Frustrated in Dar es Salaam

Dar es Salaam is literally the haven of peace. Yet, I am not feeling very peaceful lately. I arrived 5 days ago, though it feels I've been here weeks. It all feels strangely familar maybe in my past life I lived here, who knows or more likely because it is strikingly similar to a large Indian city, not as big as Delhi, more like Jaipur size. What has been frustrating is the cost of living here. Who would have thought I would be expected to pay more for a room in Africa than in the US...ABSURD! Along with being the haven of peace, Dar is also the home to all the embassies, NGOs and international NGOs; the big dogs with a lot of money. So of course landlords know and jack up the price for everything within any suitable distance to the offices. Sucks for us unpaid interns who are expected to pay those same prices. I've got a temp place with my supervisor as I continue my search for more ''local'' areas where all one is expected to pay is $150 a month as opposed to $800. Just have to find a safe place where I won't get mugged. The previous intern from America stayed in such a place and had way too many muggings for my liking. It seems all the Europeans are forking over the money, its us cheap ass Americans who seem to forgo safety for the savings. Personally, I would like to get away from this very high end western feeling locale. Doesn't feel like Africa at all in this area.

I've managed to meet other expats, but I didn't come here to drink and party everyday as if I was back home and even then I didn't do it everyday. The more I think about it, the better it will be to live further from the office. It'll be more challenging without the comforts of running water and other necessities, but I did it in India and really enjoyed the simplicity of the lifestyle. Its this dual lifestlye that I struggled with in India and I'm struggling with again. Working on narrowing the inequality gap, but living in way that only reinforces the gap. I think many development workers feel this way. How to bridge those lifestyles is still a puzzle to me, but maybe living like a Tanzanian is a step in the right direction. Hopefully, by next time I will have found a place and have a picture to post.