Self Contenad

9am on a Sunday morning is not the optimal time to be giving a presentation to a government delegation. However, it went well and there were no tricky issues raised. I think they concluded that in return for my work permit I am contributing and not sitting around like dead weight. The leader of the group had studied in Manchester, lived in Fallowfield and traipsed up Oxford Road to university. We bonded over the Curry Mile in Rusholme, which I lived near when I studied in Manchester. After this, nothing I said in the presentation was going to make much of a difference.

After the meeting with government wrapped up, we packed up and started heading five hours west to Namtumbo District, which is a focal area for our work. The drive leading out of Masasi is very enjoyable as the landscape is peppered by these rocky outcrops. There is always a mild threat that my position will be packaged off to Masasi, which was averted during contract negotiations with the posting finally decided as Dar es Salaam for practical reasons. But if it ever happens, climbing these outcrops, known as inselbergs, will be the best leisure activity. In fact, there are no other discernible leisure activities in Masasi.

In Masasi I came across a guesthouse with ‘Self Contenad’ rooms, and made a mental note to stay there next time I’m in town.