Merry Christmas

Wes and I are off tomorrow on our cross-country train journey from Tanzania to Zambia. We are not sure what to expect, but no matter what I'm sure it'll be an interesting experience. We may also have a train safari moment, as the train goes through Selous, one of the largest game reserves in Tanzania. Before we set off, I wanted to wish everyone and their families a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I hope you all take full advantage of the holiday season.

In other news, the person who has my computer inadvertently logged into my MSN messenger. This lead to a rather amusing three-way conversation between my sister who was actually on MSN, the person with my computer and myself, as I communicated by phone with my sister. We tried to negotiate the return of my computer, or at least the information on it. However, after a lengthy MSN exchange, our friend with the computer backed out. Afterall, they had purchased the computer and therefore have a right to keep it. Yip, I'm still bitter about it.

Not a drop to be found

We are going through a waterless phase. Last Thursday, the water pressure in our taps dropped dramatically and finally trickled off to nothing on Friday morning. Much to our surprise, we were told that no water had been supplied to certain suburbs in Dar since Wednesday morning. We live in one of those suburbs without water, but we hadn't noticed the cut in the supply immediatly because of the reserves in the water tanks on the roof of our apartment building. We were told the water would come back on Saturday evening, but there was nary a drop to be seen. Apparently, it will be back this evening. In the meantime, we discovered a "water man". The water man has a rough, push cart brimming with bright yellow jerry cans, which sweat in the heat and slop water unevenly down their sides. All the containers in our apartment have been roped in to receive the litres of slightly brown water that the water man has to offer. These litres are carefully used for washing dishes and bodies. In the 40 degree heat, there is no question about the need to have a shower on a daily basis.

Dal Law Reunion

Me, Sarah and Moira

This month, we have a steady stream of visitors coming to stay with us. We started December with a bang, as two friends of mine from Dalhousie Law School, Moira and Sarah, came to explore the wonders of Tanzania. Moira made the long trek from New Brunswick to Dar, while Sarah hopped up to Dar from Johannesburg. It was great to spend time with old friends and to have a little slice of Canada in Tanzania. Later that same week, Wes, my boyfriend, touched down in Dar for a month long hiatus.

Moira, Sarah, Wes and I headed over to Zanzibar to celebrate our informal Dal Law Reunion. For scheduling reasons, Moira and Sarah went ahead to Stone town on Friday while Wes and I caught the early morning ferry the next day. It was a crowded 30 minute shuffle from the customs office onto the ferry, which was bulging at the seams with televisions, people and leafy, green vegtables. We burbled out of port about 45 minutes behind schedule only to stop 10 minutes into the trip for the crew to fix the ferry's engine. It was not a confidence inspiring move. Thankfully, we made it to Stone Town in one piece. After rejoining forces with Moira and Sarah, we were on our way to the beautiful and secluded beaches of the east coast of Zanzibar. As always, the beach was amazing and we had a very chill 24 hours, which were spent enjoying the sand, the sun and a couple of drinks. Unfortunately, I was feeling a bit under the weather, as I experienced my first rumblings of the equivalent of Dehli belly. Thankfully, it came and went fairly fast.

After a flying visit, Sarah and Moira headed back to Cape Town to explore the winelands and give shark diving a try. Wes and I stayed on in Stone Town for a couple more days to explore the attractions that we did not have a chance to see on our previous visit. The extra days gave us the opportunity to go snorkelling. As long as you can swim, you can snorkel. However, it doesn't necessarily mean you can snorkel well. I spent the first 15 minutes of snorkelling trying to figure out how to stop inhaling sea water. Eventually, I decided on a whale-like manuver of puffing all the water out of the tube every 5 minutes or so. When I had my face mask in the water, it felt like I had stepped into an episode of National Geographic, as I watched schools of fish dance by and a lone angel fish hoover the sea floor. As we were having a wildlife-themed day, Wes and I also went to feed the giant tortoises that make their home on Prison Island. The tortoises were a gift to the British in the 1900's and have been breeding on Prison Island ever since. It was fascinating to watch their wrinkly necks unwrinkle as they extended them to snap at the greens in our hands. There is definitely no chewing going on here.

Later this month, Wes and I will be changing places with a couple of the other CBA interns, Roanna and Prasanna. We will be heading down to South Africa, while Roanna and Prasanna will be heading to Dar from Grahamstown in South Africa and Addis Abba in Ethiopia respectively to spend their Christmas breaks with Cristiano. Wes and I are taking a slighter longer route to South Africa. We are taking the train from Dar to Lusaka in Zambia before catching a flight to Johannesburg. It promises to be an interesting journey.

Getting into the News

Our whole climbing Kili experience was documented by an enthusiastic camera crew who also took the opportunity to act as news reporters. One member of the camera crew submitted a report regarding the climb using his mobile phone to http://www.africanews.com/site/list_messages/21907 I'm not sure what the report says because my computer doesn't allow me to open multimedia. If it has something incriminating on it, let me know.