Arrived in Harare

Arrival during the business day is standard for me. It is safer than at night and one can talk to terminal personnel about selecting a cab. Of course, now I use the same driver. I just call him and he comes. He is very reliable and cost-effective. One can also go straight to the in-terminal Econet booth to arrange for air time and to check that one’s phone number is still active. For newcomers, a phone can be purchased, a line inserted, and air time arranged. This process is very quick and the Econet's agents are very knowledgeable and capable. If you have an existing phone, a line can be purchased and inserted.

Something interesting happened during luggage inspection. The inspector saw my personal card on top of my things after opening the first bag. He said with some excitement, “This is you?” After I said yes he asked if he could keep the card. The inspection went very smoothly. I was quite grateful. Things still took two hours from the time I got off the plane to the time I left the customs area for the general terminal.

After arrival in Harare during my trips to Zimbabwe, I always stay awake as long as possible. This allows my body to begin adjusting to the time difference. Generally, when it is daylight in Dayton, it is night time in Zimbabwe. In fact, everything is the opposite in Zimbabwe, compared to Dayton. In this particular case, after 48 hours of travel and little sleep, I did not make it past 5:30pm. Then I slept for about 16 hours.

After having some lunch the next day, I visited the Zimbabwean Office of Immigration. It was necessary to present the letter they had sent me approving my residency visa and work permit. With that letter, my passport could be appropriately stamped. That took two business days, with an intervening weekend. Thankfully, I had followed the US Embassy’s advice to always carry a photocopy of my passport. Zimbabwe is very strict about such things and it is easy to find one’s self arrested and deported for violating even the smallest rule.

While waiting for the Immigration Office to finish their work, I visited the Roman Catholic Cathedral for Mass and attended a workshop given by various entrepreneur centers in Zimbabwe and other African countries. Employment is very low in Zimbabwe so there is a great effort to get people involved in personal enterprises. Of course, there was also the National Art Museum right next to my hotel. Made sure to visit the local office of my sponsor. There are two of us here in Zimbabwe for the next ten months. The other one teaches at the Women’s College in Harare.

On the day I received my passport back, fully stamped, I called the human resources department at the Chinhoyi University of Technology. We made arrangements for them to pick me up the next morning.