Being thankful - one

Having been back in the UK for over 6 months now, and in a spirit of thankfulness in the lead-up to Christmas, we felt it was a good time for some reflections we've had on life in Tanzania and life in the UK. We'll try to post a new (short) blog every couple of days up until Christmas on things we miss about Tanzania and things we like about the UK. Hopefully this will give a little insight into some of the cultural/practical/emotional differences there are between our two lives!

Things we miss about Tanzania:
Waking up to exotic bird calls. Being close to the equator means warmer weather (generally) and as a result different vegetation and wildlife! Our garden in Mbeya had palm plants, sunflowers, bottle-brush trees and banana trees growing in it. These were all popular with the birds and so most mornings we would be woken by the cries of some very brightly coloured examples! We know Uganda, in particular near the lake, is famous for its bird life so we are expecting more of the same…!

Things we like about the UK:
The lights in the house do not dim when we switch on the kettle! It is lovely to have stable reliable electricity here in the UK. Not only does it mean you know it won't disappear when you're about to put something in the oven, but you also know it is stable (the voltage does not fluctuate depending on how many appliances you have plugged in or what your neighbours are doing next door!) and so your equipment will not get damaged. We can speak from experience that fridges, especially the compressors, do not like low voltage. Even with voltage-guard protectors keeping electrical equipment in such conditions can be a very expensive business!