In July, Nathan and I celebrated our one year anniversary of moving to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, East Africa.  It has been one of the best years of our lives for many reasons: we’ve grown closer, we’ve traveled to beautiful places, we made good friends, we like our jobs, and we have learned a lot about ourselves and the world.  I woke-up one morning a few weeks ago and felt more content than I have felt in maybe a few years.  We have both been really busy (I will write some blogs soon to share fun things from the last few months), but we are happy, healthy, and positive that despite the challenges over the last year, moving here was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made.

Why we like living in Tanzania:

Great local people, amazing beaches, mountains, savannahs and famous national parks, wildlife, reefs, tropical fruit year-round, few major safety concerns, it’s easy to find like-minded friends, there are stores with almost any goods we need, warm weather year-round, almost free from US media and politics, and it feels like home now.  See some of the old blog posts for even more reasons!

What challenges us living in Tanzania:

Missing many people (and dogs) back at home, there are frequent power outages, water outages, working 50+ hours a week, seeing poverty daily, not speaking Swahili, traffic/potholes/traffic cops/being stopped by police, not always knowing how things work, RASHES (I’ve tried everything I know to control them but the rashes win every time thank to the heat and humidity), unreliable internet, mold (on clothes, food, jewelry, binocular cases), and being white.

As white people, we are allowed into hotels and restaurants without question (whereas a Tanzanian would be unfairly stopped and questioned), we often pay more for anything without a price tag and have to bargain hard, we are expected to give more money for weddings and funerals and fundraisers, we are asked to help people financially for everything (football uniforms, surgery, university fees, loans, lunch, etc).  It is difficult to be judged as rich just by the color of your skin, especially when we are rich compared to the average Tanzanian and maybe we should be supporting every single person who needs help.  We both think about our impact here a lot and still struggle with making the best decisions in helping people so no one become dependent on hand-outs, while also not coming off as white colonial elite who are only here for their own good.  It’s very, very complicated and probably the one challenge we will never overcome, no matter how many years we live here.

Sea turtle hatching on our 1-year anniversary of arriving in TZ

Less is more. This is everything we moved here with.

Charity Goat Races in Dar. You never know what you’ll see next.

Not only are there 4 KFC’s in Dar, you can get delivery via bajaj?

Best in-flight magazine ad I’ve ever seen.

Typical side-road in Dar

Local pharmacy

Compare the local pharmacy to the grocery store, walking distance from our apartment.

You can get some shopping done while waiting in traffic

or enjoy the daladala decorations!

According to this TZ science textbook, my rashes make me a ‘shabby’ person

I can’t complain about the rashes with sunrises like this!

Nerd Alert:

In a recent expat survey, Tanzania scored high on personal happiness (22 out of 64)!