As I am writing this, I have been in Harare for almost three full days, but it feels like I have been here for three weeks! Apart from battling jet lag, I am finding it fairly easy to settle in so far. The people here are very friendly and welcoming. Everyone seems so laid back and kind. They also tend to speak very softly, so I am having a hard time hearing in addition to understanding (perhaps I am also losing my hearing, will need to have my ears checked when I get back!).
I was somewhat surprised by how green it is. I probably shouldn’t have been given that this is the rainy season. But also, Harare has actually been getting a lot of rain compared to the rest of the country. I think it has rained some every day since I arrived. Last night it started raining fairly hard just after midnight (I was awake after getting just two hours of sleep and struggling to fall back asleep) and has been raining consistently all day. This weekend and next week should be clear though, meaning things will heat up. While I will not miss the rain and all the mud that comes with it, I will miss the cooling effect it has on the temperature. These first few days have been so pleasant temperature-wise, ranging between 60 and 70 degrees F. That will change next week, with temps predicted in the upper 70s – low 80s.
My apartment is quite comfortable, if small and rather plain. It is very clean with reliable amenities, i.e., electricity and water. Power in Harare is not always available. They practice what they refer to as “load sharing”, which may be more familiarly referred to as “rolling blackouts” in the parts of the US. Neighborhoods will only have power for a few hours each day. To cope with this, many homes and businesses have generators or utilize solar power to maintain constant electricity. This is the case at my apartment complex, they have generators and I have not yet noticed a time when power has not been available. The apartment is also very secure, with 24 hour, gated guard service. The grounds are very nice, with outdoor tables (pictures at top of post). It is also very centrally located and within 5 minute walking distance to two nice shopping areas.
The one issue with the apartment is the wifi. It is available, but very slow and inconsistent. I can pretty reliably access it with my phone, but not my laptop for some reason. On my second day here though, I purchased a local sim card with a pre-paid data plan. So I now have a local phone number and reliable internet access both at my apartment and when I am away. Having never swapped out the sim card in my phone, I was impressed by how easy it all was. I simply popped out my US one and inserted the Zim one and was up and running instantly. It was also fairly inexpensive. I purchased 20GB of data for $26.
On my third day here, I visited my host institution, the Harare Institute of Technology, or HIT for short. It is about 4 miles (7 km) from my apartment, so a 10-15 min drive. Fadzi escorted me on this initial visit in order to assist me with where to go and who to meet. Unfortunately, most of the administration was in meetings for the day. I think I heard that they were presenting their plans to the Minister of Education. So I did not meet any upper-level administrators. However, I met a number of folks including the Campus Life Experience Officer and the Chair of the Information Security and Assurance Department who is also Acting Dean of the School of Information Sciences and Technology while the Dean is on leave this month.
We then visited the multipurpose hall where my office is located (in doing so we actually interrupted an exam in progress for the master’s students – oops!).
I will be sharing an office with the Chair of the Computer Science Department (my home department while I am here), who I met, and one other faculty member who I have not yet met (I think it is the Chair of the IT Department though).
I also met the secretary for both the CS and IT Departments as well as the School administrator. I also learned a bit more about what I will be teaching – two sections of applied statistics for undergraduates in the School, which I will be coordinating with a faculty member in the Math Department who usually teaches all the sections. I was surprised to learn that there is a Math Department at HIT because there is no mention of it on their website. However, I learned during this visit that the Math Department does not offer any degrees themselves, they simply exist to teach service courses required by the various degree programs that are offered at HIT.
After spending the morning at HIT, Fadzi then escorted me back to my apartment and gave me a recommendation on a cafe just down the street for lunch, where I got a cappuccino and a delicious bacon and egg sandwich. The cafe was right next to a hair salon so I decided to get my haircut given that I was unable to before leaving the US.
Following that I returned to my apartment feeling quite satisfied with how productive my day had been. I relaxed the rest of the afternoon and evening, heading to bed at my usual time back home (9pm) in the hopes of getting a good night’s sleep before my meetings at the Embassy the next morning. Unfortunately, after falling asleep very easily I woke up around 11:30pm and struggled to get back to sleep. I was finally able to grab a couple more hours around 3am. Guess I am still not over my jet lag!
Despite the rough night of sleep, I was ready to go by 8:30am when I was picked up by a driver to take me to the Embassy. The drive took about 15 minutes (it seems my apartment is roughly 15 minutes away from everything!). When we arrived at the Embassy gate, my passport was checked and then the driver was waved past the outer gate where the car was checked with a metal detector and the hood was popped for inspection of the engine. After everything was deemed safe, the inner gate was opened and we drove back to the building where my meetings were. The Embassy facilities were very nice and fairly new. The walls throughout featured amazing artwork by Zim artists. The grounds were also beautiful. When I go back I am going to ask if I can take photos to post here.
I was at the Embassy from 9am until noon during which time I met at least 10 people (I lost count it was so many!). It was a bit overwhelming, but everyone was very friendly and excited to meet me. Data science skills are in such high demand that so many offices at the Embassy had projects in mind for me to collaborate on. I don’t think I am going to be bored while I am here! Right before leaving I met someone that is part of hiking group, which sounded very similar to my hiking group back home. They meet every Saturday to go on hikes in the area. I am so excited to be introduced to the group, it is exactly what I hoped to find! I also met someone that is a runner and is hoping to run the Chicago Marathon this year. He was telling me about a possible race that is done in the eastern part of the country which I hope I can participate in! All in all it was an exhilarating morning and despite getting only about 4 terrible hours of sleep I left feeling energized and even more excited about my time here in Zim!
kkuter 
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