School's Out!

So, we’re more than half way through December so I figured I’d better get my blog post in before we get into the madness of Christmas.

It’s been a very busy month so far. First and foremost, I’ve been working like a particularly industrious dog revising for and then sitting my first lot of MBA exams. Although the course is run by Warwick Business School, I was able to sit the exams right here in Dar es Salaam. This was a considerable improvement on the original plan to travel to Warwick- Britain in July was miserable enough; having to come back in the middle of winter, to a Britain more consciously fed up with life than ever before for the purpose of sitting exams might just have forced me to jump off a bridge somewhere! I’d actually managed to negotiate an exam venue in Arusha, a short flight north of here. However, when the other candidate pulled out, they agreed to get the British Council here in Dar to host my exam.

Thus it was that after weeks of study (I’m now heartily sick of Market Analysis and Operations Management) I made the short walk down to the British Council on Samora Avenue to sit the exams. I have to say, this was a world away from the Camden Town Hall, where I’d sat my last exams many years ago- for a start, it was only me, an invigilator and about ten power cuts to keep me company. Anyway, to cut a long story short, I am free of study for now, am proudly sporting my first exam writing callous (I’ve forgotten how hard it is to do handwriting- wouldn’t imagine I won the handwriting prize in primary school!) in years and am looking forward to Christmas with a vengeance!

The Christmas season is now well underway here. It does seem a bit odd to be honest- the hallway is the proud venue for our large tree, imported from Cairo and all the neighbours kids seem to like it. However, we’re also at the height of summer- outside it’s absolutely blazing hot with the sun beating down from a cloudless blue sky. It’s meant to be rainy season right now, but, a couple of cloudbursts notwithstanding, it’s about as rainy right now as Cairo was in August. Trying to get in the Christmas mood is a battle of wills in the Chubb household- shut the curtains, get Slade or Wizzard blasting away on the hifi and crank up the AC to try and get a wintry feel! So far we’re fooling nobody but having a lot of fun trying!

We hosted a small Christmas party on Sunday- just a few friends round for drinks and minced pies (and my attempt at pigs in blankets- very nice!) Kieran wanted to stay up late but I sent him packing after he insisted on sitting in the middle of the party and playing his bongo drums! The mulled wine went down pretty well- took a lot of practice and tasting that one! The mulled wine was a bit of an Anglo Tanzania trade off- the spices are brilliant here so it tastes great. However, as I mentioned, we’re not really having mulled wine weather right now. Call me Mr Picky but I’m not exactly desperate to sip a hot glass of the stuff in the front of a roaring fire!

Anyway, the social events keep coming along. Last Saturday we took the boys to the circus of all places. This exciting event was put on by Mama Africa and took place in a traditional big top just up the road next to the Seacliffe Hotel. This was an animal free circus- no need to be seeing lions and elephants here I guess (though the ones we saw in the Serengeti weren’t swinging on trapezes so it could have been interesting I suppose. Anyway, we were certainly not disappointed. The acrobats- a mixture of Tanzanians and South Africans- were out of this world. From the graceful young lady doing the trapeze act to the skinny contortionist climbing through a tennis racket, these people were just phenomenally talented. The look on Kieran’s face was priceless- sheer wonder at what he was seeing. Lucky him- he gets to see the show again later this week! Sadly for us we had to finish at half time- Rohan was getting bored. We left Kieran with a friend of his and got the full report of the second act from a very excited little boy!

So, what is left to do? I’ve got the last few days of work this week and then Saturday is our rescheduled Christmas Day. We decided to change Christmas this year because of our trip to India. I’ve told Kieran that we need to change the day because Santa might get confused if he tries to deliver presents to Tanzania and finds we’re in India. In reality I just don’t want to lug a load of presents all the way to India and back- the boys are buying my explanation though so I’m sticking to it!

So, Christmas Day is 20th December this year- presents in the morning, Christmas lunch as soon as I finish my annual punch up with the turkey and then on to the British High Commission for a carol service- can’t wait.

I guess this will be my last posting of 2008- we’re off to India soon so I’ll not be writing any more till we get back. It’s been a good year, this first full year in Tanzania. We’ve found a great place to live, met some wonderful friends, found good schools for the boys, travelled a bit and (in my case at least) managed to do some work too!

There’s a lot to look forward to in 2009. I’ve got more MBA stuff to do- may be almost there by this time next year! We’ve got some more trips lined up- me to Mozambique and the UK for work and study, all of us to the UK for Phil’s wedding, possible visit to Florida in summer and somewhere nice (don’t know where yet!) later in the year. We’re hoping to receive some more guests in the year- Phil and Daniella have promised to come as have a few other friends. By the way, any friend or relative feeling like some sun is welcome to come on over here

On a final optimistic and aspirational note, I’ll also have another two chances (in July and December) to remember our wedding anniversary for the first time ever (sorry Soma!) Getting congratulatory phone calls from my in laws first thing in the morning is very nice but it does mean I get it in the neck!