So many people ask how my life has changed since I moved to Arusha & I often struggle to explain the differences between life in Cape Town and life in Arusha. Let me run you through my day today so far…
07.30 am : The landlord from the properties next door arrives with 4 fundi’s to fix our outdoor lights, paint one bedroom and put some things on the wall – one is an electrician and one a plumber. Still not entirely sure where the Plumbers fits into the picture but was quoted TSH 80000 for everything which after some negotiations came to USD$40
[Cape Town $400 at least for the same work] [Happy]08.00 am: The new house girl arrives and tells me that her 2 year old son Blessing send love to ‘Grandma’
[Cape Town – Mavis would be dead if her kids called me Grandma] [Alarmed]09.30 am: Driving to town with our Askari and have to take a detour on a dirt road, we are following a water truck that is spraying water over both sides of the road and saturating the cars on either side in the process. As I think it, and start smiling at the thought, we see a motor bike coming.. He of course got saturated but it was a toss-up who was laughing more, us or him.
[Cape Town – tarmac roads / very annoyed motor bike rider] [Nearly peed myself laughing]09h40 am: A long 3 hours in the queue at DHL with no kindle
[Cape Town – would have done it online or Mr DHL would have collected] [Grumpy]12h40 pm – leave DHL and the traffic is complete chaos in town so successfully execute a U Turn and manage to cut in front of 3 taxis and get screamed at, by every car on the road which is rare in Arusha, only to have both Masaai Askari’s high fiving me and congratulating me on my fine driving whilst very proudly telling everyone that was screaming at me that I was their ‘madam’
[Cape Town – similar driving style…different reaction] [Well proud of myself]12h50 pm : Take our Masaai Askari to the book shop to buy him an English book to help him learn English and he gets presented with a book called ‘How to Beat your Wife’
[Cape Town – women’s libbers & lesbians would have had it off the shelves in seconds] [Bemused]12h45 pm: Lift to the 4th Floor with Moi, our Maasai, who had very clearly never ever seen a lift before…first he refused to get in, then finally got in and held onto the man’s hand next to him, then he nearly crapped himself when it landed very roughly on the 4th floor….then he found the staircase to get down!
[Cape Town – he would have had the choice between steps, escalator or lift] [Nearly peed myself for the second time today]12h50 pm: Go to Fast Jet offices to pay for the flight from Dar to Kilimanjaro that I booked on line 2 hours before for $40 to be told they can’t find my booking, find my booking but no printer to print my confirmation, pay the money in cash…ahh madam we don’t accept…hand over my credit card…ahh the machine she is not working! Give the complete stranger next to me the money in Shillings and he writes a cheque – problem solved
[Cape Town – would have booked, paid and checked in online] [AWA …Africa wins again]13h45: Hellellula confirmation from FNB that my forex payment to Tanzania to pay for my new car has finally gone through 13 days after I transferred the funds.
[Cape Town – that was CPT] [Very happy, no more one car family]13h50 : Get to the same Detour of motorbike and water truck fame this morning and despite the ROAD CLOSED sign the policeman waves me through and says continue straight which I do…only to come to the very same 6m deep hole in the road that has been there all week and another ROAD CLOSED sign…. So we turn around and battle all the other traffic that Mr Plod has also sent to the hole in the road and eventually 45 mins later get back to the first road closed sign.
[Cape Town – not sure the result would have been any different] [Grumpy for the second time today]13h50: Get home to a beautifully clean house with 3 bedrooms painted even though I only paid for one & 2 very excited puppy dogs that have been left with the chickens, four strangers and a small child and not eaten anything or anyone.
Was I crazy to move to Arusha, as I sit on the balcony with a gin & tonic with a beautiful view of Kilimanjaro, I am very certain I wouldn’t swap my new life for anything in the world!
Written by: Leanne Haigh, Acacia Sales/Marketing Manager