4 days in Muheza

When everyday is new and unusual and sometimes difficult,here is an intriguing set of 4 days

Only the funny,disturbing, interesting, frustrating -story- telling bits


DAY 1( was a Friday) while I was in Tanga with griffin ,working and successfully erranding Leah was discovering and cleaning the maggot ridden, dead rat that had shorted out our stove so that cooking had been impossible and breathing even worse. While cleaning the stove with some eventual help from Juliette and Athmani they also discovered that our running water was dirtier than usual and the holding tank was found to be holding surface insects and had a bottom full of black slime that also needed cleaning.
All nauseophilic events.

Day 2 found Leah ill with nausea and malaise and I had bad diarrhea ( no more details necessary) unlikely related to the water issues ( see day 1) which was probably a newly discovered chronic state.
After a history of recurrent power outages and blackouts ,day 2 developed POWER SURGES- where the fans felt like they might lift us off the ground or blow us away- and POWER FADES- where lights dimmed to almost imperceptible and the fan blades circled slow enough to be counted. We didn’t trust the stove so chips and miyii( eggs) and meat (unnamed) skewers, from street vendors for dinner.
Even before dinner some local lads ( new to us) came to our door. I thought, to borrow a soccer ball. We had decided only to lend out the ball to boys we knew ( as a general policy not because of any historical losses). They didn’t want a ball. They had a big plastic weave bag that once held 25 Kgs. of flour.They seemed to want to sell me the contents.
So I looked in.
A 2 foot ( maybe ½ meter) in diameter tortoise!! Why should I be surprised?
So I called all family members and friends and friend’s family members to see it and watch it poke its head out and run( ya right) for cover.
After our curiosity and wonder had been satisfied and pictures taken( hopefully attached), I realized they did mean to sell it and if we did not buy it they would terrorize it, or kill it, or sell it to someone else who might do similiarly nasty things to it. So I bought it.
2000 Tz. Sh. Down from an opening gambit of 5000.
Now what.
First I waited until its captors, who were trying decide how to divide up their windfall, hd left. I would have loved to have understood that conversation.
Then more pictures including video as it (he/she) wondered off.
I needed to insure that the initial captors were not watching my compassionate act with thoughts of recapture and resale.
All went well,including the tortoise.
So for about 25 minutes I owned a tortoise in Tanzania.

Day 3 more fades than surges until later in the day so we were able to cook fish and play Catan. ( Griffin and an Aussie student named James-the problem being the other Australian medical student’s name is also James.
Leah felt better and my bowels settled ( no details necessary).
Around dinner time (before Catan) we realized we had no running water. Was this due to local water rationing which until now we had seemingly been protected by or was it pump failure due to the electrical variability.No idea.
No prebed showers.

Day 4 sadly at 0400 hrs Alex and Emily had their house terrorized by 4-5 men and an attempted burglary was thwarted only when we( Hatibu –our night guard- and I)arrived and Alex surrendered some money. It was only the noise of our arrival not any physical presence that scared them away.We did not actually see them, but the evidence of their attempt was physically clear and Emily and Alex were very shaken.
The next day found us with no water , no new pump available and the whole community quite upset and worried about the assault. Until their house is made more secure they will stay with us.

4 Days in Muheza.