I’ve just completed my second week of work with EDI and all’s well. My colleagues are great. The Dar office is new, so right now there are just two Brits and one Tanzanian in the office. A Nigerian woman who has been working in Kenya will be joining us on the 25th. I’ve been really happy with the amount and content of the work they’ve sent my way so far. Since I arrived, I’ve been primarily working on two projects. The first is a multi-partner project that is attempting, through various interventions, to capture and disseminate good practices in traditional health. We’re the fund/monitoring manager for this one and my boss is hoping (as am I) that I will be the lead. The second is an expression of interest (kind of a mini-proposal) to carry out an HIV/AIDS training needs assessment in three East African countries.
Right now I’m living and working in the same compound. The office is in a house and just behind is a schoolhouse that has been converted into consultant accommodations. When I arrived, they were in the middle of renovations, but slowly things have come together. I now have a functioning kitchen and bathroom, though I’ve given up on having a hot shower. The tank is tiny and eats a lot of electricity. Plus, for some reason there’s less water pressure when the hot water is on, so I have to squat down to get anything to come out of the spout.
Anit’s cousin Bansi and her husband Jai live here and Dar and they have been taking good care of me. I’ve been over to their place a few times for dinner and they’ve kept me busy over the weekends. So far, I really like Dar es Salaam and am learning my way around, at least my part of town, pretty quickly. I currently don’t have a car, but Anit is planning to leave his here with me when he goes to Mozambique. He is in Arusha (northern Tanzania) right now. His family has moved all their curio goods and jewellery from their shops in Mombasa to four shops in Arusha. His brother Punit and his wife Sisca have been living there for the past year and now his parents are planning to move there as well. Anit’s plans to move to Mozambique are still in place, though his timeframe remains (surprise surprise) uncertain. Arusha, and Tanzania in general, is crazy right now because President Bush is here (or will be here in the next day or so). Bansi works as a travel agent and talks about how it’s been impossible for her to get people hotel bookings because he and his delegation have booked huge blocks in all the best hotels.
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Yes, it's true
I’ve been neglecting my blog again. I have however been fairly active on Facebook, so if anyone is on Facebook and not currently my ‘friend’ I will happily accept your ‘friend’ request.
I just returned to Mombasa after spending a month in Minneapolis visiting friends and family. It was a great trip, in large part because my fella Anit accompanied me. It was fantastic (and significant in terms of our relationship) to introduce him to my friends and family and to show him where I grew up! Minnesota came through with plenty of snow and enough ‘warm’ days to convince Anit that it is not a completely uninhabitable place. We even walked around Lake Harriet one afternoon – and broke a sweat!
I’ll be moving to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania the first week in February. I’ve accepted a position as an In-House Consultant (basically a junior consultant) with Economic Development Initiatives, an economic development consulting firm, and will be starting on February 4th. My initial contract is just four months, but from what they’ve told me, I’m optimistic that my position will be extended. I feel like I’ve been in limbo since finishing grad school and so I am really excited to get back to work! If anyone’s interesting in taking a look at the types of assignments I’ll be working on, their website is http://www.edi-africa.com.
Well, I feel like it would be wrong to sign off without acknowledging the scary things that are happening in Kenya right now. For those of you who haven’t been following the situation, the country held presidential elections at the end of December and it’s generally believed that they were rigged in favour of the incumbent, Mwai Kibaki. Ever since election officials announced the results, there has been violence, rioting and looting. Most of the violence has been concentrated in the Central and Western Provinces of Kenya. While Mombasa (in the Coast Province) has remained fairly safe, it’s been hit hard economically as hundreds of people who work at hotels and other business that depend on tourism are losing their jobs. What’s most concerning is it doesn’t appear that either political party is willing to sit at the same table with the other to forge a way forward.
I just returned to Mombasa after spending a month in Minneapolis visiting friends and family. It was a great trip, in large part because my fella Anit accompanied me. It was fantastic (and significant in terms of our relationship) to introduce him to my friends and family and to show him where I grew up! Minnesota came through with plenty of snow and enough ‘warm’ days to convince Anit that it is not a completely uninhabitable place. We even walked around Lake Harriet one afternoon – and broke a sweat!
I’ll be moving to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania the first week in February. I’ve accepted a position as an In-House Consultant (basically a junior consultant) with Economic Development Initiatives, an economic development consulting firm, and will be starting on February 4th. My initial contract is just four months, but from what they’ve told me, I’m optimistic that my position will be extended. I feel like I’ve been in limbo since finishing grad school and so I am really excited to get back to work! If anyone’s interesting in taking a look at the types of assignments I’ll be working on, their website is http://www.edi-africa.com.
Well, I feel like it would be wrong to sign off without acknowledging the scary things that are happening in Kenya right now. For those of you who haven’t been following the situation, the country held presidential elections at the end of December and it’s generally believed that they were rigged in favour of the incumbent, Mwai Kibaki. Ever since election officials announced the results, there has been violence, rioting and looting. Most of the violence has been concentrated in the Central and Western Provinces of Kenya. While Mombasa (in the Coast Province) has remained fairly safe, it’s been hit hard economically as hundreds of people who work at hotels and other business that depend on tourism are losing their jobs. What’s most concerning is it doesn’t appear that either political party is willing to sit at the same table with the other to forge a way forward.
Friday, October 12, 2007
Liberate the goats!
Tomorrow is Eid for most Muslim sects, meaning that today is the last day they will fast for Ramadan (in Kiswahili when one is fasting, they say ‘niko funga,’ or ‘I am closed’). To celebrate, at sundown this evening, Muslim families who can afford to will have a great feast. For my neighbors, this includes roasting the meat of three or four freshly slaughtered goats. As I look out my window, I can see 7 of tonight’s victims sitting very comfortably in the shade on a bed of grass, ignorant of their imminent demise.
I have had a couple of job interviews since I last wrote. I’ve been invited to Nairobi for a second interview at the end of October for a position in Tanzania that sounds promising. Also, former Aga Khan Foundation colleague got in contact with me about the possibility of working with her for 4 to 6 months in Kampala. So, while I still haven’t received any job offers, I am feeling more hopeful that I will be gainfully employed in the not so distant future. I’m taking a leave of absence of sorts from volunteering APDK. I told my boss that I had volunteer fatigue and needed to re-motivate. I hope to go back next week.
Anit’s brother Punit and his girlfriend Sisca are getting married on November 7th. It was a spur of the moment decision based largely on her need for a visa (she is Indonesian). They are planning something simple. For Indians, this means 3 functions over 2 days for approximately 100 people.
I have had a couple of job interviews since I last wrote. I’ve been invited to Nairobi for a second interview at the end of October for a position in Tanzania that sounds promising. Also, former Aga Khan Foundation colleague got in contact with me about the possibility of working with her for 4 to 6 months in Kampala. So, while I still haven’t received any job offers, I am feeling more hopeful that I will be gainfully employed in the not so distant future. I’m taking a leave of absence of sorts from volunteering APDK. I told my boss that I had volunteer fatigue and needed to re-motivate. I hope to go back next week.
Anit’s brother Punit and his girlfriend Sisca are getting married on November 7th. It was a spur of the moment decision based largely on her need for a visa (she is Indonesian). They are planning something simple. For Indians, this means 3 functions over 2 days for approximately 100 people.
Thursday, August 16, 2007
A man with a very bad toupee came for lunch today
It was hard not to stare. That’s all I have to say about that.
I wish I had some news on the job front, but I haven’t had much luck as of yet. Last week I started volunteering at the Association for the Physically Disabled of Kenya (APDK) Rehabilitation Clinic – the organization where I interned last summer. I’m helping them to write a proposal to Bread for the World for funding to support training of Ministry of Health staff and volunteers on community-based rehabilitation. It feels good to be doing something productive. We will be submitting the proposal tomorrow and then next week I’m going to start troubleshooting some problems they are having with the Health Management Information System (HMIS) I built for them last summer. Jayne, my supervisor, has also said they’d like me to put together a couple of half-day trainings on proposal and report writing, which would be good experience, but I’m reluctant to commit to too much, because I’d much rather find a paying job!
Last Friday we had 16 friends over for dinner. I made two huge pans of lasagna – one with chicken sausage and the other vegetarian. I asked others to bring the sides etc. The lasagna went over well, but I was a little disappointed with how it turned out. The recipe calls for fresh mozzarella cheese, which is not available here. I bought the softest I could find, but it didn’t do the recipe justice. Also, the ricotta was drier and saltier than what I am used to.
Anit and I are going to Diani this weekend. It’s a village located about an hour south of Mombasa on the coast. It’s really a beautiful place. The sand is the softest and whitest I’ve ever seen. On Sunday we are going to Wasini Island where Anit will go diving and I will snorkel and hang out in the boat. I’m really looking forward to it.
I haven’t been successful at uploading ANY pictures, but I haven’t given up. The internet is much quicker at Anit’s office, so I think I’ll give it a go there next week.
I miss everyone!
I wish I had some news on the job front, but I haven’t had much luck as of yet. Last week I started volunteering at the Association for the Physically Disabled of Kenya (APDK) Rehabilitation Clinic – the organization where I interned last summer. I’m helping them to write a proposal to Bread for the World for funding to support training of Ministry of Health staff and volunteers on community-based rehabilitation. It feels good to be doing something productive. We will be submitting the proposal tomorrow and then next week I’m going to start troubleshooting some problems they are having with the Health Management Information System (HMIS) I built for them last summer. Jayne, my supervisor, has also said they’d like me to put together a couple of half-day trainings on proposal and report writing, which would be good experience, but I’m reluctant to commit to too much, because I’d much rather find a paying job!
Last Friday we had 16 friends over for dinner. I made two huge pans of lasagna – one with chicken sausage and the other vegetarian. I asked others to bring the sides etc. The lasagna went over well, but I was a little disappointed with how it turned out. The recipe calls for fresh mozzarella cheese, which is not available here. I bought the softest I could find, but it didn’t do the recipe justice. Also, the ricotta was drier and saltier than what I am used to.
Anit and I are going to Diani this weekend. It’s a village located about an hour south of Mombasa on the coast. It’s really a beautiful place. The sand is the softest and whitest I’ve ever seen. On Sunday we are going to Wasini Island where Anit will go diving and I will snorkel and hang out in the boat. I’m really looking forward to it.
I haven’t been successful at uploading ANY pictures, but I haven’t given up. The internet is much quicker at Anit’s office, so I think I’ll give it a go there next week.
I miss everyone!
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Sickness and Saris
The internet has been down since Monday so I’m writing this in Word with the hope that I might get online sometime this afternoon. Right now my job is looking for a job, so it’s really frustrating to not have internet access since it is my primary means of searching.
We returned from Tanzania on Thursday of last week. I don’t have much to report or pictures to share because I was sick and in the hotel room the entire time we were there. Fortunately the hotel we were in was comfortable and had cable TV. I stayed in all of last weekend because I was still recovering. On Monday, around the time I was starting to feel back to normal, Anit left again for Tanzania. He’ll be back tomorrow (Friday).
Anit’s younger brother Punit and his girlfriend Sisca are in Mombasa this week. They live in Arusha, Tanzania where Punit has started a transport company with some relatives. Anit’s cousin Ravi is getting married the first week of September, so this week Anit’s mom (Shila), Sisca and I have spent quite a bit of time figuring out what we are going to wear. We tried on Saris this weekend and bought fabric and were measured for Sari blouses on Tuesday. On Monday, we picked out material and were measured for Punjabi dresses. I really enjoyed the experience, but felt a little clueless when it came to deciding on fabrics and cuts. It seemed like all the fabrics I picked weren’t wedding-appropriate or too casual. Sisca is also not Indian (she’s Indonesian) so at least she was in the same boat. I’m especially excited about my Punjabi dress. It’s shocking pink and peacock blue - I think it will be the brightest piece of clothing I’ve ever owned. This might surprising for those of you who knew me during my polyester period (circa 1994/1995).
Last night I went out for my second Indian ladies night with Anit’s cousin Bansi and others. We went to Misono, a Japanese restaurant, and had sushi, chili prawns and lots of wine – yum. I may go to Nairobi next week to visit my former roommate Nancy and her 7 year-old daughter Fayne. My friend Salma is also in Nairobi right now and will be staying through next week.
P.S. This afternoon we discovered that the internet wasn’t working because Sisca had unplugged the modem to plug in her hair dryer!
We returned from Tanzania on Thursday of last week. I don’t have much to report or pictures to share because I was sick and in the hotel room the entire time we were there. Fortunately the hotel we were in was comfortable and had cable TV. I stayed in all of last weekend because I was still recovering. On Monday, around the time I was starting to feel back to normal, Anit left again for Tanzania. He’ll be back tomorrow (Friday).
Anit’s younger brother Punit and his girlfriend Sisca are in Mombasa this week. They live in Arusha, Tanzania where Punit has started a transport company with some relatives. Anit’s cousin Ravi is getting married the first week of September, so this week Anit’s mom (Shila), Sisca and I have spent quite a bit of time figuring out what we are going to wear. We tried on Saris this weekend and bought fabric and were measured for Sari blouses on Tuesday. On Monday, we picked out material and were measured for Punjabi dresses. I really enjoyed the experience, but felt a little clueless when it came to deciding on fabrics and cuts. It seemed like all the fabrics I picked weren’t wedding-appropriate or too casual. Sisca is also not Indian (she’s Indonesian) so at least she was in the same boat. I’m especially excited about my Punjabi dress. It’s shocking pink and peacock blue - I think it will be the brightest piece of clothing I’ve ever owned. This might surprising for those of you who knew me during my polyester period (circa 1994/1995).
Last night I went out for my second Indian ladies night with Anit’s cousin Bansi and others. We went to Misono, a Japanese restaurant, and had sushi, chili prawns and lots of wine – yum. I may go to Nairobi next week to visit my former roommate Nancy and her 7 year-old daughter Fayne. My friend Salma is also in Nairobi right now and will be staying through next week.
P.S. This afternoon we discovered that the internet wasn’t working because Sisca had unplugged the modem to plug in her hair dryer!
Friday, July 13, 2007
First Interview Request!
I am very excited because today I received my first interview request! I will probably have many interviews before actually getting a job, so this may be the last one I blog about until I have an offer in hand. However, since it is my first, and for a job I would be extremely happy to have, I'll share. The interview is for the position of Monitoring and Evaluation Officer with World Vision International in Kampala, Uganda on their Combating Exploitative Child Labor through Education project. Before I left I talked to many of you about the difference between expatriate and local salary/benefits packages (expatriate packages having all the bells and whistles and local packages not) and how I was concerned that I may have to accept a local package to start out with. Well, this is an expatriate position which means in addition to health/investment benefits, I would have access to allowances for home leave, housing etc. I will have a screening interview with their Washington, DC office on Monday or Tuesday and if all goes well, will be talking with their Project Director in Kampala the following week.
This week I reconnected with my friend Salma. She and I became close and lived together (along with another Kenyan named Nancy) in 2004/2005. She was recently divorced by her husband, which many young Muslim Arab women in Mombasa would find devastating. Fortunately, she is much happier now and her family is being very supportive, so I am optimistic about her future. I also went to aerobics with Anit’s cousin Bansi. It kicked my butt and if at any point you were slacking off the instructor, who knew everyone’s name, would yell words of encouragement. I’m definitely going back.
Anit returned from Tanzania yesterday afternoon only to inform me that he would be leaving again today. This time I will join him. We will drive to Tanga, Tanzania this afternoon and then on to Dar es Salaam tomorrow morning. We will definitely be back in Mombasa by next Friday, but possibly earlier. I haven’t been to Dar es Salaam since 2003 when I was working for Aga Khan Foundation in Washington, DC. I remember liking it.
I will take pictures on our road trip and post them to a site that I will link to the blog. I also plan to take pictures of Anit’s parents’ house, where I am staying, and other spots in Mombasa. More soon.
This week I reconnected with my friend Salma. She and I became close and lived together (along with another Kenyan named Nancy) in 2004/2005. She was recently divorced by her husband, which many young Muslim Arab women in Mombasa would find devastating. Fortunately, she is much happier now and her family is being very supportive, so I am optimistic about her future. I also went to aerobics with Anit’s cousin Bansi. It kicked my butt and if at any point you were slacking off the instructor, who knew everyone’s name, would yell words of encouragement. I’m definitely going back.
Anit returned from Tanzania yesterday afternoon only to inform me that he would be leaving again today. This time I will join him. We will drive to Tanga, Tanzania this afternoon and then on to Dar es Salaam tomorrow morning. We will definitely be back in Mombasa by next Friday, but possibly earlier. I haven’t been to Dar es Salaam since 2003 when I was working for Aga Khan Foundation in Washington, DC. I remember liking it.
I will take pictures on our road trip and post them to a site that I will link to the blog. I also plan to take pictures of Anit’s parents’ house, where I am staying, and other spots in Mombasa. More soon.
Monday, July 9, 2007
Safe and sound....and exhausted
One might think that, this being my sixth trip to Kenya, I would be used to the long time in transit and jet lag; not so. My journey was as direct as possible with minimal layovers. I flew from Minneapolis to Amsterdam, then on to Nairobi and then finally to Mombasa. I arrived on schedule late Friday night and proceeded to sleep until 5pm Saturday afternoon. Experienced travellers will tell you that the best way to get over jet lag is to fight the urge to sleep at odd hours until you adjust to the time difference, but I haven't had the will this time around. Yesterday I napped the afternoon away and laid awake all of last night. Today I'm so tired I feel sick, but I'm determined to stay awake until a reasonable bedtime hour.
Since I'm not sure who all will be reading this blog, I should probably explain what I am doing here and why my blog is entitled "Becca Goes to Africa" instead of "Becca Goes to Kenya." Most readers know that I spent a year during 2004/2005 working for an international development NGO in Mombasa, Kenya. During this time I met a young man named Anit who I have since visited in Kenya three times, including a three-month visit last summer when I interned with a Kenyan NGO. In early May of this year I completed a Master of Public Policy at the University of Minnesota and began looking for a job. Still without a job in June, I decided to continue my search here in Kenya, both because gaining additional developing country work experience will be really important if I want to advance in the development field and because I am tired of being in a long distance relationship. That said, I am not limiting my job search to Kenya. Anit has plans to move to Pemba, Mozambique in August or September, so I am also looking in Mozambique, Malawi and Tanzania.
I hope my future postings will be more newsy. So far I've spent a lot of time sleeping. Anit is going to Tanzania in the morning so I will have a few days to myself to settle in and reconnect with friends.
Since I'm not sure who all will be reading this blog, I should probably explain what I am doing here and why my blog is entitled "Becca Goes to Africa" instead of "Becca Goes to Kenya." Most readers know that I spent a year during 2004/2005 working for an international development NGO in Mombasa, Kenya. During this time I met a young man named Anit who I have since visited in Kenya three times, including a three-month visit last summer when I interned with a Kenyan NGO. In early May of this year I completed a Master of Public Policy at the University of Minnesota and began looking for a job. Still without a job in June, I decided to continue my search here in Kenya, both because gaining additional developing country work experience will be really important if I want to advance in the development field and because I am tired of being in a long distance relationship. That said, I am not limiting my job search to Kenya. Anit has plans to move to Pemba, Mozambique in August or September, so I am also looking in Mozambique, Malawi and Tanzania.
I hope my future postings will be more newsy. So far I've spent a lot of time sleeping. Anit is going to Tanzania in the morning so I will have a few days to myself to settle in and reconnect with friends.
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