Things to bring and not to bring when moving to Tanzania

Hi,

I just posted a blog entry on some things I would bring with me to TZ again. Here is the link TheTrueTanzania Blog

This is what is says:
This is a list of things (categories of things) that I would bring with me to Tanzania again. My family and my Bible are not listed but, of course, they would be the first. :-)

In no particular order:

#1 My electronics (Laptop and Cameras)

I love my laptop and cameras. I use the laptop all over the house, because even in TZ you can get wireless internet. Right now I am sitting on the couch writing this. :-)

I have 3 types of cameras. One is a large, more professional type camera, that I use to get really good pictures. Then I have a med grade one that I like to use to get pictures of the kids with. Then I have a small pocket camera that I like to take everywhere with me. It is small enough so that I can whip it out and get a quick, indiscreet picture of something, without the hassle of someone seeing me get their pictures and wanting money because I took their picture.

I once had someone want money from me because I took a picture of their cooking pot. Another time, while taking pictures of my kids, with other children, I was hassled saying that I had to get permission from the village leader first.


#2 My kids favorite toys and books, and home school stuff

One of the most comforting things to a kid during a big move is their familiar belongings, like their toys. Example: When we moved we had our kids favorite doll and blanket travel right along with us. I would also bring my kids toys to Tanzania all over again for the basic fact that you can't get good toys here for a decent price. You can buy used stuffed dolls at the market for cheap but anything new or electronic is cheaply make and expensive. In Arusha their is a book store called "Book Point" that you can buy childrens books and coloring books, but they will never replace some of their favorite story books. I also brought all my home school books and material with me. Most of my homeschool books are from Alpha and Omega Publications. They give missionaries a %50 discount.
Side note: There are many stationary stores all over Tanzania that carry basic supplies.


#3 Cooking pots and pans

These are things I use every single day. We actually researched pots and pans before we moved here to see what a good, long lasting brand would be. We went with the cuisinart brand and I have been happy with them. You may wonder, "What do they not have pots and pans in Africa?" Well, yes but not very good ones. Most of the one that I have seen are very cheap quality and do not cook very well or last very long. The better brand ones are a lot more expensive for a less quality of a product. The cuisnart brand is not a very cheap brand and can be expensive for a whole set. I am usually the dollar store kind of gal, not the gotta have name brand type, but for something that I use everyday, I am willing to pay more.

Side note again: In Tanzania you do a lot more cooking from scratch. Their are not as many, from the box, sort of meals. You can get things like cake mix in a box, but it may cost $6 usd for one box of cake mix. So basically I have had to learn how to cook since moving here. I have actually enjoyed it, and like trying new recipes. (I didn't know for the longest time that you could make brownies unless they came from a box.)


#4 Kids car seats

If you were to ask me what is one of the biggest dangers for your children in Tanzania, I would have to tell you it is the driving. I would recommend to anyone to have their child in a car/booster seat.  It is not a law in Tanzania and none of the Tanzanian children use them. In the local bus called a "dala dala" kids and babies are usually stacked on top of one another. People often give us a funny look when they see our child in their own seat. We try not to do a lot of things that are different from the Tanzanian people but car seats is definitely one of them. There are not many places to buy car seats/boosters so I was really glad we brought ours. Car seats can also usually be resold after your child outgrows theirs. So why and I so big on car seats. The dangers of the driving here. There are cars, buses, carts, motorcycles, bicycles, people, sometimes goats or cows, all sharing the same road. The road laws are not strictly enforced and other cars seem to just do whatever they want to do at times.

#5 Kids travel booster/high chair

At Wal-Mart we bought a travel booster seat and it has been around the world and back a few times. We love it. It folds up nice and you can carry it easily on your shoulder. It is very convenient when we go out to eat. Most all of the restaurants here do not have high chairs, so a booster/travel seat is great. It also has its own tray that you know is clean instead of the restaurant table top.

#6 Hand sanitizer

I think this is self explanatory. We use this most often when we are out and about and their isn't a water source available to wash our hands with. A Tanzanian friend once asked if they can use some of our "American water" so they can clean their hands.

#7 Personal Items

My make up and hair products. Okay this may sound vain, being on my top 10 list, but come on, they just don't have Ivory colored foundation or powder here.  They do have lip gloss and mascara, the quality of make up can be very cheap or the name brand can be very expensive. I also sometimes use a flat iron on my hair and I use a protective spray with that. Tanzanians don't flat iron. They usually don't even use a lot of shampoo because they may only wash their hair a few times a month. I am not being critical, that is what a Tanzanian friend of mine said, she was surprised that I wash mine so often. Along the lines of personal care products, it can be difficult to find tampons. Maxi pads are more commonly available. Contact solution can also be hard to find. Arusha does have an eye care store that does sell it, but smaller towns may not supply it. My husband always brings back from America, men's stick deodorant. For some reason we have only seen the spray kind here.

#8 Family pictures

To me there is just something about a home being more of a home with family pictures on the walls. There are various photo printing shops around but we have some pictures that were printed before the digital camera age. (Yes we are old, like 30) :-) If we were planning on only being here for a year or two I might not have brought them, but we moved with the intention of making Tanzania our new home.

#9 Our Dog

When we moved to Tanzania we brought with us our little miniature schnauzer. There are a few things that you have to do to import your pet, but it is relativity easy. Good dogs, other than the mixed breed street dogs, are hard to find. He has been great at killing rats in the yard, and is the best watch dog. He is very alert and is the first to bark when someone is at our gate. He even warns us if he finds a snake in the yard.

#10  Medication and Medical Kit

There are several pharmacies in just about every town throughout TZ but the medications all have different names than what I am use to. Sometimes they pharmacy may know what I am talking about when I say Tylenol, and sometimes they may not. When we first moved here it was beneficial to already have some medications with me, until I figured out the other names for the medications that I am use to. The things that we have used most have been; Tylenol, Neosporin, band-aids, Pepto Bismal tablets, kids Pepto, kids melt away cold medications (they don't have melt away here). Kids liquid Tylenol, kids vitamins. Steri strips have also come in handy.

The other things in my medical bag is a stethoscope and blood pressure cuff. You can go to the Dr. here with a breathing, chest cold problem and they may or may not even listen to your lungs. Learning how to listen to a normal chest can be beneficial. You can always listen later when your sick and know if it sounds different. You can also learn easily from the internet how to check a blood pressure.

Oh and some great gifts for Tanzanian friends would be things like: twin size bed sheets, nice towels, a good flashlight, batteries, and any snack food type items. Hope this helps.

dear Bonnie,

thanks a lot for your detailed reply. it's very helpful. sorry for not replying earlier, but i ve been off line for a couple of days.  you ve mentioned queen size sheets as gifts: as i m coming from the European mainland, i m not so familiar with 'queen size', what is that in cm? is that the standard size of mattresses?
also, are houses usually furnished? does that included white goods? we are considering to send stuff seafreight, so should we bring household appliances along or can we get them there? how about a generator, as i hear that power cuts are frequent?
we won t be traveling with kids (ours  are grown up) is there anything else that would move up your list? i expect that bicycles aren't of much use?
many thanks again.

Hi Beemac,

I believe the mattresses here are a little different than European sizes, but the sheets still work. The standard size for a med size mattress is 187 cm X 90 cm. And the larger size is 150 cm X 200 cm. Most of the mattresses are made from a thick foam. They do have mattress stores that sell name brand mattresses like Sealy, but they are very expensive. A good mattress and box springs may be something that you would like to bring on your container. You can always get a bed custom built for the size, if you choose not to bring your bed frame.

Some houses are furnished and some are not. I am not sure how many are in Dar. I am not familiar with the term, white goods, what is that?

If you company is paying for a 20ft. container, I would definitely take advantage of that and ship some things.

With just about everything in TZ the rule is.... You can get it here, it will just cost you more and the quality will not be as good. The appliances here are 220v, so if that is the same as where you live, then I would bring some of these. A toaster can cost you over $50 usd. Other little things may be... a coffee pot, iron, and ironing board, microwave, juicer, blender. etc. The larger appliances, again you can get here, they may just be a little more in cost. But you may decide to wait on these depending on where you are going to live. Sometimes the kitchens are not big enough for a large refrigerator.

Furniture... Again you can get here, but if you have room in your container, then you might want to bring it. Things to consider.. Are you keeping your current house in Europe? How long are you planning on being in TZ? They have lots of furniture stores and many people who can build custom things out of wood. Couch frames, beds, dressers, tables, etc. The price for these may be a little pricey in Dar. The things that we have had built out of the nicer wood is solid and of good quality.

Generator ! YES ! I should have put that on my list above. Definitely. Power is out Very often, and I love the generator. If it were just me and my hubby I might not use it as much. We don't use it sometimes when the power is off all day, but when it starts getting dark, it is so much easier to do things around the house in the light, and not just with candles. We brought one with us. We got an average one that cost around $1,000 usd. It is enough to power the whole house, except we turn off the hot water heater when we turn it on. We have seen the same type of generator here sell for over double that price. I imagine in Dar you would definitely want one to run fans or the air conditioner. I understand it is very hot. You can manually turn it on/off, some people wire it up where they can flip a switch in the house, and it automatically turns it on. You you can also have your night guardsman, day guard turn it on.

Bicycles, Yes, I would bring. Not sure what type of neighborhood you are going to live, but you might be surprised. Some places in Arusha had "mini America" neighborhoods. You enter the gate compound and it was like a litte expat community. The roads were all paved, perfectly manicured lawns, actual street signs, and in the middle of the neighborhood is the work out center, and restaurant. Bicycles also sell for a lot of money here, for a good one, so you could always resell them.

You may be able to get some house things here through expats leaving. I know in Arusha every few months someone is posting that they are leaving and selling their things, so I imagine Dar is like this also.

Misc.

The floors are usually always tile or concrete, if you like carpet or rugs, you may consider adding this to your container. You again you can get them here, and once we got a carpet cut and bound around the edges to make it like a rug. That is just more of a personal preference thing.


If I think of something else, I will post.

Bonnie

Hi Bonnie,

thanks again. White goods are electrical appliances , such as fridges and washing machines. no idea where that term origniated from, actually i thouhgt it was americain??
how about health insurance, european insurances are very expensive, is it worth it? i've seen ads for 2 african insurance companies,do you have any advise on that?
usually we don't tend to get sick a lot, and regarding the monthly costs of approx. 800$ for 2 people, i feel it might be cheaper just paying up front when need is.

so you re living in arusha? sounds like a beautiful place. we've passed through there many years ago, i m sure it has changed a lot, but even then it was a favourite for foreigners because it was a bit cooler.

i ll probably be in touch again soon.

best regards