Monday, August 13, 2007

Greetings from Harare

 I arrived yesterday morning at 5am and have been nothing but surprised ever since.  After reading the news for the past few months i had not idea  what to expect.  Would I be able to find food?  Was it safe?  Was there power?
Our house could possibly be called a mansion.  There are 5 bathrooms, 5 bedrooms, a huge kitchen and various other rooms.  Our fridge was full of veggies, meat and fish.  There is a family who sells popcorn, tomatoes and oranges on our corner.  I hope to befriend them.We have an electric fence surrounding our 'home' and staff working there. Of course this is not everyone's reality in Zimbabwe but while I adjust to life here, I am glad I don't need to worry about the basics.  We are able to walk around the neighbourhood alone during daylight hours.  We all went for a run yesterday afternoon.  I hope to have a bike by the end of the week.  I'm surprised by my freedom.
I have met 2 women from the Women's Coalition and I can tell I'll enjoy my time.  Today and tomorrow are national holidays so we are able to catch up on sleep and explore the city.  I am very excited about beginning work.  I'll be dealing with the Domestic Violence Act.
Everyone so far has been very friendly.  2 young girls brought us to the internet cafe because we were lost.  A random man stopped and helped us when we brought out our map.  I've had many well wishes for a fun holiday.  How do they know I'm a tourist?  There are lots of white people here.
Please remember that there is a new security act; electronic information is now read.
I hope to update this once or twice a week - it's expensive though $8 USD for one hour.



2 comments:

Compa said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
yummybum said...

Hi Katie,

Glad to read that you made it safe and sound and are enjoying your first few days wandering around. I hope your time spent in Japan helps you out when dealing with unusual situations! Yumiko and I are very happy for you and look forward to reading your blog! Stay safe and enjoy everything!

Love,
Dave, Yumiko and baby Maya.