My Work: At the office

As I've just completed my first full week of work, I'll take some time to give you a glimpse into our office. You may think that life in Africa is very exotic but in the end I have a job quite similar to many of you in the developed world. It is my first "desk" job (though I will have probably 25% in the field) and because I've spent my entire life in the field, a desk job is a welcome relief (at least for now). It's amazing how much I can get done when I'm focused and not entirely dependent on other people to get my work done. I can't tell you how many hours I've wasted in my life waiting for meetings to start.

Our office is located about a half hour outside of downtown Moshi in a very large compound. Our property is rented from a woman who also has a large amount of farmland on the property as well. This is aesthetically very nice but my office is right next to a chicken coop so the chickens can be a bit annoying at times. It's a mix of permanent cement buildings and converted shipping containers. Our organization has 42 staff at the moment, though they are not all based in our office.

My department has three other people, one person from the UK and two interns, one from the US (Minnesota) and one from Tanzania. Our office has an air conditioning unit and back up power for when the power goes out. We have a steady ethernet internet line, as well as wireless throughout the compound. Although it's not up to developed country standards, it's more than enough.

The best perks of my job so far are tea time and lunch. For tea time (about 11AM) we order "bites" or snacks. Usually these are chapatis and samosas though there are a variety of greasy local snacks. We are provided tea, coffee and chai but have to pay for our bites (usually about 50 cents). We are also served free lunch, which is a local Tanzanian food. The meals are very well rounded and there is always a starch, protein, greens, and fruit.

This is our open air meeting hall/cafeteria. 

A view of our main office building. 

Front of the office. A shipping container that houses our community outreach workers.

The vibe at the office is extremely casual. Official working hours are 8-5 though people are very relaxed about this. Most employees have a lot of work in the field so at times it can be difficult to locate people.

All in all, I am quite enjoying my new workplace and those who know me know that free lunch is certainly the way to win my heart.