those who change the world

i have met some wonderful people and made some fantastic friendships while in Tanzania.  some expats and some nationals.  with all of them there is a common thread.  they made me laugh and we did spend a lot of time laughing. sometimes it was about some cultural thing i didn't understand or the way i saying something in swahili.  

there were so many adventures as i look back over the last year.  the safaris, camping on coffee plantations, Kilimanjaro, trips to Nairobi, exploring Kigali, the mountain gorillas, a holiday in India, getting to spend time Zanzibar and whale sharks around Mafia Island.


i found strong, intelligent and independent woman who will be the next face of Africa and bring success through hard work and lessening in the sense of entitlement they get from the west.  

i met expats who were truly changing the world for better and my year living in the shadow of Kilimanjaro is an experience that will forever shape who i am.  

i am a better person for this experience and i leave with gratitude for all the blessings of my life and compassion for those who struggle in our world. 

  

one year in africa

my year in Africa is up.  next month i will say goodbye to Tanzania.  so as i wind up my time here there are many going away dinners, drinks and fetes.  
every time i am asked if i am sad to be going i mumble something about it being bittersweet and returning.  it's all a lie.  it's not bittersweet.  i am glad to be leaving.  mentally i left a long time ago.  i don't plan to return.  there is just nothing here for me.  i smile every day i can mark another day off the calendar before i leave.

i am humbled by the experience, the challenges and the people.  the friends that i have met and cherish will always be with me and we will connect in the future - just not here.

banned from the office

as i mentioned before, the general manager here chose not to apply for a work visa for me which requires me to do the in/out every three months.  providing a work visa was part of my employment contract so not providing one is a bit of a problem contractually.

Tanzanian law is pretty clear about what is required to have anyone who is not a national on staff.  but, in all fairness, there were some changes to resident/working permits about the time Magafuli took office so there has been confusion among the immigration staff about how they are going to continue to get their bribes and make money under the new policies requiring them to slow down the process until they again have a corruption scheme in place.

still, my bosses know the situation and they know back to back multiple business visas are not considered legal.  on my last reentry i did get pulled into an office for some questions but i was just polite and smiled and got through.

about a month ago a notice went out that anyone with a work permit or a resident visa must go to immigration to validate their paperwork.  what they didn't say is that when you do this you will be given an id card which you have to carry at all times.

fine, i thought i'd be out of the country before they actually got around to checking.  well apparently not, with just a few weeks to go before i leave i get a note saying don't come into the office because the immigration raids have begun.  

i know people in the expat community who have paid up to $1,000 in bribes although that's high - usually it's just around $300.  otherwise it's a 72 hour notice to leave the country - either way i'm not taking any chances and just hold meetings at my house which everyone likes because it's cooler and i have coffee and water.

this doesn't last long as things grind to a halt at the office without supervision and i give in and go back to office hours.

hello and goodbye

it seems i've only just arrived and met people when i've got to say goodbye.  it's really bittersweet - the expat community here is mostly transient [there are some hardcore colonialists here with 20 year leases] so you make connections quickly and share so much but it is sad when someone is moving on.  there is a common bond among people who choose to live outside the country where they are born [unlike refugees] so as a rule they have that which bonds them quickly.

there's a Scottish couple i've grown close with and we have a standing dinner at the El Rancho [you think it's mexican, right? it's not it's indian] every Friday.  we always laugh and end the week with a reminder of what's important and why we are here along with any relevant gossip.

it's particularly hard to say goodbye to my Scottish friends but they had a really nice house close to my offices and i wanted it.  so it's hard to say goodbye and i cry on the day i move in and they move out but i'm happy to finally be settled into a house that is comfortable.  a real internet connection.  a clothes washing machine - you take this for granted in the west but it is a life changing technology.  a full size fridge.  a quiet garden with a view of kilimanjaro.  no roosters or dogs fighting in the middle of the night.  i did inherit the three cats.... remember the momma that had kitties?  the kittens are gone but the momma and two other cats that still hang out.