Tanzania is Changing Me

Things I find slightly sad:

Every time I need to give someone my address, I have to look it up on a newsletter I’ve sent out to all of you!  (Locational addresses are unheard of here - I currently live at Mbuyuni Junction near Silver Sands and Tegeta... got that?  The only address I'll ever have here is the P.O. Box where you might send something to me!)

My first thought as I dropped chocolate cake on the floor today wasn’t, “I dropped cake!” but “Oh, man! Our floor just got washed today and it’ll be a few days till it gets cleaned again… the ants are going to have a hey-day!”  And yes.  I did eat it. :)  It was a newly cleaned floor, after all!

When we’re making pancakes, dinner, or basically anything with sugar, it’s not an uncommon question for us to voice… “do you mind if we have ants in our meal tonight?”  And the response, “No.  They’ll be cooked.” 

I get excited for several hours of power at a time, stuck all together.  And ice cream that stays frozen. 

We have a "chocolate freezer."  (You have to understand that things like chocolate chips are only available in the States - and that such special treats must be hoarded until a proper cause for celebration...)  Even our sprinkles for cakes and cookies reside here, because they will melt otherwise.

I like cloudy days (yes, I am from MI!) because they mean the blazing sun is shielded from my shoulders. 

I haven’t eaten a blueberry in over a year and a half.  And I can count how many times I’ve eaten strawberries on one hand in that time.  That, my friends, is sad. :(

I think nothing of doubling the flour in a recipe for bread or cookies as we get closer to Christmas… and as the humidity triples in the air around us!

I'm contemplating doing my "melting point" experiment for our third grade States of Matter unit with cubes of frozen butter instead of ice.  Last year I couldn't keep the ice cubes frozen long enough to get from the freezer to my classroom to perform the experiment!

I only purchase spices in heavy-duty plastic containers because I know we will have to pound them against the counter several times before each use to break up the humidified clusters…

I’m overwhelmed at the thought of going to Meijer… both because it’s a dream come true and because I know I’d be so overwhelmed.  And Target is not an uncommon place for me to visit in my dreams, usually in a frantic search for something for my classroom… :)

I get really excited for things like… ELECTRICITY!  A quiet house.  And working internet.

Happy Wednesday, all! :)