The Mujra

I constantly have to remind myself that I'm in Africa...Whitney and I have started going for walks to get excercise and yesterday we were walking down Ocean Road right next to the Indian Ocean and sunset and it was so gorgeous, and every few feet we had to remind ourselves that HOLY CRAP.

Anyways the past couple of days have been full of new experiences. Like going to the Mall. Yes in Tanzania they have a mall and it's kinda like Metrotown except not at all. They had a few bigger stores almost like Target or Linens and Things, but not quite. One thing that is taking getting used to is the quality versus the price of goods. For example really horrible sheets that aren't even good enough for birch bay can run you close to $60 for a set. However the alcohol is really cheap so I guess that makes up for it.

Another really weird experience from the weekend was heading to the Mujra. Whitney and Yasmin had been talking about the Mujra for a couple of weeks because they went just before I got here. Now if you're thinking "Indian version of a gentlemen's club" then you would be correct.


Picture this: a non descript building, an empty hallway except for a guy with a portable metal detector and a red door. We go through the door and it's like walking into some guys basement but really big. Like a basement party you'd go to if you were still in highschool and living in a small town. There are mismatched couches and chairs all over and a makeshift bar in the corner, the room is divided in two with a large slightly raised dance floor in one corner and a smaller more private area closer to the bar.

Whitney and I are there with Kabba and Hanif - Kabba is like the King of Dar es salaam - and Hanif we work with. so these 2 white girls walk in with these older guys and everyone stares. We settle into 2 couches in front and I am just amazed by what I see. Girls "dancing" and by dancing I mean sort of swaying back and forth and making eyes at the gentlemen but no one is taking off anything. and instead of the gross old men putting dolllar bills in the girls g strings, they have to buy a beaded necklace from the bouncer who will then go hand it to the girl. should the gentleman want a "private number" well there's no such thing instead they can pay close to $200 to request a specific girl dance by herself to a specific song. Before we left this old guy in the corner bought 3 special dances and 2 of them were the same girl to the same song.

later in the evening the girls started to get a little more into the whole dancing thing, however I still use that term loosely. my favourite part over all was in the middle of 3 hours of Indian Music the only "white song" they played was "Alive" by celine.

took a few videos of the evening because I knew that no explanation would be able to do it justice.

what to do when things get hard

The past few days have been hard. Before I moved here I had certain expectations of how things would go and well lets just say that I've had to learn to adjust, and get over a lot. It's hard to change my way of thinking about how things should go.

Like time, time here does not work like I think it should. For example if you say you'll be somewhere at noon, it is more than acceptable for the person you're meeting to be half an hour late and they still think they're on time.

Or the large container of goods you buy from India that is supposed to be somewhere on June 15 doesn't actually come until July 20th well then the salon you moved half way around the world for just won't open when it's supposed to and you end up working out of your bosses mother in law's bedroom...well that's just part of living in Africa.

and I live here and not Canada.

I'm just going to have to remind myself about that Over and over and over...

A day at the beach

I'm not gonna lie, this week has been tough. Whitney (my awesome roommate) and I have settled into our room, but that's about it. The spa isn't open so we've been working out of someone's bedroom (not kidding), we don't know anyone, I don't speak the language and it's hot. Things haven't exactly been going like I thought they would, but I think things are going to turn around - having the internet hooked up has been a great start!

Last Sunday we went to the beach, and it was just what I needed. Such a beautifuly day, hot but windy. The sand is so soft and the sky is so blue. After we went for a drive and got to see some of the outskirts of Dar. I can't really describe it other than HOLY CRAP I'M IN AFRICA!

Here are some of the highlights from this week:
eathing mishkake (BBQ meat)

listenning to an Indian House Band - and seeing the drunk guy at the table in front LOVING HIS LIFE

half way there

I'm sitting in the Serviceair Lounge in Heathrow Airport looking out a window at a really ugly roof and a really ugly grey sky. I made it to Calgary with no problems had a decent dinner at the airport then got on my next flight only to find out that my carry on luggage wouldn't fit. I got it into the overhead compartment on the first flight with no problems, but for some reason I could not make it fit even though I was on a bigger plane. They were going to make me pay to check it but someone nice took pity on me and put it in a front closet. It was pretty a uneventful flight, not entirely sure how much I actually slept. I was sitting in the very front of the coach section next to a very giant man, and I'd offered him the aisle so he could stretch out his legs but he said no, then proceeded to not lean against the window, and since I had a pillow and could have benefitted greatly from something to lean it against I was not too impressed.

I'm feeling a little blue right now, the vodka tonic I'm drinking is either going to be a huge help or...I figured I paid 17pounds to get into this place and they only have bags of chips or alcohol so I want to feel like I'm getting my money's worth. I spent a few minutes walking around outside but it was soo busy and I am so tired that I just got a little overwhelmed and needed somewhere quiet to be.

only 3 days left

I have 3 days left before I go. Only 3 days to get as much time in with friends and family as well as go shopping for whatever I've forgotten, finish moving out of my apartment, have a going away party, oh and try not to freak out.

oh and pack...right almost forgot about that.