As promised, this is Part III of Vacation… and yes, contrary to some belief, I am working, not just vacationing! Despite some apprehension about the bus from Lushoto to Tanga, the “Umba” turned out to be the best bus experience in Tanzania thus far. Why? (1) The Umba was surprisingly punctual, (2) it did not stop for unduly long periods of time in the towns along the way, (3) the driver was actually quite cautious and slowed down around the sharp corners, and (4) best of all, the windows too high for the touts to reach up and open (this, however, [View Full Entry]

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This is installment #2 of 3 in my vacation series… sorry for being long-winded.........and for subjecting you to the workings of my quirky mind ACT 1: UNACCEPTABLE!!! Setting: The Fasaha (aka, the “Unacceptable Bus”) Characters: *The Driver: Sporting a large bandage protruding about 2” from his forehead, enjoys indiscriminate usage of the Bus Horn *The Bus Horn: Yes it deserves front billing - it is polyphonic and very loud (cacophony ensuing from 5 little buttons)*The Chicken-in-a-Bag: Rather gloomily resigne [View Full Entry]

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WARNING = This will be a very long entry as I absolutely adore animals (except mice). I’m just not so sure that the feeling is mutual. After being awakened at 5 am by the nearby mosque (I think the call is actually quite beautiful but Marlous quite vehemently disagrees), we managed to struggle down the 4 flights of stairs to meet our driver cum guide, Khalifa from Sunny Safaris. Much to our surprise, he was on time to pick us up in a completely pea-green land rover, inside and out. * Number of Passengers = 4 (us plus our two [View Full Entry]

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Countdown to Holidays is officially at ONE!!! Here's my itinerary: Saturday, May 7 - Leave on bus for Arusha (yucky washrooms thus will not be drinking any fluids until arrival). Let’s all hope that the bus will have a/c this time Sunday, May 8 - Relax in Arusha, visit with old roommate, enjoy COOLER weather! Monday, May 9 - FIVE day safari in Serengeti, Lake Manyara and Ngorogoro Crater... hopefully including some chasing of giraffes and/or flamingos (no, not outside of the car, there are lions you know...) Friday, May 13 - End [View Full Entry]

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After some serious introspection, I have come to the conclusion that in retrospect, one can always view the world through various shades of pink… After all, one cannot take everything too seriously. So it’s either: (1) look back and laugh to maintain your sanity; (2) lock oneself in the bubble to sulk and refuse contact with the outside world; or (3) develop a very jaded outlook on life and talk only in grunts and mono-syllables. Note that these three options are not necessarily mutually exclusive… Enough of this serious talk - I’m going to share some particularl [View Full Entry]

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Happy Easter! I have just returned to Dar es Salaam after a nice 5 day vacation in sunny, sandy, beautiful Zanzibar. As always, life in Africa is full of mini-adventures, and many amusing moments (at least in retrospect). Zanzibar is known as the fabled spice island and is accessible by either 1.5 hour ferry or 20 minute flight from Dar. Deciding to get some good photo ops, Sean (new traveling partner, roommate-to-be, patient listener of many rants...) and I took the ferry on Thursday morning. After leaving him to sleep off the remnants of a very productive night (I chose to [View Full Entry]

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For those of you who have not had the distinct (dis)pleasure of hearing me rant about accommodation, it is my biggest source of stress here in Africa. I spent the first month with a very nice Tanzanian family and because I ate with them, was able to experience local food at its best. After deciding that I needed to have a little more living space (and light), I have since embarked on a long process of trying to find a new place to live. Trust me, it is not easy to do here - I have a new appreciation for the [View Full Entry]

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After spending almost a month in TZ, I have had the opportunity to make a few interesting observations about local food and exactly how to eat. Starches So the basic starches here are wali (rice), chipsi (soggy french fries) and ugali (stiff porridge). I have tried to steer cleer of the chipsi as they tend to sit out in the open for a quite a long time, only to be re-fried upon ordering. Apparently they make some sort of "spanish omelette" (use term very loosely) out of eggs and chipsi - grease quotient = very high. After some adjustment, I must [View Full Entry]

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Hi Everyone! Well, to be precise, I have been here for 2 weeks and 2 days. I must say that all the ups and downs of daily life, which normally wouldn't affect me too much in Canada, are magnified by 100, so I constantly feel like I'm on an emotional rollarcoaster! As you are constantly out of your comfort zone, I am learning so much about myself in the process... and thank you very much, I have discovered that I am rather LOW maintenance!!! I have now experienced the beach... ahhh... the beach. Then, owww... the beach. Yes, I do like [View Full Entry]

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Hi again, It's been a week since I've arrived and time has both flown by and gone really really slowly. I have adjusted more to the heat so do not sweat as profusely as I did in the first few days. I actually find it a little cool in the mornings and in the evenings! It also helps that I take about 3 showers a day! As for life here, I have had my little ups and downs. I have met many people here, both expats and locals, and all are extremely friendly and kind. Everyone has gone out of their [View Full Entry]

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