2011 10 23 From Dar es Salaam to Zanzibar
Last Tuesday, after a debate with
four porters who wanted Tsh (Tanzanian shillings) 100,000(Can $60---an
outrageous sum) to take our bags from the taxi to the ferry, including an
hour’s wait with us in the waiting area, Peter and they agreed on a price of
Tsh15,000 (still quite high, as we learned later). The ferry was clean and
comfortable, the two-hour ride was pleasant. We were met on the other side by
Brian, our volunteer rep, who helped us through Immigration by convincing them,
rightly so, that we were not required to pay a hefty sum in addition to the
visa we already had in our passports.
We were excited to see our new
accommodation which Brian and Niki, a Canadian from northern Alberta, who is
here on a different, short term assignment with the Ministry of Education, had
found. Niki had been staying in a hotel while checking out some pretty awful
places. She was very relieved to find this large house .The agreement we made
happily with VSO, was that she would stay in the house with us until she leaves
in December. This arrangement suits us all---it’s great to have the company, and
Niki and I enjoy going off to explore. 
The house is very big, though the description
of a five-bedroom house, each bedroom with its own bathroom, turned out to be
‘inaccurate’, shall we say. There are four usable bedrooms, and two bathrooms
which are both clean and in working order---a tough order to fill! Each of the
bedrooms we are using has its own bathroom.
The landlord is very ‘accommodating’(sorry!)
and has already fixed or has agreed to fix/install a number of things,
including screens on our leaky glass windows (mosquitoes and rain are an
issue). The ‘grass’ in the yard has been cleaned up, and the lock in the door
in the surrounding wall has been replaced so they we can have keys. The kitchen
is big, and drawers are now in place. Other repair work will be done ‘pole
pole’ (polay polay) based on TT (Tanzanian Time).
We have fruit trees: mango, papaya, lemon, lime, and banana.
VSO, (Volunteer Services
Organization, the head office of CUSO, based in the UK) had given us a
settling-in allowance, and yesterday we used it all up and more! We have basic
food items, kitchen supplies, and bedding.
The rent, at Tsh (Tanzania
shillings) 500,000, is just over Can. $310.
I should add that, as you can see,
the house is red and white on the outside and very pink on the inside!
VSO suggested that we should have an
‘askari’, (night guard) which they are paying for. We have found one. That;s a story for another time.
Mom, you've figured it all out -- the photos, the background -- beautiful job! And I'm happy to hear that you're settling in nicely, although I already had a sense that you were. I'd like to hear about the night guard... is there a chance of theft and break-ins??
ReplyDeleteThanks for the feedback, Hilary. I am pretty proud of myself! Re: Moses, our askari, break-ins into 'mzungu' (ie, not local people's) houses are increasing, we've been told, and we appreciate that VSO is aware of this. Every window and door is barred, and we have a wall that surrounds our property. We are not unduly concerned, as Grampa used to say!
ReplyDeleteI love the background on your page. You sound unfazed and calm about everything but I imagine you are "old pros" at the negotiations having lived in exotic places before. My friend's family had a night guard in New Delhi whose job it was to walk around the house with a large stick all night long - it must have worked as they were not robbed during the 5 years they lived there.
ReplyDeleteHi Jane,
ReplyDeleteNice to see you settling down, and thanks for sharing your stories. Now I'd like to see you working out in your pink house;-)
Thanks, DJ, It seems to working for us so far. No trouble at all. And we have a bunch of men who work at our landlord's car wash next (Kira Car Wash is famous!) who are also keeping an eye out for us during the day.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Grace. You are my guilty conscience, funny lady! You're right, of course, but it's so incredibly hot and humid, there are only a couple of hours between 6 and 8 in the morning when it's comfortable enough to even sit and do nothing, let alone do anything physical. I will have to come up with a plan, but don't have one that's feasible yet!