Girls 2, Spiders 0

I am not particularly squeamish. I really don’t mind the variety of spiders and bugs that live in Canada. In fact, I’m usually the one nominated to kill or remove whatever insect is being a nuisance at home, but the spider we killed last night literally made me scream. Well, actually all three of us scream. At least our newly honed three-step approach to killing the spider (which by the way was found in my closet which is even more horrifying!) worked well. Here’s how it goes:

1) Flora sprays with the “Doom” which paralyzes said spider
2) Kelly uses the broom to control its movement
3) I swoop in with shoe for the deadly blow…or blows.

As much as I hate them, I almost wish we encounter one more so I can take a photo and share how gruesome and BIG they truly are with you folks at home.

In other news, most things to do with the house have been settled and it truly feels like home now. Work is also going well and I am travelling this coming Sunday to a rural community to observe a microfinance institution (MFI) in the field, learn more about how they operate and start to do some ground work for collecting case studies on the impacts of HIV/AIDS on rural MFI clients. I have also been meeting with AIDS Support Organizations here in Dar to learn more about the work they are doing and share information about the work of MEDA. Out of this sharing we are hoping that opportunities to work together in the future emerge.

On a personal level it’s a bit of a struggle to balance the great aspects of living here and the not so great aspects of living here and how those relate to each other. How do I reconcile children on the street asking for food and meeting a man on the road with a horrific wound on his leg who doesn’t have the money for medical treatment, with enjoying a lovely dinner out with friends or a weekend at the beach (the cost of which could treat the man AND feed the child). I suppose we face the same questions at home but in a much less literal sense then we do here.

In the end, we gave food to the child and money to the man and through our work we try and contribute to sustainable solutions to poverty to prevent people from having to beg. I know we face similar dilemmas in Canada, but it’s not the same. They may be flawed or under-funded but social safety nets DO exist.

Anyhow, these are some of the things I am thinking about during my time here. I will try and post some more photos this weekend and write again when I am back from my travels to Mpwapwa – bus trips here are always an experience in themselves so I am sure I will have lots to share upon my return!