You Know You're Living in Tanzania When...

I recently saw a friend of a friend’s blog listing ways you know you are serving overseas. Here’s a few of hers that apply, as well as several others that are unique to life in Dar!

You Know You’re Living in Tanzania When:

• You look up the weather of the place you’re going to – only to discover it’s not recognized, that the weather is “not reporting” (probably because the thermometer melted!), or that the place “doesn’t exist” at all.
• You’re learning to self-diagnose and know where the local duka la dawa (house of chemistry… or pharmacy) is that has what you need. (No prescription required!)
• You bring mozzie spray, sunlotion, water, and a kanga with you wherever you go.
• You have at least two Action Packers (plastic storage lockers) which are covered in fabric and being used as furniture.
• You’re not surprised by the sounds of city-wide groaning or cheering when the power goes off or comes on. And you have the power company's phone number on speed dial.
• You know how to scrap your meal plan and come up with something good and fast when the electricity goes out an hour before dinner.
• You cook with grams, cups, milliliters, Fahrenheit, and Celsius
• You've figured out things you never would have understood back home - electricity, computers, plumbing, and exterminating.
• Your students bring in hedgehogs and lizards that they found on the playground, and can recognize puff adders on sight.
• You keep a headlamp next to the bed, and you use it frequently. AND You have a set location where “the flashlight” resides so you can find it easily in the dark.
• Your list of favorite things includes kerosene lamps!
• You think that Parmesan cheese and nature valley granola bars are the best gifts you’ve ever received.
• You start your “cuteness” rating of clothing on others by first looking at the clothing’s coolness factor. Then comfort. Then colors and design. :)
• You're satisfied having accomplished three out of seven errands when you go to town.
• You often come home repeating an unknown phrase over and over to look up in one of several resources.
• You bring Bibles in two languages to church, plus a dictionary, and still only catch 1/4 of the sermon even though you were paying attention. (not for me, we have English services in Dar! But out in the villages, church looks a little different…)
• Broccoli and lettuce seem exotic, while mangoes and papaya seem boring.
• You use cloth rags for cleaning instead of paper towels, and it's not because you're environmentally conscious.
• You rate your cold by how many toilet paper rolls you’ve been through, instead of tissues… and you dream of lotion-infused Puffs!
• You write newsletters and take family photos every month… or make sure that every exciting event is fully photographed to share on FB!
• You laugh when you see a magazine photo making a mosquito net look charming or romantic.
• You routinely use words like mozzies (mosquitoes), sunnies (sunglasses), trousers (pants in the UK are what you wear UNDERNEATH!!!), and sawa (ok) routinely… and feel that your vocabulary is better off from it’s Australian, UK, American, Tanzanian, and Netherland influences.
• You routinely walk to the wrong side of the vehicle to get in, and bump your right arm on the window every time you try to turn around to watch as you back up while driving.
• You know more about vehicle clearance on cars than the features inside. And you're excited when you find one whose instructions aren't in Japanese!