keeping busy…

After arriving in Iringa, everything has gotten quite busy all of a sudden! Well, not really super busy – this is Africa after all, but have stuff to do all the time, it seems.

Back in January, I did some training at a hotel here in Iringa and I have agreed with the Manager to continue the team’s training… this time with focus on line manager level and leadership. Preparing for that is what takes up most of my time… and am very excited about starting on Sunday.

Other things that keep me busy:

Kilifair arrangements
This is a big tourism exhibition which takes place in June next year. I am hoping to be able to do a seminar (45 minute talk) about the importance of training and developing to their business – and think I will also invest in having a stand. Should be worth it as a sales & marketing activity.

Youth Development proposal writing
Some friends of mine want to request funding from a USAID project to support youth development within their community. Their plan is to take business degree graduates and provide them with some of the learning and support which they do not get at university to make them business ready – either to get employment or to start their own business! I am helping them put together the approach to their programme and write the proposal and maybe I will also get some consultancy work through this, so it is worth my time from a selfish point of view as well as just feeling good about helping friends!

My website
Sure, I could probably do it myself, but I know what I’m like! I wouldn’t be able to decide on the colours, the font, the layout, the photos etc, so it would take me forever! And, I would like to support someone here if they are able to do it… so am talking to a few people to find the best option. Would really like the website to be up before the end of the year.

Seeing friends
One of the main reasons I travelled to the south of Tanzania was to be around friends, and I am really enjoying the fact that every day I either bump into someone I know or I can arrange lunch or a drink over which to have a good chat!

Zanzibar trip
After Iringa I have decided to head to Zanzibar again. I am seeing a lawyer there who can advise me on how I can do business there as well… there are different tax rules etc, so probably need to have a totally separate set-up there – will need to see if it is worth it. Will also try to have some follow-up meetings with the people I met last month, who seemed interested in training.

And then there is all the usual stuff of course – shopping, cooking, washing (yuk), cleaning… When in Iringa, I normally stay with my friend Carelynn at her hostel but she a) has a lot of guests coming later this week and b) had a recently stitched cat (after a fight) and three flee-infested kittens at the hostel. As most of you will know, I am not a cat lover (understatement!) and although kittens are cuter than the adult version, we agreed that it was better that I stay at our friend’s house (Jerry) just 2 minutes down the road. He is not there much as he travels between here and Dar es Salaam a lot, so it was a good solution until I ‘move’ to stay at the hotel on the weekend.

I did have to do some ‘kitten sitting’ the other day, though. Carelynn had washed the flees away and found new homes for the three little ones. Two of them were handed of sooner than the last one, so she was a little sad and needed a little TLC… not sure I did a great job, but now she is in a very loving home for sure!

So the house where I am staying is in the compound of a larger family (not Jerry’s) and there is just no escaping lots of animals in this town it seems! Here is the greeting I normally get when walking out the door in the morning… makes me laugh every day!