The Flats at Mwembelelo

Most of the project interns stay at the flats on Mwembelelo. Its only a short walk to the main site. There's currently 11 females and me staying in the 4 apartments. Sort of like Three's Company but not really. Ammenities are pretty nice. We're in flat 1, the closest one in the picture. The satellite dish belongs to flat 2 and picks up some good british and australian tv. The electricity goes out pretty regularly but only once has the water gone with it. For 2 days we were without both. When Michelle called "Mr and Mrs Furley" and asked to shower at their place, the water pump got fixed the same night. Strange how that works. We've got cool coal-mining headlamps and a wind-up radio, so we get by pretty well.

The flats, like all property in our area, reside in a walled compound. We have a 10 foot wall with a 3 foot electrical fence on top of that. There's a guard on duty all day (Robert, Sampson and James). The area that we live is safe, but with not much of a police force (that we've seen) people have to do what they can to keep protected.

There isn't much for neighbors though we have a brothel just down the street. I'm a little confused by the Mosiye Lodge because they advertise "Family Flats" but we can hear music coming from the place until 4:00am...and the locals just sort of snicker when asked. I can't get a good look at it because it's behind a 10 foot wall, but I'll look for a field reporter to check it out, I'll get more details. When I first saw it, I thought it would be convenient for guests that come into town. Maybe not. By the way, we need some heads up if you plan to make an Africa trip. The invitation is open. The Lodge needs little, to no notice.