals mostly with marketing and promotions but is branching out into events in Dar. I think it'll be a great opportunity and very interesting. I have great co-workers. Plus they've approved two trips within my first couple of months on the job because they were already booked when I started so yay for flexibility. It'll definitely be a lot of work and long hours and it's been three years since I last worked full time so a bit of an adjustment for me but at least it will be interesting.
Paris: I am currently in Paris for 10 days with the family. We're staying in a nice (but small) flat and walking more than I've walked in ages so I'm constantly sore. Hilight so far was a bike tour to Versaille including a lovely picnic in the gardens. Monday is Bastille Day and my long time travel companion Caroline will be joining us so I'm very excited for that as well. Heading back to Dar in Wednesday. Will do a Paris blog and post photos when I'm back.
K, it's time for bed here but will post again soon with more about Paris and work. Now have good, reliable internet connection so communication should be much improved. Hope everyone is well... would love to hear from you all!
Saturday, July 12
Wednesday, May 7
SA photos
saw hundreds of vultures drawn to a zebra carcass not far from this tree.
Got stuck in the mud at the farm where rain had washed away the crossing. Brian bravely offered his weight to ensure the car didn't flip onto Chris while he set up the jack. The girls were enjoying our coffee. No, actually we were helping move rocks to put under the tyres
beautiful views at the national park across the road.
At the national park... very 'Lion King'
Chris and his niece, Kate
at the national park... the close side of the river is SA and the other sided is Zimbabe. Botswana is to the left.
South Africa and Nairobi Flies
So it was a very very busy lead up to the Rugby Ball in mid-April. Lots of running around getting things organized but I enjoy it mostly. The event was great and everyone seems to have enjoyed themselves.
The morning after the ball we rushed to the airport after only 4 hours of sleep to catch our fight to South Africa. We were met at the airport by Chris's Aunt and Uncle who gave us a ride to his parents' house where we picked up the car and head out to the farm.
Chris's parents' farm is located near the Zimbabwe and Botswana border. It's a beautiful property with wildlife on it and across the road from a lovely national park and game reserve. Some of the evenings we could hear lions in the distance. We stayed at his parents' house there with his sister and her family who were visiting from London. On the farm is also the Mopane Bush Lodge was is absolutely beautiful. We spent several days at the farm just hanging out and going on some game drives. A friend of Chris's came up to join us with his girlfriend for a couple of days as well. It was very relaxing though I managed to get sick with a nasty cold.
We then head down to Joburg for a couple of days of hectic shopping. Things in SA are VERY cheap for those spending US dollars. Mostly Chris picked up stuff for work but we also got a multi-regional DVD player and some clothing and DVDs. I was definitely not feeling ready to head back to rainy, muddy Dar but fortunately, when it came time to leave the flight was cancelled. In fact, it was cancelled two days in a row. Would have been great except for the large amounts of time spent at Joburg airport. Don't feel like I got to see much of South Africa but it was a much needed break. Overall, had a fantastic time.
Back in Dar life was not so thrilling. The roads were actually worse than before and the power was going off regularly. And then, a few days after arriving, I discovered a weird rash on my neck and face. By morning it was very red and sore. Went to a local doctor who said it was fungus on my neck and an allergic reaction on my face... very suspicious. Got a cream. Tried the cream. Rash continued to spread to new places and became more like blisters and more painful. Finally went to the good clinic and paid a lot of money to be told that this is the result of squashing a Nairobi Fly against my neck. When crushed, this small beetle excretes a toxin that causes blistering, pain and itchiness. lovely. So, several days of antibiotics and creams later, it is slowly healing. Annoyingly slowly, in fact. But at least it doesn't hurt anymore and I have anti-histamines for the itchiness. My face, at least, is all better with no scars or marks left.
My laptop died. My watch died. Cell phone still works.
My evenings have been very busy seeing friends which was a welcome distraction from the frustrations of the week. A few people I havn't seen in a while are passing through at the moment. Finally got my car fixed which is VERY nice. It's now running great but still needs a few little fixes here and there that'll get done in time. I am now full on looking for an apartment for June.
And I think that just about brings us up to date.
Have booked flights to Paris for ten days in early July to meet the family... very exciting. And at least as exciting, Chris and I have finally purchased our tickets to Vancouver. We'll be in town Sept 8 -21. VERY EXCITED!!! Look forward to seeing some of you then.
Hope everyone's well!
Photos to follow.
The morning after the ball we rushed to the airport after only 4 hours of sleep to catch our fight to South Africa. We were met at the airport by Chris's Aunt and Uncle who gave us a ride to his parents' house where we picked up the car and head out to the farm.
Chris's parents' farm is located near the Zimbabwe and Botswana border. It's a beautiful property with wildlife on it and across the road from a lovely national park and game reserve. Some of the evenings we could hear lions in the distance. We stayed at his parents' house there with his sister and her family who were visiting from London. On the farm is also the Mopane Bush Lodge was is absolutely beautiful. We spent several days at the farm just hanging out and going on some game drives. A friend of Chris's came up to join us with his girlfriend for a couple of days as well. It was very relaxing though I managed to get sick with a nasty cold.
We then head down to Joburg for a couple of days of hectic shopping. Things in SA are VERY cheap for those spending US dollars. Mostly Chris picked up stuff for work but we also got a multi-regional DVD player and some clothing and DVDs. I was definitely not feeling ready to head back to rainy, muddy Dar but fortunately, when it came time to leave the flight was cancelled. In fact, it was cancelled two days in a row. Would have been great except for the large amounts of time spent at Joburg airport. Don't feel like I got to see much of South Africa but it was a much needed break. Overall, had a fantastic time.
Back in Dar life was not so thrilling. The roads were actually worse than before and the power was going off regularly. And then, a few days after arriving, I discovered a weird rash on my neck and face. By morning it was very red and sore. Went to a local doctor who said it was fungus on my neck and an allergic reaction on my face... very suspicious. Got a cream. Tried the cream. Rash continued to spread to new places and became more like blisters and more painful. Finally went to the good clinic and paid a lot of money to be told that this is the result of squashing a Nairobi Fly against my neck. When crushed, this small beetle excretes a toxin that causes blistering, pain and itchiness. lovely. So, several days of antibiotics and creams later, it is slowly healing. Annoyingly slowly, in fact. But at least it doesn't hurt anymore and I have anti-histamines for the itchiness. My face, at least, is all better with no scars or marks left.
My laptop died. My watch died. Cell phone still works.
My evenings have been very busy seeing friends which was a welcome distraction from the frustrations of the week. A few people I havn't seen in a while are passing through at the moment. Finally got my car fixed which is VERY nice. It's now running great but still needs a few little fixes here and there that'll get done in time. I am now full on looking for an apartment for June.
And I think that just about brings us up to date.
Have booked flights to Paris for ten days in early July to meet the family... very exciting. And at least as exciting, Chris and I have finally purchased our tickets to Vancouver. We'll be in town Sept 8 -21. VERY EXCITED!!! Look forward to seeing some of you then.
Hope everyone's well!
Photos to follow.
Friday, March 28
Been a long month...
So, life's been a bit of an adventure lately.
First, I bought a car. Think it was a pretty decent deal. Was very very very excited about it. Got it checked out and everything. Buying it was a hassle because it turned out the registration and insurance were both expired so a little sketchy diriving it around and a lot of up front costs but that's okay.
Bought the car Thursday and then went to Arusha for the weekend to work at the Rugby Game. It was a good chance to see how things work at the national games and meet some of the sponsors and fun to see Chris play. It was my first live rugby game.... very violent sport but exciting. The game was against an excellent Kenyan team and the Tanzania Twigas lost but it was a great game.
Flew back to Dar Saturday and drove down to south beach where six of us stayed at what will some day be a really nice lodge but at this point is still having electicity issues. Issues aside it was beautiful and we had a great and relaxing time. Unfortunately, Chris had been unable to pick up his car saturday so we drove down in my new car. On the way home the rain started. about twenty minutes from home, in the pouring rain, my car died. Mid-drive. I was more than slightly upset but the windows were all foggy from the rain so we had plenty of space for tic-tac-toe and hangman games while awaiting our rescuers. We spent two hours hanging out in the car. As you can see, we did manage to keep smiling. That was 4 days ago. It's still not fixed. I'm not impressed.
We did a photo shoot for the rugby ball ads... we have a running theme of having the players in the ads and trying to make it funny so we tried to capture the idea of the event in this photo: the guys get rugby, the girls get to dress up. Not sure how I ended up having to do it... these go up on big roadsite billboards!
First, I bought a car. Think it was a pretty decent deal. Was very very very excited about it. Got it checked out and everything. Buying it was a hassle because it turned out the registration and insurance were both expired so a little sketchy diriving it around and a lot of up front costs but that's okay.
Bought the car Thursday and then went to Arusha for the weekend to work at the Rugby Game. It was a good chance to see how things work at the national games and meet some of the sponsors and fun to see Chris play. It was my first live rugby game.... very violent sport but exciting. The game was against an excellent Kenyan team and the Tanzania Twigas lost but it was a great game.
Flew back to Dar Saturday and drove down to south beach where six of us stayed at what will some day be a really nice lodge but at this point is still having electicity issues. Issues aside it was beautiful and we had a great and relaxing time. Unfortunately, Chris had been unable to pick up his car saturday so we drove down in my new car. On the way home the rain started. about twenty minutes from home, in the pouring rain, my car died. Mid-drive. I was more than slightly upset but the windows were all foggy from the rain so we had plenty of space for tic-tac-toe and hangman games while awaiting our rescuers. We spent two hours hanging out in the car. As you can see, we did manage to keep smiling. That was 4 days ago. It's still not fixed. I'm not impressed. Also, hasn't stopped raining since. The rainy season here started monday and it is a site to be seen. I will try to get photos next time of Chris's landrover up to the door in water as the streets all turn into lakes and rivers. My friends' house got flooded with 8 inches of water so I'm considering myself lucky to have a dry place to hole up for the next couple of months. Hopefully I'll have a car to get around in too.
In other news, I have finally set myself up with internet on my laptop and it seems pretty good so hopefully communication and photo posting will improve. Work has been very busy. I have resigned at the university part time and continue my involvement with the rugby sponsorship and event planning as well. We have a black tie ball coming up soon so very busy with that at the moment. Also, have bought tickets to South Africa for mid April which is very exciting. Chris's parents own a large property and high end lodge in northern south africa and we'll be spending a week there and a few days in Joburg as well. Been a lot of frustrations lately here so I'm really looking forward to the break.
We did a photo shoot for the rugby ball ads... we have a running theme of having the players in the ads and trying to make it funny so we tried to capture the idea of the event in this photo: the guys get rugby, the girls get to dress up. Not sure how I ended up having to do it... these go up on big roadsite billboards!Monday, February 18
Plans
Have been having a very hard time getting online lately, hence no update. The last couple of weeks have been all about making plans and finally starting to move on some of the changes I wanted to make.
1. Last week I started working part time with a woman who does sports development, fundraising, event management, etc. Basically, we raise awareness and funds for sports clubs. I'm focusing mostly on the local and national rugby teams and the affiliated junior leagues for now and we have a big event coming up this weekend that looks like it's coming together quite well. It's fun to be doing this kind of thing again.
2. A couple of weeks ago I started swahili lessons. Now I just need to actually practice and hopefully I'll be spewing bad swahili in no time. Really quite excited about it.
3. I've met a lovely american couple, Robyn and Brandt, who I will hopefully be moving in with soon. Still have some details to sort out and, of course, we need to find a place. Also very exciting. The whole rental system here is completely nuts. First of all, prices are completely out of touch with reality. It's a challenge to find a decent place under $800/mo (usually quite a bit more) but for that amount you can find some incredably dodgy places. Secondly, most landlords want you to pay a whole year in advance. Which is quite a challenge when you pay for everything in cash and the largest note is equivelant to just under $10. I guess it's understandable since they really have no way of tracking you down later if you haven't paid but still, a little excessive and a logistical challenge when you can only withdraw aprox $350 at a time from the ATM (not to mention withdrawal fees start to add up).
4. I have decided to buy a car. Transportation here is a constant frustration and I'm spending so much money on taxi's it's ridiculous. Looking for a small SUV (because it needs to be high enough to get over the pot holes and huge rainy season puddles). This is possibly the most exciting of the exciting news except that I want the damn thing right now but have to wait to find something first. And yes, apparently cars get paid for in cash as well. lovely.
I think that's it for now. Hope everyone's well.
1. Last week I started working part time with a woman who does sports development, fundraising, event management, etc. Basically, we raise awareness and funds for sports clubs. I'm focusing mostly on the local and national rugby teams and the affiliated junior leagues for now and we have a big event coming up this weekend that looks like it's coming together quite well. It's fun to be doing this kind of thing again.
2. A couple of weeks ago I started swahili lessons. Now I just need to actually practice and hopefully I'll be spewing bad swahili in no time. Really quite excited about it.
3. I've met a lovely american couple, Robyn and Brandt, who I will hopefully be moving in with soon. Still have some details to sort out and, of course, we need to find a place. Also very exciting. The whole rental system here is completely nuts. First of all, prices are completely out of touch with reality. It's a challenge to find a decent place under $800/mo (usually quite a bit more) but for that amount you can find some incredably dodgy places. Secondly, most landlords want you to pay a whole year in advance. Which is quite a challenge when you pay for everything in cash and the largest note is equivelant to just under $10. I guess it's understandable since they really have no way of tracking you down later if you haven't paid but still, a little excessive and a logistical challenge when you can only withdraw aprox $350 at a time from the ATM (not to mention withdrawal fees start to add up).
4. I have decided to buy a car. Transportation here is a constant frustration and I'm spending so much money on taxi's it's ridiculous. Looking for a small SUV (because it needs to be high enough to get over the pot holes and huge rainy season puddles). This is possibly the most exciting of the exciting news except that I want the damn thing right now but have to wait to find something first. And yes, apparently cars get paid for in cash as well. lovely.
I think that's it for now. Hope everyone's well.
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