Since we moved to Dar I’ve been pretty isolated. I can’t get a work visa, but being a stay at home mum is not really a thing in middle-class Tanzania, so it’s been hard to even find people to be friends with. I had an American friend who worked full-time […]
When you parent cross-culturally, you lose any sense of what is ‘normal’ at what age. Elliot is different to his Australian peers and to his Tanzanian peers, but I don’t even have a good sense of what Aussie mums would think is ‘normal’, and we don’t have many opportunities to hang […]
My second hunch about Tanzanian women is a bit more complicated than the first, and a lot more speculative. Theory Two: women’s progress in Tanzania is hampered because their emotional expression is limited. Tanzanian society in general is hierarchical. Those at the top have the power and those at the […]
Not long ago I visited my friend Lizzy and her 6 week old baby at her home. I only found out she has been pregnant when she sent me a message to tell me that she had had a baby girl! This is a woman I had seen just about […]
We don’t really have Tanzanian friends. There, I said it. One of the most common questions we get asked by our Australian friends is whether we are making friends here in Tanzania. The answer is ‘no’. We’ve been here for 15 months and we don’t feel like we have friends. […]
I’ve been thinking about friendship recently. Almost eight months in, our Australian friends are starting to ask us if we’ve got local friends in Dodoma. Our September supporters’ letter says, ‘We certainly have people we know and talk to on a daily basis — but that’s not necessarily the same as friendship!’
Earlier this week, Arthur and I had coffee and dessert with a couple who have been instrumental in our ministry formation. We were honored just by their willingness to catch up with us. Even more affirming was how the evening unfolded. On paper, this couple are entirely superior to us. […]
