Back to School

Monday, January 7, 2019

Memories of Monday are fairly hazy by now. (It’s Wednesday as I write this.) I’m surprised by how fatigued my mind and body feel even after a night’s sleep. Perhaps being older affects me more than I have accepted. Were I here on my own, I would slump into a quiet semi-comatose  zone and rarely move or speak. But, John and Mary Lou keep active, and there are people I need to meet and greet.

So, on Monday morning, I stayed behind at Kundayo, setting up things in our apartment, while John and Mary Lou went into town with Ray to get some currency, new cards for our local phones, and basic food items. I was struck by the many electronic devices we have, each with its separate cord. I have 3 cell phones: 1 from home, 1 iPhone with global roaming so I can call home, and 1 to use here in Tanzania. The first phone and cord, I packed away for our return to Spokane in March. The other 2 I plugged in to charge. Added to the phones are my Kindle, MacBook, iPad, and camera. Each needs to be kept charged, so there are cords snaking everywhere there is and electrical outlet. We need to buy another strip with surge protection, as the electricity goes on and off unpredictably,

In addition to getting our phones set up, John and ML also bought time on Smile, a 4G internet service, which is far more reliable than the free service here at Kundayo. In order to get the best connection here, we must sit in the garden terrace. There is absolutely no connection possible inside our apartment unless we are sitting in the open front door. However, with Smile we can easily connect even in the back area of our tiny apartment. What a luxury!

Emmanuel, one of the two concierges who work here, came to set up our TV. I am still amazed and amused that we are in Africa with electricity, running water, telephones, a microwave, and cable TV. I tried to describe for Immanuel how life was for us 50 years ago when we were first in Africa, and he looked at me as I must have looked at my parents when they described the Depression and WWII. I’m not complaining about the relative ease of life here today, but I miss some of the challenge and sense of accomplishment I used to have when life was more basic and just getting food to cook was a wonderful accomplishment. Worse yet, I resent the rapidity of modern communication and how easily I can become embroiled in keeping up with events back in the U.S. I mean, we can get MSNBC here!

Once the shoppers returned, we had bread, and that plus the packets of sliced cheese I  brought from home in my suitcases meant grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch. Really, I bought sliced cheese on sale at home and wrapped and packed it all in my checked through luggage, where it remained cool until we landed here. That’s how crazy my life has gotten: I bring cheese with me to Tanzania. Oh, and I also packed peanut butter, ketchup, and mustard because while one can find these items in the wazungu stores, they are insanely expensive—as they should be. Who knows? Maybe next year I’ll stoop to packing along some chocolate chips.

Later in the afternoon, Ray’s wife, Honorina, and the two oldest children, Priskilla and Good Luck, came to greet us before they were to leave for the new terms at their boarding schools. This is always the time when I give them small gifts, and this year Good Luck got a Kindle Fire because he was confirmed in November and deserved a larger gift this year. He also got the usual school supplies and candy. I was very surprised when an hour or so later Good Luck returned with little Anitha, who had already begun school and wasn’t at home yet when the others had come. I knew she hadn’t been able to wait until the next day to get her gifts, one of which was a big jar of Nutella, which she loves. Seeing the children each year is one of my happiest times here.
 

With Priskilla, Good Luck and Honorina

Anitha and I

I had greeted Mama Kundayo earlier in the day when she emerged from the family compound to speak with a Danish couple who were here, too. There was a bout of two-cheek kissing, hugging, and back patting. Since I am a notorious non-hugger at home, it amuses me that I become so tactile here. There is really no escape, however, and it seems more genuine here than the automatic social hugs at home. Later in the day, Mama went to sit under her usual tree, and that was a signal for me to get my computer and join her so we could look at some photos and catch up on family news.

We had some absolutely gorgeous fresh green beans for dinner. John bought them plus a beautiful pineapple, 3 Tanga mangoes, and sweet bananas at the produce market up the road from us. So, we had fruit salad for dessert.