Shifting Locales

August has passed and it is hard to believe that third quarter is already coming to a close. This semester time seems to be passing quickly, so I suppose I am either having more fun or am more comfortable. I think it is probably the latter, which inevitably leads to more of the former.

At the beginning of the month, we relocated, something we had been anticipating for the previous eight months. Shifting, as the locals call it, is quite a process in a place where people enjoy taking careful note of everyone's next move. As this entails taking note of all the little trinkets one owns, moving twelve years worth of stuff left by past JVs only added to the excitement. What did we find when we began sifting through the treasures of days gone by?

Well, at least 13 unopened bottles of Banana Boat sunscreen and other varieties (JVs coming to Dar, check it off your list!); many litres of bug spray ranging from 5% DEET to 50% DEET (I’m pretty sure the latter is lethal); many old prescriptions, some of which expired a decade ago; three separate first aid kits, none of which contained any medicine that hadn’t expired (side note: I made the five pharmacists in my family happy when I safely disposed of all the expired medications and old prescriptions); 7 full bottles of Gold Bond Triple Action Relief medicated powder (also, none of these have been opened (future JVs again take note)); and what we estimate to be three years worth of feminine hygiene products for a community housing at least two women, most of which have arrived via mail over the last decade as a way of deterring postal workers from investigating the contents of a package. Of course, there were many other jewels, but if I continued listing the contents of our community chest, I wouldn’t have time to tell you about our dogs.

If only I’d have been brave enough by press time to take a picture of our two guard dogs, Simba and Chuky. These dogs have come with the house, but are only temporary, do their job well. Unfortunately, they scare off not only potential intruders, of which we have had none, but also they scare our Tanzanian friends. There are few dogs in Mabibo and so most of Mabiboans (?) only know the animal by their vicious bark. As a result, most of our guests either do not enter inside the gate or run directly for the inside of the house (all of this happening while the dogs are safely chained). The dogs bark or whimper through the night which impinges on the sleep of Kate and Caroline. Luckily, my mother thought it a good idea to vacuum beside my head whenever I slept as a child and so now I can sleep through almost anything (including dogs barking who may be warning, “Hey, there’s an intruder.” For this, we have housemates I am told!)

No complaining. The house is good. Dogs included.

One last note before I send off and you can return to enjoying the last days of summer. In July, I talked about Saba Saba. Caroline, my community mate, informed me that I had forgotten what she considered to be a newsworthy piece of information. And how could I forget a shout out to the scouting movement to which I belonged for so long?
We were strolling along at Saba Saba when all of a sudden two dozen scouts strolled by linked to a piece of yellow polypropylene rope, à la kindergarten. We paused to inspect the formation when Tanzania’s Prime Minister Pinda emerged onto to the scene between the two rows of scouts. Scouts, doubling as Secret Service; somewhere Robert Baden-Powell was smiling down.

Enough is enough. Enjoy your Labour Day weekend and for those of you still studying, best of luck as you return to classes!