Going to one of the poorest country and changing the lifestyle

red dragon

red dragon

Justiceforall
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So my next destination is going to be a very small and troubled country in East Africa..Burundi. Will be posted in the capital Bujumbura.
We are replacing a great couple, Nigel & Sarah, who are going back home to Texas after 3 years.
Had a lengthy Skype call with them earlier this morning, and looks like it's going to be a difficult posting.
We have started our preparation, like getting used to a mosquito net (thankfully I brought one back home accidentally from the last trip to Africa and didn't throw it away, getting a mosquito net here could be a challenge)
From tomorrow we will be eating rice based diet ( not an issue for me, but a huge one for Lenka, she is a magnet for food poisoning and malaria, despite every prophylaxis)
Thankfully it won't be super hot in November- December there and language won't be a big problem as lot of people speak French.
Thankfully I was training and running normally during the long break and physically is in my usual shape ( not feeling tired all the time anymore. Corona in Spain almost drained me completely) But my lazy partner must start working hard .
Despite the challenges, I'm super excited to go outdoors again. Finally...back to what I love most...explore new country...new people...new culture.
 
red dragon said:
So my next destination is going to be a very small and troubled country in East Africa..Burundi. Will be posted in the capital Bujumbura.
We are replacing a great couple, Nigel & Sarah, who are going back home to Texas after 3 years.
Had a lengthy Skype call with them earlier this morning, and looks like it's going to be a difficult posting.
We have started our preparation, like getting used to a mosquito net (thankfully I brought one back home accidentally from the last trip to Africa and didn't throw it away, getting a mosquito net here could be a challenge)
From tomorrow we will be eating rice based diet ( not an issue for me, but a huge one for Lenka, she is a magnet for food poisoning and malaria, despite every prophylaxis)
Thankfully it won't be super hot in November- December there and language won't be a big problem as lot of people speak French.
Thankfully I was training and running normally during the long break and physically is in my usual shape ( not feeling tired all the time anymore. Corona in Spain almost drained me completely) But my lazy partner must start working hard .
Despite the challenges, I'm super excited to go outdoors again. Finally...back to what I love most...explore new country...new people...new culture.
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All the best for the new posting buddy.
Stay safe and have a great time there.
 
To be honest, I'm somewhat scared. Everything in Africa does change in seconds ( except traffic, almost all the cities I've been to, have no traffic rules/ no one follows anything)
However we do have a solid group of people ( the absolute best in WHO) in neighbouring countries and we don't have any bosses here.
 
red dragon said:
To be honest, I'm somewhat scared. Everything in Africa does change in seconds ( except traffic, almost all the cities I've been to, have no traffic rules/ no one follows anything)
However we do have a solid group of people ( the absolute best in WHO) in neighbouring countries and we don't have any bosses here.
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Well the key to be able to adjust to Africa is try and be as simple as possible
Least amount of words with people there
Never venture out after sundown
Never wear expensive items and stuff.
I know this. Might sound ridiculous but people in poor countries think on a diff track altogether
You can't be certain one bit about safety and security even if you are very friendly with the locals so stay within your circle and take this as an opportunity to watch and learn.
 
Good luck with the new posting. The only thing about Burundi I'm aware of is the fact that the dictatorial goverment is accused of multiple crimes against humanity and extrajudicial killings. It also appears to be the first country to withdraw from ICC.
 
Thanks, have you been there, specially Burundi/ Rwanda?
We don't usually have anything expensive on us. Only medical equipments ,camera and phones small amount of cash and ALWAYS have locals who have worked for us for years.
But accidents did happen.
Chaos said:
Good luck with the new posting. The only thing about Burundi I'm aware of is the fact that the dictatorial goverment is accused of multiple crimes against humanity and extrajudicial killings. It also appears to be the first country to withdraw from ICC.
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Yes, our friends there told us. Each and every government official is 100 percent corrupt. Bribery is very common ( but even 5 USD works wonders!!)
It's going to be tough.
And I'm worried more about my wife's health and fitness. She is usually tough as nail in Europe/ US, but was kind of vulnerable in India.
Last time she fought malaria and at least 10-15 attacks of food poisoning like a champ in Africa and worked tirelessly during ebola. And like a typical Slavic woman doesn't express much emotion outside, but I know her inside out. She's not backing out to protect me.
Maybe I should have taken the teaching job. But it's too boring. I have few more years of adventure in me.
 
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That was the plan. But DG ( the biggest villain for the Corona epidemic) lured me into this one last assignment.
The terms and conditions are so good that if we can work for 2 more years, we could comfortably buy the biggest boat in Tallinn outright without selling our house in Bratislava.
The boat is still the exit strategy from this terrible profession. But we calculated that to buy a decent boat outright we have to take out at least 20-30 percent from the kid's education fund ( our only substantial savings)
I think I posted this also earlier.
We're not rich by any means. Only making decent money for only 4-5 years. If the Corona never came, we would've been working for next 20-25 years like everyone else, maybe get another kid. This ****ing plague changed everything.
Now I can't even back out, it will put Nigel and his girl in a soup. They're so happy to come back home and get married. Sarah endured TWO normal deliveries in Africa!! They haven't seen their kids in 1 year!!
 
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I wish you all the best and hope it all works out well for you.

Mosquitoes. Single thing i f*cking hate the most in the world. They could go extinct and nothing would change. Well the world population would certainly go up though. No other animal has killed more humans than the goddamn mosquito.

I've had malaria twice in New Bombay. Maybe 10-15 years ago. Since then i close the windows in the evening no matter where i am. Doesn't matter if there's no netting and it's hot inside with no fresh air/oxygen. The whole of India has a huge mosquito problem in my opinion. In fact this is a very big coincidence because i just went out this evening to buy a new bat because my old one conked of yesterday.

/Mosquito rant over...
 
red dragon said:
Bat!? Cricket bat?
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Dude.

I assumed you would know about this. If you haven't got one get it immediately.

HIT Anti Mosquito Racquet - Rechargeable Insect Killer Bat with LED Light (6 Months Warranty): Amazon.in: Garden & Outdoors

HIT Anti Mosquito Racquet - Rechargeable Insect Killer Bat with LED Light (6 Months Warranty): Amazon.in: Garden & Outdoors
www.amazon.in

The ones we get here are mostly rechargeable. Meaning the batteries die after a year or two.

My aunt had brought a few from Dubai which had a normal replaceable battery compartment for AAs.
 
Oh!! Man!!! I am really sorry. Yes, yes...of course I have seen it in India. Yes, it would be super useful. Must be available locally here also. But I have not seen a single mosquito in our house, but there are some in the nearby jungles. I feel like an complete idiot. Was seriously wondering how and where are you playing cricket everyday to break a bat. :facepalm::facepalm::facepalm::facepalm::facepalm::facepalm::facepalm::facepalm::facepalm:
 
Lol, i don't like cricket anyway. Most other sports but not cricket. Although watching matches with friends/family has its own charm, but not for the game itself.

Buy a few of those bats, they fail rather easily. And try to get the replaceable AA battery ones as i mentioned earlier.

I can't even imagine living without a bat now. Goddamn mosquitoes!
 
Wouldn't Odomos or any other mosquito repellent ointment be available in Burundi? You can also keep All Out as a backup incase the bats gives up. Do ask your friends how they dealt with the mosquito problem.
BTW, good luck with your new posting..
 
@red dragon. Thanks for your great posts on Covid-19. I was in Senegal/Mauritania as an engineer within the World Food Program effort. The nutritionist on our team was from Ghana and he said Africans were immune from malaria and wouldn't take the Chloroquine we were using. He soon came down with the evening chills!
 
If you can manage, do get a mosquito net for the bed. It might seem a bit outdated, but it worked for me while I was in Delhi dodging Dengue loaded mosquitoes.
 
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