Just over 8 weeks until I leave Tanzania. A few weeks ago I
started two lists, one of things I will miss and another of things I will not
miss. The lists have been growing rapidly and so far they continue to be pretty
much exactly equal in length. Just for fun, here are some items from both
lists:
Some things I will miss
My colleagues and friends!!!
This item outweighs any of the others by an order of magnitude.
speaking Swahili
speaking “Swanglish” (bad mix of Swahili and English)
flowers blooming all year round
hearing reggae blasting from stores and on the dalla-dalla
Umoja Ensemble
Ndoto
jamming with reggae musicians and others
some of the restaurants
seeing Mt. Meru
being around people who have lived in many parts of the
world
speaking French with our landlady Annie
the landscape
living in a country that has lions, zebras, elephants,
giraffes…
people wearing bright colours
buying African fabric and having dresses made
geckos
Maasai
sleeping under mosquito netting
kissing people on the cheek to say hello, European style
all the different accents with which people speak English
beautiful trees, flowers and birds
the big African sky
living in the southern hemisphere
seeing Orion all year
singing in Jimmy’s taxi
riding the dalla-dalla to work
fresh pineapple juice
seeing people carrying a wide variety of things on their
heads
Some thiings I will NOT miss
slow internet
texting (I don’t do this at home but it’s the main form of
communication here)
not being able to walk at night
insects (although we have lots in Canada too of course!)
not having window screens
slugs
times when we have no electricity
times when we have no water
bad roads
the low water pressure in our shower
not having an oven
wearing insect repellant instead of perfume
the smell of burning garbage
the long commute to work
working 6 days a week
people accosting me to try to sell me things
no toilet paper in so many washrooms
the song “Sawa Sawa Sawa”
not being able to use debit and credit cards
mud
dust
bargaining
how shopping for anything is a mission
hearing, “Hey mzungu!”
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