Okay, enough not-so-subtle hints. I am updating. I was supposed to go camping this weekend so was waiting to update after that with exciting camping stories and photos but the trip has been delayed for now so that will have to wait for another entry. Not a whole lot to say in meanwhile really. Things here are settled into their own little rhythm. I have not been doing much new exploring recently though I really need to get back on track with that. Amazing how laziness sets in. Mostly just been working during the week and hanging out with friends on the weekend. Must make more progress on the swahili front as well... have been slacking badly.
I have to admit, in the last week or so I have taken some serious losses in the war against mosquito bites. I have at least ten million bites on each foot and thousands more spread elsewhere. I got a bite near my knee while wearing full length jeans! How does that even happen? Between that and a few days with a minor stomach bug, things were looking pretty miserable for a while. But I am regrouping and getting ready for round 27 and hoping the 26-0 record will start to turn around because I can't handle the itchiness any more! I'm considering creating a full body mosquito net outfit that will just go permanently over my regular clothing. The search for 100% DEET begins...
Monday, November 26
Friday, November 9
Bagamoyo and SUSHI!
Sorry for the posting delay... power cut out on me Friday so couldn't get this posted. So this is actually from a week ago.
Bagamoyo
The day after the accident I'd been planning to go to Bagamoyo for two days with Marika... so with very little sleep, I packed my bag and we took off for the weekend. Ended up staying for half a day and coming back. Not because it wasn't nice but because it really wasn't that much of a hassle to get there so we'd rather just go again another time and we were both feeling tired and lazy ( I blame the massive headache I still had). But we had a really nice visit and even found a local to give us a little tour around - the guy teaches wood carving and has offered to come to Dar for a lesson some time... Really want to do it and the lesson itself isn't so expensive but the cost of the wood is quite steep so haven't decided yet.
Bagamoyo
The day after the accident I'd been planning to go to Bagamoyo for two days with Marika... so with very little sleep, I packed my bag and we took off for the weekend. Ended up staying for half a day and coming back. Not because it wasn't nice but because it really wasn't that much of a hassle to get there so we'd rather just go again another time and we were both feeling tired and lazy ( I blame the massive headache I still had). But we had a really nice visit and even found a local to give us a little tour around - the guy teaches wood carving and has offered to come to Dar for a lesson some time... Really want to do it and the lesson itself isn't so expensive but the cost of the wood is quite steep so haven't decided yet.
Bagamoyo was the capital of colonial German rule in East Africa and a very important trade port in its day (in particular- slave trading). It's an hour north of Dar by Dalla Dalla (and they drive FAST). The architecture has colonial as well as arab and indian influence though the buildings have not been kept up very well. There are quite a few areas to wander and Marika and I really only saw a small part of what there is on this trip - preferring to spend some time enjoying the beach which is now a centre for boat construction. I most enjoyed just walking around and taking in the most vibrant colors nature has to offer - every color of flower and even the leaves were an amazing shade of green.
Sushi
Yesterday I had sushi for dinner... highlight of my month for sure! They don't have any salmon here which I'm quite devastated about but the tuna sashimi was pretty darn good and they had a fantastic spicy tuna roll. I even liked the california rolls. My mouth is already watering for more.... mmmm
Sunday, November 4
Eventful weekend
So... the weekend got off to an interesting start. Friday night I was meeting a friend for a quick drink before dinner which got detoured into going to a BBQ with a large group of South Africans. Had a really nice time and a great dinner and we all headed out for an early night. And never made it home unfortunately. Not long into our drive home we got rear ended by a guy driving way too fast and not paying attention to the speedbump that we had just gone over. He took a little flight over it and ended up hitting the very bottom of our rear bumper pretty hard. Their car made out a lot worse than the pick up I was in but we still got bashed around a little. Fortunately we were wearing seatbelts so just got a bump on the head from the headrest and a slight hit on the shoulder from the seatbelt. However, car accidents here, especially when concerning Foreigners in one car and locals in the other I imagine, are a bit of a hassle. No mandatory insurance like at home. So we spent a good chunk of time waiting for the police and so on and then had to go down to the police station for a while. The police were actually fairly easy to deal with it seems (though I mostly tried to stay out of it). They didn't want to let us take the car home in case more damage happened before the inspection. The police officer was asking for my phone number... he'd already seen my phone and I didn't think saying no would help us out very much so I made sure he agreed to let us leave with the car before giving him my number :( Hopefully will never hear from him again. That was my friday night. Will write about the rest of the weekend later.
Wednesday, October 31
Halloween
Not much to say about the past week... went to a Halloween party Saturday night and had a really great time. Met lots of new people. And now I'm back to trying desperately to find something to do at work and not get too frustrated with how things are going. My energy and motivation are definitely suffering a little in this work environment. This weekend I plan to finally get out of town for a bit so hopefully next week there will be more stories to share and photos to post.
There was a lovely full moon this weekend so I spent some time playing around with my camera and got a few good shots. Haven't had a chance to do any editing yet so these are just straight from the camera.
There was a lovely full moon this weekend so I spent some time playing around with my camera and got a few good shots. Haven't had a chance to do any editing yet so these are just straight from the camera.
Thursday, October 25
Order of the Day
a typical weekday...
6:30am Wake up to the sound of the auto-mechanic outside my window. Sometimes he starts at 6. Nothing like the sound of engines to start the day. Sometimes I am able to fall asleep again after a little while (with the help of my ear plugs)
8am Wake up for real. Have some tea and bread and some kind of fruit or veggie. Take my anti-malaria pill, multi-vitamin and Omega-3 supplement. Fill up my water bottle for the day.
8:45 Marika and I head to the University. Usually we leave late but this is when we should leave. We catch a tsh (20 cents).
9am Start work. and by start work, I mean turn on the computer and sit down at my desk. Mostly work is checking my email and messing around online (as I'm doing right now, for example). Occasionally I have reports to write and submit to the CIH in Toronto. Last week I wrote a funding proposal and this week we met with the funder and found out they won't fund us until they've restructured the funding system. (Apparently in the past funding for the Universities has gone through the Ministry of Health - because TACAIDS is a government agency - and the Ministry of Health has done something with the money that didn't include actually giving it to the University so now they want to restructure the system to ensure we actually get the money... which is good... but it's going to take time so for now = no money). I have also been meeting with representatives from various student groups to try to set up some kind of coordination of their activities. Some good ideas came out of those meetings and I hope to keep busy by pursuing some of them, like a Secondary School Outreach program. I also have to write articles for our program's publication.
12:45pm Lunch. Staff at the health clinic gets free lunch (I'm guessing it's because there isn't enough staff to cover breaks and since they bring food down for the patients anyway). Someone from the cafeteria brings down a few dishes of something and we get to eat it. I'm not technically staff here but my supervisor is and he doesn't eat here so I get his portion. Lunch time varies slightly and it's important to get there before things run out so there is a bit of a push/shove process. I can usually smell the food from my office when it arrives. Lunch consists of rice and either roasted 1/4 chicken or beef in a red sauce and sometimes some beans or cooked banana or veggies (the same kind every time). So, not a whole lot of variety but it's free and it's here. There are many different places to eat on campus... most serve the same food and are packed with students or faculty around lunch time. I tend to eat in my office and sometime go for a walk around outside for a bit.
5pm Quitting time. By five it's usually cool enough to walk home without working up too much of a sweat. Takes around 20-25 minutes. After work, I will usually go home and change. This is also when I'm most likely to shower because I'm hot and don't mind the cold water so much. Sometimes I will go to the grocery store to pick up a few things.
6pm I usually have an hour or two before Marika comes home. I spend that time reading or watching CNN (which I get at home). Sometimes I do some Sudoku puzzles.
7:30/8pm Dinner time. Marika and I usually have dinner together. Sometimes we cook at home. If we go out, we usually go to Euro - a restaurant around the corner from us. Meals are much the same as what I described for lunch although they also have a really good beef stew. They also have burgers and samosas on the menu but I have yet to try them. Other options include a few places for chipsi and mishkaki (fries and beef skewers). Before going out I change into longer clothing and apply ample mosquito repellent.... I swear those things hunt me down.
9pm After dinner Marika and I often sit around talking. Often Emmanuel will stop by for a while to visit and teach us some new kiswahili words (and test us on the old ones). Sometimes I watch a movie on my laptop.
10 - 12 Depending how tired I am, I'll read for a while and go to bed. But first I wash my feet, re-apply mosquito spray and re-adjust mosquito net. I also often spend a little time killing any mosquitoes I can find. It makes for a more fulfilling day, I think.
And there you have it, a day in the life of Nicole. Next time we examine... the weekend!
6:30am Wake up to the sound of the auto-mechanic outside my window. Sometimes he starts at 6. Nothing like the sound of engines to start the day. Sometimes I am able to fall asleep again after a little while (with the help of my ear plugs)
8am Wake up for real. Have some tea and bread and some kind of fruit or veggie. Take my anti-malaria pill, multi-vitamin and Omega-3 supplement. Fill up my water bottle for the day.
8:45 Marika and I head to the University. Usually we leave late but this is when we should leave. We catch a tsh (20 cents).
9am Start work. and by start work, I mean turn on the computer and sit down at my desk. Mostly work is checking my email and messing around online (as I'm doing right now, for example). Occasionally I have reports to write and submit to the CIH in Toronto. Last week I wrote a funding proposal and this week we met with the funder and found out they won't fund us until they've restructured the funding system. (Apparently in the past funding for the Universities has gone through the Ministry of Health - because TACAIDS is a government agency - and the Ministry of Health has done something with the money that didn't include actually giving it to the University so now they want to restructure the system to ensure we actually get the money... which is good... but it's going to take time so for now = no money). I have also been meeting with representatives from various student groups to try to set up some kind of coordination of their activities. Some good ideas came out of those meetings and I hope to keep busy by pursuing some of them, like a Secondary School Outreach program. I also have to write articles for our program's publication.
12:45pm Lunch. Staff at the health clinic gets free lunch (I'm guessing it's because there isn't enough staff to cover breaks and since they bring food down for the patients anyway). Someone from the cafeteria brings down a few dishes of something and we get to eat it. I'm not technically staff here but my supervisor is and he doesn't eat here so I get his portion. Lunch time varies slightly and it's important to get there before things run out so there is a bit of a push/shove process. I can usually smell the food from my office when it arrives. Lunch consists of rice and either roasted 1/4 chicken or beef in a red sauce and sometimes some beans or cooked banana or veggies (the same kind every time). So, not a whole lot of variety but it's free and it's here. There are many different places to eat on campus... most serve the same food and are packed with students or faculty around lunch time. I tend to eat in my office and sometime go for a walk around outside for a bit.
5pm Quitting time. By five it's usually cool enough to walk home without working up too much of a sweat. Takes around 20-25 minutes. After work, I will usually go home and change. This is also when I'm most likely to shower because I'm hot and don't mind the cold water so much. Sometimes I will go to the grocery store to pick up a few things.
6pm I usually have an hour or two before Marika comes home. I spend that time reading or watching CNN (which I get at home). Sometimes I do some Sudoku puzzles.
7:30/8pm Dinner time. Marika and I usually have dinner together. Sometimes we cook at home. If we go out, we usually go to Euro - a restaurant around the corner from us. Meals are much the same as what I described for lunch although they also have a really good beef stew. They also have burgers and samosas on the menu but I have yet to try them. Other options include a few places for chipsi and mishkaki (fries and beef skewers). Before going out I change into longer clothing and apply ample mosquito repellent.... I swear those things hunt me down.
9pm After dinner Marika and I often sit around talking. Often Emmanuel will stop by for a while to visit and teach us some new kiswahili words (and test us on the old ones). Sometimes I watch a movie on my laptop.
10 - 12 Depending how tired I am, I'll read for a while and go to bed. But first I wash my feet, re-apply mosquito spray and re-adjust mosquito net. I also often spend a little time killing any mosquitoes I can find. It makes for a more fulfilling day, I think.
And there you have it, a day in the life of Nicole. Next time we examine... the weekend!
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