The Joys of Village Life

So, I moved to Tanzania this past weekend.  When I was told that I would have to transfer to Moshi for work I wasn't sure what to expect.  I had some friends who had lived in Arusha and Moshi before who told me a bit about the region.  What my organization didn't bother to mention to me was that I wasn't moving to Moshi proper, but would be staying 30km outside of town in rural Moshi.  And when I say rural, I mean up the mountain, 40 minutes from town, in the village.  Thanks for the heads up, guys!  Fortunately, I am here with another colleague so I have a partner in crime to experience everything with.

Perks include: running water and intermittent electricity.  Cell and internet service are sparse but are accessible from the office in town.  My Swahili is also somewhat improving as most people here don't know a lot of English.  And the added bonus of earning "development worker street cred."

What you are missing by living in the big city:

Hours of loud and off key church music blaring from God knows where
Boiling water for bucket baths
Cooking hodge podge meals of miscellaneous vegetables and pasta/rice in the dark
Driving a manual gearshift...for the first time in 10 years...using your left hand...on the opposite side of the road...up a mountain
Hours of loud music blaring from the makeshift bar across the road
Appearance of mini tadpoles slash random squiggly things in your boiled water from the spring fed water faucets
Melted improvised candle holders (i.e. the ice cube tray)