When we first decided to make this move to Africa, family members feared that we would be living in a straw hut surrounded by roaming lions/monkeys and topless women nursing their babies freely in public. While this is probably the image that most Americans have of "Africa", we had both traveled enough to know that we ought to expect things much differently. So...based on our time in and around East/West Africa, we were expecting:
- A large city with a foul smell & tons of construction
- Not a whole lot of grass/trees
- Mostly dirt roads designed for two lanes, and yet forced to accomodate at least 4 lanes of unpredictable traffic patterns alongisde a train of donkeys/sheep/cows.
- A small living arrangement that lacked a few American luxuries (i.e. painted walls, hot water, etc.)
- A significant lack of American-style groceries/toiletries that we would have to live without (i.e. peanut butter, chocolate chips, deodorant, canned/frozen vegetables, Dove soap, condtioner, yogurt, milk, etc.)
And now we're here... and we were shocked to find our expectations exceeded.
The traffic is still horendous here...although not nearly as bad as it was in Addis Ababa. The city is certainly big (5 million) & there is plenty of construction; however, we hardly notice the size since we live just outside the city and the smell isn't aweful in comparison to elsewhere. The streets are lined with palm trees and there is a decent amount of grass. Our apartment is absolutely incredible & also incredibly furnished (Pictures to come soon). But most shocking of all was the availability of things in the market!!
We went to a large market on our second day here called "Marjane", which is shockingly akin to Wal-Mart. Every one of the items listed above that we planned on 'forgetting' are available in recognizable American brands. Further, they sell 3-D televisions, crock pots (and not just one kind), blenders, dishwashers, Tide laundry detergent, etc. We feel quite spoiled... :)
So, we were pleasently suprised (and shocked) that our expectations were "exceedingly" exceeded. We hope this post makes those of you who view "Africa" as a safari adventure more comfortable with us being here. We will talk more about our apartment, the school, and training in our next post.
B-Sslaama,
-David & Nicole
P.S. - To Nicole's Lebanese family: Sbah l'kheer means "good morning", not "Happy New Year"
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