Convenience

I think what I miss more than anything about the U.S. is the incredible amount of convenience I had.  Bagel stores!  Take out!  AAA for car breakdowns!  Canned beans and tomatoes!  Starbucks!  Kohls!  Bed Bath and Beyond!  Having two cars!  Having power whenever we wanted it!  A dishwasher!  Washer and dryer!

Cooking here takes up the majority of my daily thought as it involves a lot of preparation and forethought...although not too much forethought since produce doesn't keep, bread molds quickly and with the threat of power outages, I'm afraid to keep too much meat frozen.  Unlike in the States, I don't simply load up at the giant grocery store once a week.  There are little forays into small supermarkets (dukas) or roadside fruit/veggie stands at least every other day.  This is, of course, much more time consuming.  On the positive side, I have been developing a personal relationship with Saheedi, the green grocer!

We don't have nearly the variety at the stores (even the big, Western-style ones) as we did back home.  One thing we've been missing is granola bars.  As opposed to occupying half an aisle in the U.S., I have barely seen them anywhere here.  A friend here said she has seen them...for the equivalent of $2 U.S. per bar (and up).  So I've gone the much more inconvenient road of making homemade oats and honey bars from scratch a couple times a week.  I'm sure we're eating a lot healthier with less preservatives, but it sure would be nice to just load up on packs of mini Oreos and Lunchables and have lunches packed for the week.  I even miss peeled, packaged baby carrots...it's a lot more work to peel and slice them.

Laundry is another stress.  Without a washer and dryer, it's all hand washed by our house worker and line dried.  Prior to this week, we had someone coming 3 days a week to do this.  However, the volume of laundry for 5 people was just too great - there was too much stuff for the clothesline and stuff was not drying.  This week, we have a new worker coming every weekday and this has been working out much better.  I have found that it is just much dirtier here than in the U.S. and so the kids' clothes need to be washed almost every day.  Because they wear uniforms (and P.E. uniforms) it is essential that we get the right things in order.  There's no throwing a load of laundry in at 11 p.m. after realizing it's gym day for someone.

There are a lot of material things that I'd like that I have no idea how to get.  Or, the way to get them is to traverse downtown through crazy traffic to the big scary market where only Swahili is spoken.  So, I'm making do without quite a few things for the time being.

Interestingly enough, there are 2 things which are more convenient here in Tanzania.  Our dog needs quarterly heartworm shots...and the vet makes a house call!  And the people who sold us the car assured us that if our vehicle needs service or repairs, the mechanic will also come to us.  Bonus!

Another blessing of convenience is that we have gotten on a weekly pizza crust distribution through HOPAC.  Tim places the order, and 2 crusts and tomato sauce magically appear once a week after school.  I can't tell you how much I love Wednesdays with the thought that dinner is already planned and only requires me to add shredded cheese to a crust and bake it.  It feels so good!

Two things I'm trying to take away from this time of many inconvenient things...First, we don't need all that much convenience in order to be happy.  Honestly, I have found that I can get by without 99% of the products from my former life and be just fine.  However, whenever I do get back to the U.S., I hope will have a new appreciation for the bounty of convenience around me (and I hope my readers will look at convenience with fresh eyes, too!)