Questions & Answers

I've gotten some questions via email that I thought I'd post responses to here for all to read. If you have questions about life here, email them to me & I'll get back to you.

1) How do I get to town? Well, it's 8km by car. I can walk the 8km, or I can walk 3km & take a van the rest of the way for about 30 cents. My other options are to walk the "shortcut" which is 4km over a mountain - did it once, it sucked, won't do it again. If I ever get $ I can buy a bike & bike the 8km to town. Either way, it's a lot less convenient than in the U.S. and it's taking some getting used to. It sort of makes me feel trapped at my site, but, bonus, I can't avoid exercise anymore!

2) Where do I use internet? In town there's a few internet cafes, one that PCVs use most often is the Altek. It's pretty fast. Since I have to come to town to buy groceries, I might as well use internet while I'm here - maybe once a week.

3) What kind of furniture did I get made? I had a wardrobe made that holds clothes, books, medicines, and miscellaneous items. I had a smaller version of it made for my kitchen that holds food, pots, etc.

4) What does it look like where I live? No kidding, it looks like PA. I know, you're thinking "Africa - must look like The Lion King, or desert, or whatever", but no. I live up in the mountains where it's green & there's forests w/ pine trees, etc. Seriously, looks like PA w/o the paved roads. Keep in mind that TZ is a big country & just like the US, the landscapes, climates, etc. vary greatly as you travel around the country. I just happen to live in a part of TZ that doesn't look like what we stereotype as "Africa".

5) Do I have a bug on my nose? The person who asked this knows who they are... I thought it would be funny to post an answer! No, I don't have a bug on my nose, but speaking of bugs, I'm done w/ mosquitoes, bug spray & nets. There are still bugs, mostly flies, but not a lot of creepy crawlies to deal w/ so far. We'll see what happens as the seasons change.

6) When am I going to post pictures? Well, as I have more access to internet now, I'll try to post some soon. I'm still in the phase where I'm internet deprived, so when I come to internet (& have to pay to use it mind you) I'm still wanting to use my time & money to email and catch up on news rather than waiting for pictures to load. I'll try to get to that in December, though.

I can't think of other questions, but I know there's more, so ask away.