Changes

My last blog was a short one about that I was so busy with work and getting to know the island and the people.

I have been here now for 1,5 months and the first month I was so busy that it flew by so quickly. Now I have some time for myself and enjoying this beautiful place. And now I also start remembering home and especially my life back there. I have to admit that I miss my job and colleagues there but I keep reminding myself why I came here. I am making new friends and people are starting to get to know me. That means Im starting to get familiar with people and getting to know the ones I can depend on. Its a great feeling to see that people appreciate me and have the same vision about life and want to work together on that. So Im working on some things that I will tell you all about when there is more clarity.

Life in Africa is not always easy and that is exactly what I wanted, but it also means that it brings difficulties that you don't have in Europe. The fact that I have to travel one hour on a very uncomfortable dala dala to get to a bank (and then can not get more then $200) is an example of that, but that is the life here and I am very easy in adapting. Things are the way they are, can't change anything about it....so you will not hear me complain.

I travelled a bit around the island and saw some different towns then the ones I spend most of my time at. The north of the island (2,5 trip in the dala dala) is a very busy tourist area, with broad beaches and lots of 'western' restaurants. A good place for relaxing, but not my cup of tea. Stonetown is not so big, but very busy. It has beautiful old buildings with a lot of Arabic influences. Small streets and a great vibe. The area Im staying in has small towns with lots of kitesurfing and diving. Its cosey and a good mix of local and tourism. Its still very authentic and you are not constantly overloaded by tourists. The local people here are very friendly and always willing to help, although a lot of them don't speak English. But my swahili is getting better... ;)

The last few days I visited Dar Es Salaam and Bagamoyo. Dar Es Salaam is a massive city at the coast of Tanzania and Bagamoyo is one hour from there and is a good sized town that is very lively and lots do see, like the history and especially (slave) trade that went on at this side of Africa from Arabs and Europeans that came here from the 12th century.

Dar Es Salaam was a great place for shopping and there I felt like I was in the 'real world' again. Its very busy with business and therefore big buildings, lots of hotels and 'western' shops and restaurants. Subway and KFC made me feel right at home :)

But then we went back to 'our' island and the simplicity and relaxed vibe there. Although shopping, transport and life are harder here it is a great place to live and especially a great place to enjoy life and to relax. Im now working on some changes and trying to built a future here. Nobody ever said life is supposed to be easy and with hard work you can always get where you want to be!

Miss you all and hope to keep in touch!

xxx