Things from home I miss

Friday June 8, 2012

Things from home I miss:

A hot shower – one that isn’t either scalding hot or cold, or just a drip of water coming from the faucet
Clean clothes washed in a washer and dried in the dryer
Access to the internet whenever I want it

We have been here for two weeks and barely gotten on the internet when others could.  The Foot2Afrika computer guru, “Dr. B2B”, told me yesterday that it is a problem with the operating system on my new HP laptop. According to Dr. B2B, apparently Windows 7 Home edition drops internet connections like crazy, so he told me I needed a whole new operating system, which he installed. I hope I will not kick myself in the butt later (sorry David!). So now that I have my laptop back, I have tried to access the internet and I get a message telling me that “term limits are exceeded.” The explanation I got for this message is that our password has expired and Deb has to assign us a new one (this will be our third), and she is not here to do that, and so I wait. Not that it matters anyway, since we have a power outage at the moment and I could not be on the internet anyway.

It has been a tough day for basic needs; so far today, just since we arrived back at the house at 5PM, we have lost both water and power. So the next time you feel frustrated at something you expect to have and don’t, remember that here in Tanzania, that is part of normal daily living! 

update: Saturday morning - power was out until after midnight last night, and this morning there is barely any water. I am SO IN NEED of a shower it isn't funny.