New Camera Will Travel...

Tonight is Thursday( November 5th) and we have new pictures and a new camera.  The week has gone fast!  It was our first week with classes and a full schedule of seminars.  Add in early morning Chapel, prayer meeting on Tuesdays, Bible Study on Wednesday (7:00 pm) and Choir practice on Wednesdays (4:00 to 6:00pm) and Saturdays I am one tired puppy this week.  Not to mention the fact I am now recovering from a very bad cold I caught last week.   With the week nearing an end and a retreat coming up at a conference center Friday night and Saturday, I decided to enter these pictures of the campus,  We are still learning about our new camera...so don't expect too much.  Just a footnote here on how our camera came to be.  Yesse the young man who picked us up in Dar es Salaam (Human Resource Director) was going back to Dar on business and said he would pick us up one.  SO....we gave him the money and here is our camera.  Now you might ask why would we not buy one here in a town of 350,000 people.  BECAUSE most things sold in Dodoma are either very cheap,  or possibly an "old-new" camera and may not work well or they are very high end and cost more than they are worth. 

Everyone told us to wait and buy in Dar or the United States when we were back there. Yesse was our knight in shinning armor.  We are very grateful to him.

Yesse with David in Living Room..with camera!!
We still have nothing up on our walls because the walls are concrete.
All the pipes and electrical wiring are on the outside on the walls.
If anyone has any suggestions would love them on how to hang things in concrete. (No special nails or screws are sold here!)

This is the largest tree on campus  over 150 years old in the background.
There are  places to sit around it for the students.  It is one of the best places to be when it is hot which is everyday.

This is David and Aurelia, my two seminar instructors.  They also teach a class each with over 130 students in their second year of study.
David teaches Dialects of English and Aurelia teaches the Oral Traditions of Africa along with myself doing Written Literature.  There was bad traffic accident involving a professor from our English Department killing two people.  Due to issues related to the accident he is unable to teach his Literature class so Aurelia and I were asked to take over.  WOW!, what a difference taking on another class makes to my schedule when you include two more seminar classes per week to prepare for.  So I said of yes,course, but hope he is back soon to teach.

David's (Reid) Curriculum and Methods class is waiting to get in the
 main theater which holds around 600 people. 
His class now averages around 300 students for lectures.

David before class around 2:00 p.m.
He has been using a projector for his power points.  Things are going better for his huge group now.  David's course is on educational curriculum for secondary students.

Notice the way we keep our windows open with the now broken rulers.
David and I are using the same computer (ours).  Most professors use their own computer.  Our little office has two desks, two chairs and a very small book shelf with a few of our books.Throw in a power strip and internet/printer connections and we have many things to tangle our feet.

David's assistant, Angelina teaching a seminar, one of 13 during the week.  His other assistant Focus (pronounced Focooz) teaches half of the seminars as does Angelina.  David acts as a mentor and guide to help them review lecture content and hear students make presentations on topics from the curriculum course.  They will help "mark" test papers and other assignments for the 300 students.


My Week in Review (By David Reid)

This week has had both good and not so good things happen.  Good is that the lectures are going well and lecture assistants are reinforcing the lecture content in the seminars.  I am lucky to have two very competent people assisting me. I am working on an undergraduate course for all our future teachers to take on how to work with mild disabilities.  The Dean has also asked me to put together a proposal for a possible master's degree in Special Education.  I have completed the prospectus so far.

Things that did not go so well include not getting things printed in a timely manner, due to the department being sold "new-old toner" replacement that was only half full.  It had to be taken back and demand a refund to go and buy one in the box that  totally sealed with a manufactor's date.  (Only $157.00 U.S.)

Next, the tech assistant was not at the checkout center for PowerPoint projectors and made me late to class for both lectures this week.  Then another instructor put the power cord for the projector that Charlotte was to use in his own computer case leaving Charlotte without a cord to power her presentations ruining her lecture effectivness for the class. Finally, students were upset because if they did not have their ID card showing they had paid their tuition, they could not continue attending class.  Naturally this left some students very unhappy.

It getting late about 10:00 p.m. here in Tanzania, but 11:00 a.m. in Denver, so I am signing off.  The next blog entry will include our visit to the Catholic Retreat for a two day meeting of Anglican missionaries!  Think about that for a moment.

BACK TO SCHOOL!! SOUNDS OF MORNING AT ST. JOHN'S , WATER NEEDED! CHOIR AND SUNDAY SCHOOL

BACK TO SCHOOL BY DAVID
Well...the first week of classes has past and we have survived!  I met my class for the first time and had about 100 students.  I went over the course syllabus and explained the usual about importance of attendence, etc.
It was a strugggle from the start.  First, the power strip for the projector would not work properly, delaying class a few minutes.  Second, I have to learn to slow down and re-explain often due to their English as a second language. My assistant instructor told me I had an accent.  Like the British don't!  Third I made the mistake of trying to handout a one page correction sheet for the seminar schedule.  I was mobbed, pushed, and had the handouts taken out of my hands by the students.  I hope they got a copy in the chaos.  My assistant said don't hand out things but let them go to the copy shop a get a copy.

The second session went much better and I had 250 students show up.  I slowed down and repeated information from the PowerPoint and this seemed to help a great deal.  One of my goals is to get the future teachers to understand how to teach for understanding and not just memorize a lot on information to later forget.  On Monday, yesterday, I think they are beginning to understand what I am trying to do.

Charlotte's classes went pretty well.  She has only about a 100 student in one of the many smaller lecture halls and doesn't need a microphone.  However she has to write on the board which needs resurfacing.So she bought some large chart paper and is supplimenting with that.  She has three seminars later in the week. I have 13 seminars but my Assistants, both who have taught and have their Master's Degree or working to finish it, wanted to conduct the seminars and have me serve more as a mentor.  They both are very capable.

I went to church twice this past Sunday, once to the 7:30 a.m. on campus where Charlotte now sings in the choir.  Then at 9:30 a.m. at the Catheral where she teaches Sunday School for about 20 missionary and Tanzanian kids age 3-7 years.  We had Communion at both.  Wow, one more communion could make one begin to feel pretty good!  (Not really, but it was an interesting morning.) .   Later in the afternoon we went to Msalato to visit Moses and Ruth.  Ruth and little Grace have had a touch of Malaria and Typhoid, but they are better now. Charlotte had made baby Grace a sweater and it just did fit her.   Moses and Charlotte discussed her working at Msalato next semester.  What she is doing here at St. John's is a good primer for her to teach English there.  I will continue to teach here at St. John's.  All in all the week went fairly well for us both.

MORNING SOUNDS OF DODOMA
BY CHARLOTTE

I remember reading a person's blog before we left about all the noise in Dodoma.  They were right!  Long before a normal person would begin to stir the sounds of the day come floating into our bedroom.  First there is the call to prayer which starts before the sun comes up.  I am not sure how long it lasts because I am dozing.  Then just when you think it is safe to fall asleep again here come the Catholic bells ringing loudly for a good three minutes or so.  Next the local dogs pitch their howls in with the bells.  Long after your head is left damaged a group of roosters down the street start to crow.  Last but not least are a small group of pigs squeling for food.  All this noise and it's only 6:00 in the morning!

WATER NEEDED

Dry and more dry...water is in short supply right now.  Over the weekend we had a 24 hour period without tap water available.  Our buckets are now half full with water.  Everything needs water.  Once last week we actually had a small shower which lasted about 15 minutes as a storm moved through. It didn't even wet the sand.   The trees here are amazing though.  They seem to thrive without water pushing out their flowers for the spring.  Pink, red,  purple, white flowers all creating a canapy of sorts. Once we get our new camera I will provide some spring time pictures.  Right now the word on the street is that come early November the rains may begin.  Due to global warming and deforesting of the local trees  Dodoma has only one season for rain instead of the usual two.  With its population growing the results will be difficult in the future!  I hope and pray the city starts to increase ways to store water and to provide water to its people.

CHOIR AND SUNDAY SCHOOL

The local chapel choir I have joined is still very small.  Not everyone from last year has returned to practice I am told and we are too many altos or base to carry a good tune.  Oh well, it is still fun and close.  I just walk around the corner to another house for practice.  The couple that leads the choir have two very small children and are wonderfully dedicated to being missionaries.  I have enjoyed interacting with their children. They are so cute and sound so British! (Reminds of the voices in Harry Potter movies.) Speaking of children, the Sunday School experience I may not help at all.  The children really don't another adult since the activities are done in one large group with three other adults.  That may change so I was asked to come back in another two weeks.  David groaned and moaned about the two services but time went really fast at both.

Back to School..and Cement Minature Golf

School is starting at St. John's University on Monday, October 19th.  Not all the new staff have arrived in either of our departments.  Due to the economy and just Tanzanian cultural attitudes the first week here we have been told will get off with  a slow walk.  Most students will arrive during the week for the dorms or as a day student. Registration was this past week but only about 400 new students showed up to register.  David's curriculum class will be the highest with perhaps over 400 students in the largest of the lecture halls.  I may only have as many as 130 students in my one class on English Grammar and that will be held in a smaller lecture  room.  Each of us will have smaller cluster classes during the week relating back to our larger lectures (two in all) that was given to the total group.  In each seminar we have an assistant who will help grade and actually review the main lecture material with students.  These assistants will attend at least one lecture during the week and consult with us reguarding attendance, questions they might have and any other confusing topics.
This system is not perfect but due to the lack of qualified teachers living here in Tanzania  for many of the subjects it is the best alternative St. John's has at the moment.  David and I will know by the end of two weeks how effective our teaching and this new system of departing knowledge will be. 
During last week the campus began to come alive.  Students started moving into the dorms near our apartment, local Tanzanian professors started appearing and new students arrived everyday for orientations.
Despite the lack of a book store and textbooks, most students I have met appear eager to learn and ready to start.  St. John's ability to educate these students will rely solely on the professors and their oral lecture notes. Much of the learning in primary and secondary schools was done this way.  (We are awaiting another shipment of textbooks that may allow more copies available in the library.)  It takes time for cargo to get to Tanzania, get processed and then shipped overland to Dodoma These notes and other information needed to understand the topics taught, especially in the sciences and  pharmacy, will be available at the photocopy shop on campus. Here the students must drop by and purchase a copy of the lecture notes and other materials available through the instructor. Textbbook are not available for purchase currently.  We have provided several copies of selected texts that lectures are based and have those copied and bound for the library.  These are put on two hour reserve and not allowed to leave the library.  Both of us will be using our prior knowledge and the few textbooks we brought with us.  Students are required to bring paper, pencils or pens to class.  As for our teaching equipment David will have a projector for his power points due to the size of his classes.and also a microphone.  I on the other hand will have a chalk board, chalk and talk loud..
Wish us luck this week...and say a prayer!
Sunday we visited a putt-putt golf course and pizza place!  Our English (UK) neighbors down the road with two small children offerred to take us out for pizza and golf.  On a Sunday afternoon we were the only people there (except for three Japanese young men).  I don't think the concept of putt-putt has caught on here in Dodoma.  Really its more like cement golf.  Because of termites any wood in the ground is goobled up quickly and carried off for their building material.   We all had a lot of fun especially the children, who ran around all over the course to play.  This entertainment center even had grass, wonderful watered flowers and shrubs and an outside bar.  I certainly hope it is successful....Dodomaians I am sure would love to experience
"silly golf" as our UK family called it. Oh yes the pizza was really good also.
Just a foot note here.  We have now been without water for two full days now.  Today David and I both braved using bottled water to wash out hair.  Our buckets of water are running out and its getting harder to cook and clean up.  I was told that this is a decision that the water company makes to conserve water.  I would have thought that the college would be exempt from this policy but I guess not.  Hopefully the water will be back on tomorrow...or we must buy more bottles of water.
PS:  No pictures for awhile our camera died and no one can repair a camera  in Dodoma!
Blessings,
Charlotte and David

Alive and Kicking! Little Things that Drive One Mad!! Classes Start Monday

WE ARE ALIVE AND WELL!
(picture of residency gate..guard sits in
side all day notice no fence just the gate)

It's the day after our first left hand drive in Dodoma and we are still alive and kicking!  David was a little nervous but I knew with his driving skills and road wits we would do fine.  His left arm (which was broken last year), gave him some problems with the shifter because the linkage is too loose.  But all in all he did great!!  We went north toward the village of Msalato.  On a Sunday there was not the normal traffic and people out on their bikes and walking. I  don't know when we will get a university car again, possibly next Saturday when its not being used for offical business. There are more newly hired employees coming in to live on campus along with students who are arriving every day now into the dorms.  Registration started this week with the usual campus confusions and "I don't have that information".  David and I have not been asked to help this semester because we are so new. Then there's next semester!  It seems to be a very big task especially with the lack of enough trained technical staff and computer programmers.
Back to the drive. After our drive we treated ourselves to the restaurant inside the Hotel Dodoma near the old railroad station.  No one there (No other Westerners due to CAMS School being on break)....we had the place to ourselves on a Sunday.  This restaurant serves very good food for what we think is a reasonable price, $7.00 to $8.00 a dish (In the U.S. the equivalent cost would be $15.00-$20.00.)  They serve a variety so we don't believe we will get bored.  One does need to put up with flies...the restaurant is open on one end into a large inner courtyard where the hotel rooms look out onto a nice garden and outside eating/seating areas.

THINGS THAT DRIVE ME MAD!

Dorms

Last night before prayer meeting (with a few of the staff here on campus) I invited two of our neighbors over for pizza.  Now back home in Colorado or even North Carolina or Georgia (where we have lived before), making pizza is no big deal...but you can forget how difficult doing cooking can be without the right items or in my case conviences.  For example...First, I had to  make the pizza crust from scratch and my flour is of a darker mixture than the refined flour back home.   Second, my measuring cup is in Centimeters which causes big converting problems for me (not a math person).  I'm guessing how much is a cup or 1/3 cup and finding measuring spoons in the markets is impossible.  Third, my wonderful little oven is in Celsius degrees, which until my neighbor explained the right temperatures to use, was a complete mystery to me!  Therefore a few attempts have either gone flat or came out toasty.! Next, to make matters worse I must wash all the veggies and peel the skin off the tomatoes before I slice them.  Now that is a royal pain believe -you -me. 
In addition, the cheese needed to be grated on a grater, mushrooms came in a can (no fresh ones here), and just try finding a pizza pan in Dodoma!  All in all though, the pizza turned out fine.  It's amazing how one can be fairly resourceful when called upon. Our prayer meeting was just right next door so we all walked over and read passages from Isaiah and our neighbor led us in open prayers.

Once arriving in Dodoma to my amazement I discovered that hot water in my kitchen sink is not always reliable due to the city turning off the water at odd times and we have remeber to turn on the hot water tank  a few minutes before use.  Now this does not mean I have the only problem...this seems to be norm due to the water tanks and shortage of running water.  So all over Dodoma in the markets one can find places that sell hot water thermoses.  You just keep your hot dish water in the thermos bottle by your sink to use in your dish water. (Yes, you do need to heat your cold water first in a pot.) Then using a plastic bowl in your sink you fill that with half cold and some hot.  Rinsing is not easy, you either need another good size bowl or must use really cold water from your sink facuet.  I'm getting use to the routine but really miss the one facuet with hot and cold running all together!!  Oh the little things that drive one mad.....!

My Concerns by David
Three things have me concerned.  One, I need to get a watch by next Monday to know when classes start and end, etc.  Two, Charlotte and I are sharing one computer to prepare our coursework.  Three, we need our own printer to check our work quickly, especially at home.  On campus we are connected to the College of Education printer but several faculty use it, meaning much sharing (Am I selfish?).  So far the only kind we have found sold here is about $375.00 U.S. and is heavy duty office use.  Anyone out there  who would like to donate a cheap black and white print, printer?  Color is not a good choice due to finding color refills.
I am in the process of finishing my powerpoints for the courses I am teaching.  I had to rearrange the sequence in one course to make it flow better and edit previous powerpoints to fit other courses.  The one really positive thing is that I have a excellent young Indian women who seems very capable and has flawless English.  She will help me with seminars and will do some lecturing where she feels she has the expertise.

I want anyone who reads this blog to appreciate what is happening here.  This is the unversity's third year and will graduate its first undergraduate class next spring.  The key people here have worked 24/7 to make it happen. It is not easy to start a university on a limited budget (Enrollment this year may grow to 3,000.). They have done a fantastic job! Charlotte and I will do everything we can to help in this wonderful endeavor. But there is much lacking in the day to day supplies of running and keeping up a university.  They could use basic teaching materials such as white dry erase boards, overhead projectors, paper for copiers, copiers themselves, notebooks, binders, shelving for books, desks and chairs for teachers and students, small printers for our personal laptops we use, and in general we need a student book store with used textbooks for rent or sale.  The university moved its library into a renovated building when a wonderful donation of over 80,000 books arrived last year.  They have recently completed renovation of several smaller buildings to house new and old staff from the administration building as well as more classroom space.  This complex was once a boys' secondary boarding school for about 1200 students (800 dorm and 400 day).  The school was built in the 1960's and the campus was given to St. John's U. by the TZ government to get things started.  It sat closed until reopened as St. John's University of Tanzania.  Much repair was needed to many of the buildings.  As of yet, it is still on an  'as needed'  basis when donations arrive.
Pictures are of St. John's main administration building ...more to come as classes start!
This ends this segment.

Buckets Everywhere! Sounds of Morning! Transportation in Dodoma!

Today is Thursday, October the 9th and we have just had our first water shortage here at the homestead!
It seems that if you run your tank dry for some reason you can not fill your tank easily the next day.  It will take longer to fill with water than the water may be running.   The other problem is pressure.  Simply put you have little..and when you have little pressure you have little cold or hot water.  So for about a day and night our two apartments had little water.  The Tanzanians seem to know how to deal with this problem.  Their solution is to fill large barrels and buckets with extra water (the plastic water can salesman at the market is very popular) and store these plastic containers until needed.  So I now have one red large bucket and one green bucket with lids and water inside standing in my kitchen! Lovely site!

But there's more.  Once you get your water from the city you  may need to boil it before drinking and using it to wash your veggies and fruits.  Today I spent a good three hours boiling cooking water and  water I can wash my fruits and veggies in..... PLUS I also need to keep hot water handy to wash my dishes in each time.  WHY you ask?  Because there is may not be hot water coming out of my kitchen sink area!


           You can see water has suddenly become very important in my daily life.  Not to mention that it is very dry here and sand blows everywhere.  Yes, drier than Denver but not hotter at the moment.  People who are local say that will change soon and it will start to rain in late October.

Sounds of Morning
I haven't said much about the mornings here.  From where we are living the city sounds of Dodoma don't really reach our ears, BUT the local Mosque certainly does! Right at daybreak the call for early morning prayer goes out over our part of town. It's rather nice in a way waking up to call for prayer to God.  Starts my day on a positive note and the Lord knows I need that right now!
Of course long before prayer call,  the roosters are up crowing along with the various packs of semi kept dogs that run around the campus.  By dawn the noise is so loud you just get up and deal with the water tank heater (which must be turned on about 20 minutes before a shower).
People in Dodoma get up and moving early here.  Lots of schools start by 7:30 am and children and adults are out walking the streets and dirt roads to town or to their schools. (No busing for children in Tanzania as I can see..cost is too high..you get a ride or walk.)
 Usually by 7:30 or 7:45 am I can hear a drum band practicing in the distance and later school children playing outside.  These are the sounds in the morning that I cherish .  They remind me of home.

A typical 4wd Vehicle in Dodoma

Transportation in Dodoma

Transportation in Dodoma is an interesting and widely varied process.  First there are those who are fortunate enough to have a car.  Cars are fine in town and on the other paved roads.  However as you go directly south, north, or west, the main roads are all dirt. In town all the side streets are dirt, rough and narrow.  What really is needed is a 4wd SUV to clear the large potholes and big rocks that often stick up in the dirt streets and roads. Locals here seem to pay no attention to the roughness and drive fast  (50 mph+) like it was smooth and paved.
      The art of driving.  First, you need a Tanzanian license.  One of  the university drivers said he would get my license for me.  He needed a photocopy of my passport picture, work/resident visa, U.S. driver's license, and 12,000 shillings (About $ 9.00 U.S.) and he would get it for me.  He was gone about an hour and came back with the license. Fair enough, but I still have to go to the police station and have them put a stamp on it.
       Now actual driving requires having eyes similiar to that of an insect (lots of eyes and 360 degrees view). You need to see well on both sides, straight ahead, and remember you driving on the left side of the road as well as dodging people walking, or sort of wandering in the road, those riding bicycles on both sides of the road as well as suicide taxi drivers who seem to drive anywhere they want.  Did I mention a lot of motorcycles? There are few stop signs or other roads signs so you are on your own!

The Ideal Vehicle to have in Dodoma

Our neighbor  has the ideal vehicle.  Its an older Toyota Land Cruiser (mid 90s) that has heavy duty leaf springs, 3 inch shackle lifts giving the 4wd drive plenty of ground clearance, a large winch on the front, turbo diesel, axle housing braces, excellent luggage rack on top and oversized wheels and 6 ply tires.  Its very comfortable, even has a sunroof and air conditioning.  It has a 24 volt electrical system, too.
      To give a perspective, if you wanted to go north to Mt. Kilimanjaro and the Serengeti, you would need to drive on about 150 miles of dirt roads before you hit the paved road from Morogoro to take you the rest of the way.  Having gone north part of the way to visit the Catholic Retreat, it is a rough road!
This Sunday Charlotte and I will take a solo drive in one of the cars owned by the University .  Report will follow later!
  

Moving out...Moving In....Delivery in Dodoma

On Saturday we moved into our three room apartment.  What a difference a day can make. The university did paint our concret floors, fixed our missing window pieces, and delivered our stove and fridge (more about that later).  After visiting other homes in the area, I can say our apartment looks about like all the rest who work for missions or volunteer.
Most places have unpainted concret floors, one kitchen sink, a shower same level as the floor with a large drain, (very European I think), borrowed and mixed matched furniture, hot water until 8:00 am off until 5:00pm (Dodoma is conserving electricity and water), facuets that look like outside ones for hot and cold, well worn wall paint including drips,  and a trash hole and fire pit out back of your home. But it is home and once we get it painted ....things should look up. I wanted to do a  Home and Garden TV make over but the supplies here are limited.  Very little good paint that actually covers the walls and  brushes fall apart as you use them. I have painted the cabinets white with much effort due to the poor paint and brushes.  It took four coats and still does not look like one full coat.  When I have gone shopping the home selections have been confusing and limited.  Often making a person shop several small businesses in the market area for supplies...only to give up from heat exhaustion.

Now for the delivery in Dodoma.  Our neighbor, David and I had gone to two stores in Dodoma that carry high end items like real stoves and fridges. The preferred cooking tool is a two burner cooker that can sit on a counter or floor or a charcoal stove, neither will have an oven. Finally we all arrived at a joint decision and the university sent a voucher .  On the day of our move no one seemed ready to honor our needed time table for delivery. When the items arrived by special Dodoma way they were the wrong stove and fridge!! So our former host and now neighbor went back and delivered some old fashion western industrial talk to the owner about making the customer happy and delivering on your promises.  Soon a man in a delivery cart ( a man  pulling the cart about 3/4 of mile from downtown) appeared and exchanged the stove and fridge for the right ones.  (Pictures are below!  Enjoy!) What an exhausting day for all...but now we are moved in and I am baking bread in my new oven!  My Grandmother Fagerstrom would be soooo... proud!!

           New Fridge and Stove

GOOD-BY WRONG ONES!!

The university still has not started but will slowly this week begin to assess students returning who failed a course or need to pay the rest of their tuition from last year and then take exams.  All in all it is still quiet out front.  Our place is right next to student housing.. about 800 of them when they come!! Right now we just have a couple of  African dogs (We nick-named "Mange" and "Flea"), a few university students, some faculty and two friendly gray lizards, "Fly Boy" and "Skeeter" (because they eat insects off our walls).  Soon another blog on transportation in  Dodoma.

Blessings, Charlotte and David

To Market..To Market..Rice and Stones!!

To Market ...To Market.. Rice and Stones...Grocery Stores!

Today's blog will concern itself with food!  Without a car... life here is rather dependent on who will take us to town and when.  Most days, because the university is not up and running the semester yet, we hitch a ride with our neighbor.  Riding into town is an adventure in itself but it really starts once we arrive near the vegetable and fruit markets.
 The establishments base themselves inside an open well used building ...which once inside might remind you of an Indiana Jones' movie.  It is dark in some sections with narrow passages,  flies trying to settle on food and people with bags of rice, potatoes , beans and peanuts everywhere.  Once your eyes have adjusted to the darkness you can see small boys running around begging to carry your shopping bags for just a few shillings. The vendors are  polite and friendly which surprised me due to all the confusion elsewhere.  You can find almost anything here except meat.  Evidently a few years ago a rather nasty sickness happened here due to the selling of butchered  meat without keeping it cold. This stopped the practice of offerring meat by its feet and hanging it upside down for flies to land on! I really haven't cooked on my own yet so I'm not very sure where I will buy non-frozen meats but I know you can here in Dodoma. For now I am perfectly happy to buy frozen (hopefully without flies attached).

                                                                                                                     Going to Outdoor Market

While in the market my nieghbor advised me to buy a rice basket.  This came as a complete surprise to me for I seldom clean my rice when I am home.  But for some strange reason there are small white stones in the rice sold in the market.  I know this for a fact because David and  I have chopped down on a spoonfull of rice only to hear a large crunch!  You take the unwashed rice and shake it  aound in the flat rice basket.  I am assuming the little stones fall out then through the bottom..but some hold on for dear life and make it into cooked rice!! Oh My!



English speaking grocery owners are few and far between here in the city.  There is a new store outside of town on the way back to Dar es Salaam that is small but operates like a small supermarket.  It has prices on the items, stocked on well lighted shelves, and they even give you a itemized recipe at the end!! Most of the stores just add up the items without telling you what they cost and show you the total on paper or on a calculator.  Yes, no prices on your cans, cartons, eggs, drink cases, boxes of cereal (not much variety either in the types of items you can buy.)                                                                                                                                                           .
There has also been somewhat of a shortage here in  milk and soft drinks in all our stores for the past week or so.  We don't know why...you just can't buy those items anywhere in town. David is going bonkers for diet drinks!! I can survive on tea or coffee but I must admit I am beginning to want milk for cereal and creamer.

Food here in general is good. Our host has a  housekeeper who cooks, well the same meal everyday and it is healthy but meat free.(rice, tomatoes, onions, beans, potatoes, cucumbers  green beans). Sometimes we go to Rose's Cafe,  an Indian resturant down town near Two Sisters' Grocery Store. She has excellent food and very cheap prices.  Rose serves the best tea and milk drink along with chicken or beef curry dishes.  Yes curry... but it is not spicey like in Boulder, Colorado..very good and fills you up.  After a rather exciting round of shopping in Dodoma, Rose's Cafe seems a little like being home (but first I close my eyes and tap my feet twice).

Stay tuned for more adventures here at the end of the highway in the middle of Tanzania....

Blessings to you all..............Charlotte and David

PS: Can't really show the Market because some people do not want their picture taken.  I will try to sneak one in from the street!