When We Come To It

Greetings from Moshi! We are half way through week 4 – and everyone’s thoughts have strayed to returning home. It has been a great/difficult/hard/easy/fun/frustrating/productive/unproductive trip so far. As I mentioned before leaving – these adventures are so different from the expectations as you takeoff from the first airport and begin the journey.

Let’s talk about accommodations. While every trip to any country will be different, there are challenges to adjusting to local life and living. Here there are 2 main options:

1-Panama resort hotel – I have no idea how they named this, but it is the “nicest” option here. The hotel has clean rooms, air conditioning, wi-fi (sometimes), a restaurant, and a pool. It is about 1 mile from the KCMC entrance and easily walkable. I pass it every time I walk to the closest grocery store (Woodlands). The hotel is an option for anyone who wants to volunteer here and is not ready to leave the above amenities behind. Some very active orthopedic volunteers stay here yearly.

2-Doctors compound – this is the standard housing for traveling docs and is our home away from home. The houses were built in the 70s from what I understand and are basic cinderblock with concrete floors. There are windows that open in every room with mostly intact screens. No AC. There is a stove, small icebox, laundry sink, and a bathroom with standard toilet (European – so lots of noise and water with very little power) and a shower. We have a hot water tank, but hot water pressure is minimal. All doors lock and we have an outdoor light.

Showers are a challenge and involve a lot of splashing the water onto your parts, soaping up, and then splashing the soap away to varying degrees of success. We spent one night out this past weekend while on safari and all of us enjoyed a hot pressurized shower!

Interestingly, property lines – at least within the village – are suggestions. We have foot traffic back and forth through the yard. It has never been an issue but it gets your attention when someone walks by your window with a flashlight at 2 AM.

Electricity – Power here is prepaid. Essentially you give money to the company and they give you a code to activate your pre-purchase kilowatt hours. There is a small box that plugs into your outlet and some how communicates with the system to tell you your remaining kilowatt hours.

Water – Water here is on KCMC system. I think that is a well nearby. In theory the water should be on (ours has just stopped – gulp). Natalie found a great filter that actually slides over the sink faucet making filtered water very easy. I’ve been told that KCMC water is safe to drink, but we haven’t tested that idea. So far, we’ve all avoided any major issues from drinking bad water – keep your fingers crossed for us!

3-Food – Tanzanian food is fairly straightforward – spicy means simple black pepper or perhaps a little curry or masala. A staple for the locals is ugali – which is ground maize shaped into a mound. (Think grits slightly dried out if you’re from the south). The ugali is picked apart with your (right) hand and then dipped into various sauces like beans, kale, or even a sardine sauce medley that is very salty. BBQ is very popular – grilled chicken or goat. Whole grilled fish and sometimes beef is available. Mbuzi (or goat) is very tasty and has become a group favorite. Drinks are served in a bottle – request “baridi” or cold. The other option is room temperature.

There are multiple “Food trucks” near the hospital – these are small semi-permanent grills that serve a variety of meals depending on your needs and constitution. We’ve had grilled chicken and fries (kuku and chipsi) and ugali and goat skewers. We had Bestie’s burgers – a bright red grill that serves chicken and beef burgers – which have been enjoyed – as wells as grilled chicken pieces with various sauces and fries.

Mimi’s is our favorite stop. It is about 1/3 mile from our house and serves a full menu with a full bar. We’ve enjoyed eating family style with barbecued chicken/fish/goat and stir fried vegatables. The waitress brings around warm water and soap to wash your hands prior to the meal arriving. Then you essentially reach and grab bites from communal plates. It is polite to use your right hand only when reaching but your left hand can be used at your setting after retrieving the food.

We’ve also spent time cooking in our kitchen. Dried food like rice and pasta is easily found and fresh veggies can be purchased from the local market. Meat has been more difficult – we’ve found some frozen process sausages and chicken. The whole fish in the freezer at the grocery has been beyond our comfort zone. The local butcher has large cuts of meat hangin in the sun which look fresh, but also a bit warm for our tastes. We’ve cooked anything we can’t peel and eaten raw veggies and fruits that are peeled without incident.

So, I guess in summary, your comfort here is largely based on your ability to rough it with a smile. If you enjoy camping, then this is similar or even easier albeit for a longer time. If you are accustomed to only city life, then it could be a challenge but the Panama resort is close by and is a great way to try volunteering here if you are concerned about your backwoods longevity!