Life now, version two

Well, life now has taken a bit of a turn toward the east.

We've moved from Togo to Tanzania!

So, from now on this blog will be all about our life and experiences in Dar es Salaam.

First impressions? Tanzania and it's people are lovely -- Dar is a big city which is a huge change from sleepy Lome.  There are shopping centres, plenty of huge grocery stores stocking most everything one could want. There is a huge variety of restaurants, way, way more expats than Togo and real, proper mind-numbing traffic jams.

We'll keep this blog going with the occasional tip for those moving to Tanzania.

First tip: If you're getting your visa at Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar es Salaam, be prepared to wait for several hours in a poorly air-conditioned arrivals hall with no access to water or food. There are bathrooms.

There is a person, usually a uniformed police or customs official, wandering around taking cash and passports. He will deliver it to the customs officials doing the actual visa processing, you just need to find him in the crowd of people and shove them into his hands.

Hours later, once processed, a timid voice (usually of a very short and quiet) customs official will squeak out a name. This causes a crush of people to run forward, each thinking they heard their name. If unfunny things make you laugh when you're tired, hungry and overheated, it's hilarious.

Cultural differences: House-help (Part 2)

So. You're looking for house-help.

One of the best ways to get a reliable house-helper is by inheritance. Find someone who is leaving the country and is passing on their house help, or someone can recommend past employees. Embassy and international school staff would be good people to ask.

Hiring friends of friends or someone with no recent references almost always ends badly. We're speaking from experience here.

Make sure your house help knows how to properly wash and dry clothes. You may have to remind them to only wash similar colours at once (The purple -- formerly white -- shirt incident of 2012 taught us this) and to be vigilant about ironing everything, especially if you are in areas prone to mango flies. 

Also speaking from experience: once you've found someone, make it very clear that their first week is a trial week. IN WRITING, spell out all expectations and make it abundantly clear that it is a trial week only. If the trial week doesn't work out, culture in Togo dictates that you can not tell them what they did wrong, but only that it won't work out.

It is also standard practice to change the all locks on your house when an employee is terminated. We know several people who have been burgled days after firing an employee. Revenge is very much alive in Togolese culture.

Going back to keeping things in writing: You need to do this to protect yourself, as laws in Togo favour the worker and not the employee. You can be sued for firing someone for not doing their job, as it is your job as the employer to help them become less incompetent. If you have them sign a contract that states they are on a trial period, and on a subsequent month-to-month contract which can be terminated by either party, that helps balance the scales. (do make sure your contract still falls within the parameters of Togolese labour laws.)

In the contact you should also write down a basic idea of expectations: laundry and dishes daily, wash floor twice a week, wash windows once a week, pick up groceries on Wednesday, etc. Do make sure you go through the house with them, showing them the ropes, where things are stored, how you like your bed made, how you prefer your towels hung, etc.

Make sure the contract spells out working hours, salary, holidays and leave and miscellaneous clarifications such as whether or not loans will be provided.

Lastly, make sure your house help are able and feel comfortable asking you questions about their duties and work. They're not mind readers.

As mentioned above, make sure your expectations fall in line with the law. 

Rugged Luggage

Generally, we're firm believers in travelling light and living with what can be found in local shops. 

However, there are still things that can't be found -- or are of poor quality and high price-- that are more easily bought abroad. 

The main concern for me has always been: "OK, so you bought that new slow cooker crock pot. How are you going to get it to Togo in one piece?" 

Well, I think I've finally found the solution. 

On the way to Heathrow with our new hard-sided 'tool boxes' -- which make great rugged luggage. 

Travelling with soft-sided suitcases is good and blends in well -- but leaves breakables vulnerable to crushing. And those hard-sided plastic suitcases still flex too much for my liking.

The ultimate in protection would be a Pelican Case, but they weigh too much and cost way, way too much. I don't need it to withstand a bulldozer and be completely waterproof. Just a hard-sided, rugged airline OK sized box to put my stuff in.

While on a recent trip to the UK, I began searching for such a box. Which led to some difficulties with the English language. (Do I call it a plastic footlocker, a trunk, a case, a bin -- definitely not!)

After days of looking at and for a Gorilla Box (Chimp size, to meet airline size regulations) and googling for distributors of Contico and Sterilite containers, I nearly gave up.  I even started looking at hard-sided suitcases again.

And then, with time running out, I decided to look at tool boxes. Shortly into my search I came across a polypropylene tool box with wheels and multiple carrying points and handles. 

The best thing? A shop a few miles outside of London had them in stock. So off I went to find the Multi Utility Box (MUB) by GT Line. 

It's rugged, light-weight (6.3kg empty) and holds a lot of stuff (89 L.)

It even has 4 padlock holes, so you can lock it up (or zip-tie as I prefer) for the flight. 

The dimensions are just a tiny bit over most airline regulations of 62 linear inches, but I've travelled with mine and have had no problems.

Other than that, I don't know what else to say. It works for travel to Africa. And makes a great storage container on arrival. 

A small note: when travelling to Africa, we've found that customs officials are attracted to shiny new luggage. Make yours look old with some scuffs and duct tape before your journey. The same goes for whatever appliances or goods are inside. Leave nothing new in the box and remove all price tags

What to bring to Togo with a shipping allowance

A fisherman in the Lome harbour, as a container ship is unloaded at the port.

One of the biggest unknowns we faced when moving to Togo was wondering what supplies would be available to us in the country. 

Through N's job, we had some space in a sea container -- but not knowing what was available (or affordable) in Togo turned the process into a bit of a guessing game.

As it turns out you can get lots of stuff here, but you have look for it. Things like kids bikes and couches are often sold roadside,  so if you see it: buy it. Tomorrow it will be gone. In the supermarkets, plenty of appliances are around -- at a cost and not always of the best quality. 

So, in order to hopefully take some of the mystery out of this process for others, here's our thoughts on what to bring if you've got a shipping allowance. 

Kitchen:

Stainless steel pots and pans. Teflon and nano-ceramic are everywhere, but getting good quality stainless steel pots and pans seems to be impossible. 

Slow cooker. Hands down, this has been one of the best things we shipped to Togo. African meat can be tough, and nothing softens it up like 8 hours in a slow cooker.  It's worth reminding for anything electronic: Togo runs on 220 Voltage. If you can't get 220V appliances in your country, try ordering things from Amazon.co.uk,  Maplins.co.uk or similar online retailers.

Rice cooker. Cheap quality ones are available at supermarkets like Horizon and Champion, but it may be worth investing in a durable one from a reputable brand.

Espresso/Coffee makers. They are available here at a cost,  so it may be cheaper to bring your own. Stovetop espresso makers and French presses are readily available here, as are many brands of coffee.

Blender/ food processor.  Also available in Togo, but at a cost and not necessarily good quality. So, if you've got a 220V one at your disposal, bring it.  Immersion blenders can be found in Togo. 

Household & living: 

TV, speakers, gaming systems, etc. These are all VERY expensive in Togo, and not always from brand names. Reminder again: 220V!!!!

Power regulators: we brought a large scale voltage regulator and battery backup for the house, however these can be bought in Togo for several thousand dollars. Surge protectors and regulators for individual wall outlets run around $150 depending on the quality. Buy those here, as they're not much cheaper anywhere else. As for the large scale ones, like we got, they are available here but not for less than $5,000. We got ours on eBay for under $1000.  

Upright pianos. You're going to have a difficult time finding a well-maintained one here. Talk to a professional before moving your piano from a dry to humid climate!

Fine furniture. If you've got furniture you can't live without, bring it. That being said, Ikea or anything made of particle board is not fine furniture!  You'd be better off getting something made here. 

Books. They're heavy, and very little English literature is available here. 

Office furniture. As with many things, they can be found here but at a hefty cost. (A basic $19.99 chair from Staples costs $70 here. I've also seen a $2000 office chair here that didn't look all that special.)

Pet supplies. Dog and cat food can be found here, but it is not always the best quality. If you have a snobby pet who likes more than Friskies or Purina, bring your own. Same goes for absorbent litter.  Pet toys are available here.

Big kids toys. Like bicycles or trampolines. These can be found here, but again not at a cheap price and not always at good quality.  Pool toys are plentiful though.

Mattresses. If you like spring mattresses, bring your own.  They might exist here.  Somewhere. Maybe.  I have seen spring mattresses on promotion, but quality and cost are questionable.

Vehicles. We know people who have imported their vehicles, and if you want to avoid the hassle of buying a car of questionable history here in Togo, it is an option.  Don't bother importing anything without four-wheel-drive or smaller than an SUV. The potholes will eat it alive. It is very important to remember that import fees on vehicles can go up to 52% of it's value. That's before bribes and imaginary 'port exit fees.'

Lastly, and this applies to all things on the list, bringing more than two of any one thing may result in customs wanting you to pay duties. Please do your due diligence and speak to customs officials before you bring things, we're not customs officials! All this is based on our experiences and what we've learned from others.

Get to know this man

One of the most helpful people we've met here in Togo is a carpenter. 

Depending on your living situation here, you may need a dining room set, a bed, a rocking chair, patio furniture, a bread box or a picture frame. 

And Elias Nyakpor is definitely the one to ask. He regularly works with embassies and expats and his quality of workmanship is very high. 

Our house came furnished, but Elias' wood bowls, bread box, spice rack and shoe rack make our home a much nicer place. He also made the backings for all our wall hangings.

Folding chairs, just one of the many things Elias makes.

It's worth mentioning that Elias can make practically anything from a drawing or a photograph. Just give him the measurements and tell him what type of wood you'd like used and it will happen. 

Sure, there are people out there who will give you lower prices, but guaranteed -- the quality will not be anywhere near his.

We know a woman who had a closet built and three months later it was reduced to dust by termites. It turns out the carpenter skimped on supplies while treating the wood. 

You may buy a table, only to have it split down the middle because the wood was improperly dried. 

Save yourself the hassle and talk to Elias. 

He's got a Facebook page set up which showcases a few of his creations: http://www.facebook.com/pages/LEbeniste-Africain/293472607350311

His number is: +228 90 11 43 09

(Elias can also direct you to the best  safe-for-yovo-consumption fufu in Lome. It's somewhere under a big billboard in the Tokoin neighbourhood.) 

How to Apply for International Schools

The past few days quite a few people have asked how I applied for teaching positions overseas. Was there an agency involved? Did I go to a hiring fair? Did I know people who were in international schools that were able to tip me off on potential jobs? The answers to all those questions are no, well sort of no. Let me explain.

I did not involve an agency due to the fees associated with signing up with one. That and the countless horror stories I heard in signing on with an agency being placed in an awful school and having to suck it up or break contract only to be blackballed from many other schools. I did however use quite a few agencies websites for the list of schools they worked with. With those lists of schools in hand, I began looking up each potential school's website. Some of the schools directly post vacancies on their websites in a specific section. If that section didn't exist I would send in an inquiry email to find out where they posted their information. Sometimes these emails were answered and other times they were not. This method was often time consuming as I had to to check the websites on a regular basis (at least 1x a week) just in case they posted any openings.

Another method I used was coming across second party websites that updated themselves daily with new teaching positions. Some of these websites only posted about specific regions or specific types of schools while others just posted a variety of jobs that needed to be filtered through to find the teaching jobs. It was through one of these websites that I managed to apply for my teaching position in Togo.

Though I do not currently have many contacts overseas right now in teaching positions I made sure I tracked down people who had taught overseas. Though some of the profs of my university I was able to meet some very knowledgeable teachers or administrators who had taught in a variety of different places all around the world. Since I also had quite a few connections through friends/neighbours who had gone overseas to work in a variety of different positions I was able to gather valuable information about working and living in a different country/continent.

Though I had intended to go to a hiring fair due to school this year it was not a possibilty. I have heard that fairs can be a very great place to find a position.

Next time I will talk about a few things to do once you have been offered a position. The advice I am giving comes from a number of different poeple as this will be my first teaching post internationally. I will also make sure I write a bit on travelling and moving overseas as the time draws closer.