So Week 1 in Tanzania can be characterized as most closely resembling your (or at the very least my) first year of college. Everyone is so happy and nice to you. People are welcoming. They help you and give you advice about things like what you should and should not do, where you should go and should not go, eat and not eat, etc.

It was like a little slice of heaven! Complete with all the trappings. Fulfilling, but not overwhelming work, a great social experience, and even a bit of romance.

But, dear reader, if Week 1 was like my first year of college, then Week 2 surely was Sophomore Year. No one could care less about you, you realize how low you are on the totem pole, and how far you have to go to finish.

So here is a summary of Week 2 or, as I like to call it, when the shit starts to hit the fan.

Monday
Sunday was a rocking good time, but my body made me pay for it on Monday. My sickness came back in full effect. Fever, coughing. Shortness of breathe. Slight nausea. The whole she-bang,

But even better than that, I woke up to no electricity in my house on Monday. That’s right. No lights. No hot water. Nada. Apparently, a tree fell and temporarily knocked down a power line.

Work was fine. Spent most of the day doing layout for the program brochure. Then I sent a draft version Joyce for review.

Silver Lining of the Day
I did not mind much because in the morning I did not really need light and the cold shower did not really bother me. Thankfully, Rosalia took me to get some medicine from the local pharmacy during lunch. So, when I got home, I just ate, took some medicine, and went straight to bed to try to sleep it off.

Tuesday
Thankfully, Tuesday morning the electricity came back on. I woke up without a fever but the cough had gotten worse. Also, I had what seemed like a million mosquito bites on my body.

Then, at work, Joyce suggested that I not ride my bike to work. I had to respectfully disagree since it is not a far distance and on a safe major road where a lot of other people are also riding their bikes. Plus, I really love riding to work. It is one of the best parts of my mornings.

Silver Living
I did get to do an interview in the field. There was minimal translation available and I mostly had to rely on my own Kiswahili. However, I didn’t do to badly.

Wednesday
Wednesday I thought was going to be a turnaround. I went to Saba Saba (the International Trade Fair), took some good pictures for the brochure, bought a nice gift for a certain Soror, and went to (finally) get the internet for my house. The day took a turn for the worse when I went to withdraw funds to pay for the Internet.

When I looked at my receipt, I saw that half of my money was gone somehow –which left me with almost no money (since internet here is SUPER expensive. I really should not have gotten it, but I am an addict. Sue me).

I called my mom (who is always CLUTCH and available to deliver a pink giraffe at any point if I need it) and she deposited money into my account. Thankfully. When I looked at my account online, it said 100,000 TZ Shillings had been taken out on Monday. Since I knew I did not do this I immediately panicked. I thought someone had stolen my pin number. I called my bank.

My bank said they would have to close my card to investigate the claim. Here is the problem with that. My card is the only way I can access funds here. The next installment of my living stipend will be deposited into my account from the States later this month. Without my card, I would have no way of accessing my living stipend. But without closing the card, my money might still be at risk and they would not be able to refund the stolen money.

I had a little breakdown and (as is the proper protocol for all breakdowns) I called my mother. She calmed me down and said if I needed her to she would Next Day FedEX my new card to me in Dar-Es-Salaam (which is very expensive but better than having no card).

Silver Living
I went to bed upset but hopeful and sure of two things: I WOULD get my money back and My Mother is a G.

Thursday
They say in a crisis, First, do nothing. Now I understand why. When I calmed down, I started to think.

If it was a thief, they most likely would have taken all my money and not simply the 100,000TZ. What is more, I had tried to withdraw 100,000TZ from that ATM (where the 100,000TZ came from) on Sunday, but it would not let me take out cash. It was because I had not told my bank I was traveling internationally. So Monday, I called and had them authorize my account for international usage. That was the same day that the money was taken out.

So I went to the Headquarters of the bank in Tanzania that operated the ATM where it said the money was taken from and spoke with a representative. Sure enough, she said what most likely happened is that my bank charged me for the ATTEMPT to take funds out, even though the ATM did not give me any money.

After hearing this, I called my bank at 4:00pm, explained the situation, and filed a claim. By 7:00pm that night the money was back in my account. Yay!

Silver Lining
I didn’t have to have my debit card closed and I got two books of Kiswahili poetry. Also, this guy David asked for my number to hang out over the weekend. Since he is one of the few young people at CARE without a spouse and kids, I obliged.

Friday
Friday was a mixed bag. Work was pretty chill.

But after work, Sheena took me to this club called Garden Bistro. Right before, we stopped at George and Dragon and saw Jamal. He was acting crazy (but that is another post).
But Garden Bistro was pretty good!

AND David came. We danced a bit. Had an all around good time and then Sheena and I went home.

Silver Lining
David. Yep, I SAID it America.

So that is Week 2. By the end it started to look up and by the Weekend things were MUCH better!

More to come on that later! ;-)

~tiffany