Blogs from Dar es Salaam, East, Tanzania, Africa - page 43

Today is public holiday...specifically Nyerere Day, in honour of the first president of the United Republic of Tanzania, which only came into being in 1964. Nyerere is dead now, but he is still widely revered as the father of the country, and his picture hangs beside that of the current president in schools and government buildings. He is recognized as a man who single-handedly united over 120 tribes into a single functioning nation. He is also acknowledged as the main reason for the continuing stability of this country, which is after all on a continent where bloody civil wars are the normal course of business. Nyerere made Swahili the national language, which was successful to the point that everyone speaks it even though it is nobody's original first language. He also promoted an atmosphere of family, ... read more

So here's a really awful thing that happened... On Friday night I was sitting out on the little front step of our hostel, enjoying the last of the daylight and a small breeze that had appeared toward the end of the afternoon. I got a phone call on the cell I use here from a number I didn't recognize. Hmm...that's odd. Hello? Hi, can I speak to Jackie Turner. Yes, speaking. Hi, this is _________ (I can't remember the name, you'll see why in a minute) from the Canadian High Commission in Dar es Salaam. I was so excited, I was thinking, wow, a courtesy call, how cool. I had registered with them when I got here because it is highly recommended that you do so if you are going to be out of the country ... read more

So today I have to start on a sad note. Yesterday would have been my grandpa's 80th birthday had he not died this past January. I miss him so much and not a day goes by that I don't think of him. He would have loved what I'm doing here. He had such a sense of fun and adventure himself, and he loved to know what was going on. He would have thought this was a hoot. So...it's not exactly the Royal York...the Msimbazi Centre, where I am staying, I mean. We have been without internet access for the better part of the week, and for two nights we were without water. That has happened a couple of times since I've been here and it never fails to break my heart at the end of a ... read more

Hello everybody, No internet access last night at our little cafe, which is why I'm doing this this morning. I went to placement but Ali is working on something that we need before I can continue with my work, so I said great, I'll be back in an hour. I'm happy -- this is a different internet cafe from the two I usually use, and the one with the best air conditioning so far. So I am quite content for the next little while. I had a good weekend exploring the city centre. Saturday I got up and did my weekly Shoprite run (even found some candy -- how fun is that?) then in the afternoon I took my Lonely Planet Tanzania (travel guide, for those of you who don't know) and explored the city with ... read more

The last couple of days have been spent trying to get me "legitimized" in the eyes of the Tanzanian government. Although I have my visa, we were not able to get me a residency permit before I got here, which is something I'm supposed to have. Ali and Thomas discussed it, specifically the risk involved in just ignoring it, and finally decided it wasn't worth it. I agreed since I will have to renew my visa while I'm here and I figure when the time comes we will be busted. The hardest part has been that the authorities told Ali he had to go through a certain branch of the government -- the Commission for Science and Technology (COSTECH) -- because I'm a student. But as it turns out they only issue permits when you are ... read more