A Good Decision

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Greetings from East Africa, where everything is warmer and the sun shines brighter. I have had a great week so far!

I must admit, I did wonder what I got myself into after what seemed to be an unwelcome arrival to an unserviced apartment without drinking water, pillows or sheets (thankfully I brought the latter in my overstuffed suitcase). Apparently, our office staff screwed up my hotel reservation. Reminiscent of my first nights in Italy and Thailand, I found myself thnking about the great life I left behind and wondering, "is this really home now?" In the next couple of days, however, things took a quick and much better turn, and I knew that my next great life would begin here in Tanzania.

The world has become a bit smaller, and thanks to contacts here and there, I have a nice base of contacts and buddies already. Due to a Kenya airways strike last year that left me stranded in Rwanda on the way to Dar, I found a friend that has been living in Dar for several years (Korean Malawian) and is well-plugged into the scene. Thanks to my writer's group friend Bridgette--shout out to Bridgette!--I met a Pfizer fellow that is turning out to be a good partner for excursions and the party scene. Thanks to previous work colleagues, I have been put in touch with folks at other NGOs that work in my area. I was also able to see two former ICRW colleagues, one who also recently moved here and the other who was here for a work project. Dar has quite the expat scene, with many coming and going, but several who have been here for years. Life is good, so it's no wonder they never want to leave!

For those that were concerned about food--one can really eat even better here. Natural juices and fruits, fresh fish, hardly any processed foods. You just have to make the effort to get to the open market--not the super market!--where the food is actually fresh. Or send your housekeeper to do it. There's even good sushi and authentic Thai food What more could I ask for? Alright, alright--a better cheese selection would be nice (pecorino romano was priced at about $35 at one store!) but I can't complain too much. I decided not to have a cook, but the housekeeper is definitely soooo nice to have.

It's definitely nice to be able to hire people to help you. And there's even a guy that provides personal kickboxing classes at your home. Beats my classes at LA Boxing! Although I still miss muay thai and walking. Hopefully, soon though, I'll have a driver! Some may call thius decadence, but I like to think of it as me helping boost local employment. Driving here is a bit crazy--vendors, tuk tuk drivers (they call them bijajs here-) and other cars cutting you off left and right. Not to mention driving on the left side.

Slowly I am learning Kiswahili. Quickly I am getting to work on the job. And in between I am taking all kinds of new cultural experiences. Best of all, I drive by the sparkling blue Indian Ocean every day. These are the things that keep Myra happy.

Six years ago, when I first came to Tanzania on my very first trip to Africa, bright-eyed and ready to save the world one focus group at a time, I never imagined I'd be back to live in Tanzania, let alone be recruited back for that simple research report resulting from that first assignment in Africa.

Last night, as I stood on the beach outside a dance club enjoying some wine, I stared up at the stars in a clean and clear sky. One of my new friends standing next to me pointed out how the stars lined up differently since we are in the Southern hemisphere. How cool. I couldn't help but think how lucky I was that my own stars aligned so well.

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