I really like Tanzania - and I got a job

Tanzania is cool, the people are cool, they don't point at you and yell out "foreigner" in their own language constantly. I came in on the far west, then caught an overnight train to the middle. I didn't realise that Tanzania time is an hour earlier than Burundi time, but luckily I'm an anal retentive white foreigner so I turned up for my 7am train half an hour early and because I'm in chilled out, relaxed what's-the problem Africa, the train left 35 minutes late. perfect. Spectacular views of wide open Savannah, but still no big animals. I stayed a night at some bloke-I-just-met's house. The kind of open generosity that I haven't seen since Sudan. Incredible. I gave him my fake leatherman, but nothing will match genuine welcome.

I got into Dar es Salaam and stayed in the city for a few days, I managed to get to see a museum and a couple of markets, where I bought Congolese masks for a tenth of the price that they were trying to get in Congo. I bought Flic a ebony letter opener with a hippo carving on it, she likes hippos, but she is the absolute last person you would ever buy a letter opener for... I was just thinking about her when I walked past them. Really beautiful paintings here too, but I'm going to have to miss out on those, funds are tight, and I have just asked my mother for a loan. Yep, a loan to fund my self indulgent life style because I don't want to pay interest on a credit card, I've never been the ideal daughter.

The exchange rate in Tanzania: 1 British pound travelers cheque = 2400 Tanzania shillings, 1 British pound cash = 1400 Tanzania shillings, 1 Scottish pound cash = 800 Tanzania shillings. Last time I looked Scotland was part of Britain. And they don't change Sudanese money.

The Internet server here is powered by a disabled hamster slowly limping around a hamster wheel that needs a service. It's sooo slow... even cricket is faster than this.


I was spending about two hours a day looking for work (and also not looking for work) on the Internet every day. I started applying for work in Africa, then Middle East, then Eastern Europe. I ended up applying for jobs in hospitality, childcare and teaching from Iceland to Iraq (and decided that I wouldn't take the Iraq job if I got it... bit too noisy).


After a few days in the city I decided to cut costs and move to the beach... Brilliant. I had a bungalow all to myself for only 5 USD a night, right on a postcard perfect white sand beach. I was swimming 3 times a day, eating fresh fish, fresh coconut, fresh pineapple, checking out the incredible bodies of the guys who 'worked' there, building sand castles. I met up with a Californian hippy chick called Curry so we laughed, did a ritual, belly danced, did a bit of yoga. On my last night we swam nude at night. The night sky was the ultimate with Venus and Mars brightly present and also being able to see the Big Dipper and Southern Cross in the same sky every night. Magic.


But still it's Africa, Sometimes there's no power, sometimes there's no water. I got a huge electric shock from the live wire right next to my light switch (I gave the manager my electrical tape to fix it), there were rats in my roof, and jellyfish in the sea and mosquitos everywhere. But who cares, the rats didn't bite, the jellyfish didn't sting I'm itchy but show no signs of malaria. Also there were cool animals like hundreds of crabs that would come out at night and fight their battles on the sand, and bats that would flutter around the lights to catch insects.


I would walk a kilometre down the beach and use the Internet from one of the posh hotels. And after a week of the most luxurious job search ever, yesterday I accepted a position teaching English in a primary school in Ethiopia. here is it pronounced 'utopia' which I quite like. I start mid July for the summer school. It's a one year contract, and seems to have good holidays but lousy pay. It'll do me.


I'm back in the city tonight. Tomorrow I head for Nairobi, Kenya where I'll get my Ethiopian visa, buy some decent primary-school-teacher clothes and most of all get to spend some time with Flic who is in hospital there. Hopefully I can be of some use to Flic's mum who is doing an amazing job being a mum-in-need. I hope she likes pineapples, I got her one.