Hello from Tanzania (with COVID)

Jambo from Tanzania! And, as the title of the post says, yes, we do have COVID. After 3 years of avoiding it, we finally experience it. What a whirlwind of a trip so far!

The travel to get here was long, but not bad at all. The kids were troopers and did a great job navigating jumping to different continents and going through visa applications. Everyone slept-ish on the planes and mainly watched movies. The hubs told them that they had now stepped in 3 continents (we had a layover in Amsterdam), and you should have seen their faces! Pretty cool experience for a kid - I’m definitely thankful to do this with them.

The night we landed, my hubs started feeling off. We thought it might just be a long travel day (28 hours of travel from home in NC to new home in Tanania). But he woke up definitely not OK and took a rapid test. Whoa! That thing lit up like a firecracker telling us that he indeed was sick. Poor guy. Thank goodness we wore our masks the whole time (unless eating) while traveling. This is a great example of why masking is important! Anyone could be infected but not know it yet (like he was) - you are most infectious a few days prior to showing symptoms to a few days after. So, masking for our neighbors on the planes was a great idea.

I went into full mom-mode that day setting up the house, walking to get groceries, learning where things are in a new country, etc. Boiling water and then more water. Figuring out how to get internet and where to find peanut butter (because essentials). I will say that the hospitality here is just so kind. We needed something today and I sent a WhattsApp message to a Tanzanian friend here. Within a few minutes, he sent someone directly to our house with what we needed. I was just asking where I could find something, and he went the extra mile to just bring it to us. Here’s our lovely house and even lovelier yard. I keep thinking it looks just like scenes from books I’ve read!

Two days after the hubs got sick, Kiddo #1 woke up positive. Two days later, I did. Kiddos #2 so far is still good to go. I’ve tested said kid and said kid is still negative. Who knows. Before kiddo #1 and myself tested positive, we were able to go walk around the place where we are staying and enjoy the gorgeous scenery. They saw a bit of Mt. Kilimanjaro but it hasn’t been too clear yet to see it in full view since it’s the rainy season. Still, it’s magical. We saw monkeys on the road, chickens and goats in the front yard, loud birds, and lots of flowers.

We are on the mend and staying put until the isolation period is over for all of us. I’m working when I can and reading a bit too. Not a bad place to read a book, is it?! The picture below is the view of our front porch. Thanks for coming on this journey with us! I’ll write more when we’re not coughing as much.

-Emily