Home Sweet Home

Good morning everyone!  It's Saturday morning and I've been spending some time this morning unwinding from a crazy week and chilling at home.  I plan to head over to school after lunch today to get some more work done before students arrive on Monday morning!!  Several people have asked about what my living arrangements are, so I thought this would make a perfect opportunity to share the pictures I took from inside my house.

 

The housing compound I'm living in is right across the street from the school.  The street is smaller than the alley by my house back home, but it is a street nonetheless.  I am so close to school that I could easily leave home at 7:29 an be in the staff room in time for our morning devotionals and announcements at 7:30 sharp. 

 

There are several other units on this compound for other expat teachers.  We are all so close together that I frequently hear my neighbors using their microwave or doing their dishes.  The windows have sort of glass shutters on them, except in the bedroom, but the shutters don't work.  This gives everything an open and airy feeling.  We are so close to the equator here that there isn't really much need to keep out the cold, even though it can get cool at night. 

 

The water in Dodoma is not safe to drink from the tap.  Instead, I boil a large pot of water on my little table-top oven/stove and filter it through a counter-top filter, which is next to the sink.  The water is ok to use to clean up with, but needs to be heated as the only water heater around is a small one attached to the shower.  This needs to be turned on about a half hour before I shower so that the water has time to heat up.  I generally wash my dishes with the tap water, but rinse it with filtered water with a bit of bleach.  All dishes need to be air dried since dish cloths become contaminated quickly.

 

 

At night, I sleep under mosquito netting, which keeps out the bugs that would annoy me at night.  Apparently, mosquitoes which carry malaria are more likely to bite at night, so this is one extra precaution.  I have seen mosquitoes around during the day and have gotten a few bits already, but have not seen the masses of mosquitoes I had heard horror stories about from others who have been to Tanzania.  In my house, I have seen more spiders and ants than mosquitoes at this point.  I do have a bit of an ant problem.  I can't even leave out a knife I have wiped almost clean of jam without the ants having a hay day and covering my sink and counter area.  One of the first things I will learn this year is how to do my dishes in a timely manner.  (For those of you who know me well, you know that this is my LEAST favorite of all the household chores.)

 



Here are some pictures.  Let me know if you have any other questions for me!

My sitting area, just to the left of my door.

 

Into the kitchen area.  The tan cylinder in the left corner is my water filter. 

My front door, standing by my sink.

Into my bathroom.

The view into my bedroom.

My tiny closet.

My bedroom window.