Acclimation

When we got to Tanzania a little over a year ago I thought it was hot. Any time I left the house I would sweat and when I was at home I sat in front of the fan. I could not believe it when I realized that we came in the cool time of the year and it was only going to get hotter. February was probably the worst month. I do not know if I ever stopped sweating. I had started to think that I would never be cool again. But we have amazing bodies that slowly started to acclimate to the temperature.  

This July we had been in Tanzania for one year. Last year I thought it was hot, but this year I thought the weather was really nice. This year I could go a whole day without sweating. Even the days that we walked to school I would not sweat. I also stopped sitting in front of the fan all the time because I would start to get a little chilly. Even though the temperature was the same in July 2012 as it was in July 2013 it felt very different. It really amazes me that we have been given the ability to adjust to our environment.  

-Lauren

Missing

There are many things that I miss from the States. Here are a few of them.

1.      My family -- even though we get to skype, email, and talk to our family it is not the same as getting to spend time with them in person.

2.      Mass in English -- even though I know what is going on during the mass I feel like I never completely understand.  It is hard to fully give yourself to prayer when you are trying to focus to translate what is going on. I can fully understand why the mass was changed from Latin to the local language. 

3.      Having a car -- even though we are able to get anywhere we need to go it is not the same. I miss being able to just hop in the car and go where ever we want. 

4.      Super Markets -- I miss being able to go to one store to get anything I could possibly want. Now we have to go to multiple places for our weekly shopping and there are still things that we want but cannot get. 

5.      Air conditioning -- even though we have fans once it starts to get hot there is really no way to stay cool. When it is the hottest part of the year we just have to accept that we are going to sweat all day long. 

6.      Hot showers -- there is nothing better than getting to take a hot shower. I am thankful that we have running water, but sometimes the water is so cold that it is hard to appreciate it.

7.      Restaurants -- I miss being able to go out to eat if I ever did not feel like cooking. Now we have to cook if we want food.

8.      Speaking English -- I feel like everything is easier when you do not have to worry about speaking another language. Simple task are made more challenging when you have to worry about translating.

9.      Quality -- In the States when you buy something you can choose good quality items that will last a while. Here you can buy something that is brand new and you can have problems with it breaking from the very beginning. 

10.  Sidewalks -- I especially miss sidewalks in the rainy season when you have to trudge through the mud to get anywhere. 

-Lauren