First Impressions Part 2 (The House)

Rachel and I have been given our own house for the time being, which is a little rough around the edges – this is the same house as the Canadians stayed in last year.  The housing manager has been helpful in getting some of our renovations which started to make us feel more comfortable.  As of September 1, we have the option of moving into one of the guest houses on campus with the rest of our team after the short term intern returns to Canada. 

 

The House (Lecturer’s House 30)

Settling into our new home has been interesting, getting used to not having simple things like a washing machine or dryer, a working shower, unreliable water or power that always seems to be on the verge of cutting out for several hours (we are keeping a running tally of how often it cuts out).  However, we have made arrangements for a local farmer named Frank to come and hand wash our clothes for us, and we have a cleaner who comes in a few times a week to clean our house.  These arrangements may sound great, but we also have to iron everything that is washed to kill off the insects that lay eggs in our clothing – takes a while to say the least.  Internet is also another resource that seems to be less than reliable here, either the network is down and we cannot get on at all, or it turns out that our sim card and dongle that we are using does not actually work. 

The food so far seems amazing, fresh meat, fruit, and even vegetables....yes I did say vegetables – it is all about how it is prepared.  It seems like a lot of the diet here in restaurants seems to be influenced by British/European culture, with chips (fries) being served with nearly every meal that we have eaten yet.  Indian cuisine seems to be a dominant influence depending on where you eat, which allows me to fulfill my need for spicy foods.  Mzuzu coffee and tea seem second to none, it’s fresh, it’s a nice rich copper colour, and I thought I would miss milk, but not here, it is easy to drink it black with a little sugar, or maybe a lot.  Finally, the beer, right now it is rather simple to find a green label Carlsburg for under a dollar Canadian, which would be impossible to get back home, and is a great deal better than Lakeport Lager or any other cheap beers from home.  However, we heard a rumour that tax on alcohol is supposed to go up about 250% in the next month.