Time Together

Right now we're in the middle of an 'Internet Blip' here in Tanzania! So I probably won't be able to publish posts on either of our blogs or update our Facebook Page for the next couple of weeks. It seems that there is a problem with a cable somewhere under the sea between Egypt and Marseilles for one of the major service providers to the country ... or something like that ... so if you don't hear from us for a while, that is why!

In the meantime (just for today at least), back to my normal musings!!

When I was waiting for baby No 2 ... exactly two years ago. I began to realise two things. Firstly, that I would never have so much quality 'me and Abigail' time and secondly this new little person (later known as Naomi!) would never get anything like so much of that individual quality time.

I know that's just the way it goes but at the same time it made me feel really sad. And of course wonder how on earth people with really big families manage!!

When we arrived here in Dodoma, to say Abigail was eager to go to school was definitely an understatement! The consequences of which meant that every weekday morning since, I have had Naomi all to myself.

Admittedly, we're not getting the very early stages of life together. But actually she is a right comedian at the moment, reliving events in her own little stop-start manner while her language develops, with lots of arm waving and hilarious facial expressions! She loves reading, doing jigsaw puzzles, colouring and so much much more and is at that stage where she wants to do it all with someone rather than being 100% independent like her sister! 

So to be honest, while her little character is developing, this feels like the best time to have some quality one-on-one time together!

I'm really grateful to have this time with her, especially before we get involved in too much stuff. It's like a gift just for me in our early Dodoma days!

The other thing I'm really grateful for is that after all the fun we've had in the morning, Naomi has consistently been going to sleep at lunch time for an hour or two ... something she hasn't done EVER in her life before! Which has meant I can then have a window of quality time with just Abigail every day again too! 

I count myself a lucky lady and am making the most of it. There are occassions when it does cross my mind there are other things I could 'better' be doing with my time ... but then I realise what better way could there be, than to spend it with my two gorgeous girlies!

Plughole Dilemma

To clean the plughole or not to clean the plughole? That is the question!!

It may not seem like much of a dilemma to many of you. Cleanliness and hygiene of course is paramount, especially when there are little people in your house ... but lots of things aren't as straight forward as they seem out here!

When I lived here in Dodoma before and my mum visited she very 'helpfully' cleaned the plughole in my shower. Little did she know that all those yucky bits were there for a reason. They actually served a purpose!

Soon after I arrived, I discovered that I wasn't the only person living in my little house! There were lots of other little beings there too! Most of whom I was able to remove but some who insisted on coming back to visit ... via my shower plughole! 

The smaller cockroaches could make their way up the pipes and through the holes and join me mid-shower! The yucky stuff kept them at bay and meant I could shower in peace ... and I love to start my day with a good shower, alone!

Last week, a friend of mine here was surprised to find a small snake in her shower. He had found his way into their bathroom using the same method! Gulp!

So now, maybe you can understand my dilemma, maybe the yucky stuff isn't so bad after all! It may make you think twice before you step into your shower next time too ... or you may just think of us and what we might meet instead!

Telling the Time

I had an interesting conversation with Maria (the mama who works in our home) today. She asked me what the time was and then got her mobile phone out to explain that she didn't understand how to read the time on there.

Maria is a total superstar and has been more than a blessing to us here. I'm sure I'll tell you more about what she gets up to another time. Every so often though, she'll tell me that she doesn't know very much because she didn't go to school.

Learning to tell the time is one of those big learning curves in primary school, something that as an adult we take for granted. But Maria doesn't have trouble with telling the time from a watch or clock, just the digital type. 

It was just before midday and the phone read 11:54. She couldn't understand why there was an 11 in there. Why? Because in Swahili, telling the time is a whole different kettle of fish! 

Check out the clock below. At first glance it is just a clock ... but then take a closer look at the numbers, it's like they have completely flipped! The numbers 1-6 have completely swapped places with 7-12.

The day here in Tanzania starts when the sun comes up ... around 7am, it is the first hour and is called 'Saa Moja', literally 'Hour One' ... and the day continues like that. So when Maria asked me the time I had replied that it was almost 'Saa Sita' (Hour Six), midday. No wonder she was confused that there was a number 11 on her phone!

My watch has markings but no numbers, so Maria is able to read it, no problem. I drew her a clock, with numbers as we would say them in English  (because we currently have no clocks in our house!!) and she was really surprised to see that we would say 12 at the top and not 6.

Learning to tell the time out here takes quite a bit of mental gymnastics. First, you have to learn the numbers in Swahili and then you have to swap them around in your head before they come out of your mouth! If you're not careful  arrangements you make with Tanzania friends could get a bit confused!

One addition ... just to clarify, the clocks don't actually look like this out here ... but this is the best way to show how they flip the numbers!!