Randoms

So I’ve been informed by my family that the random things here are fascinating. So here comes the blog of random Tanzanian things.

First off, it’s scary that these oddities are not that weird to me anymore, so I think Tanzania is wearing off on me. (And apparently every once in awhile I talk a little differently…my friend caught me yesterday over-pronouncing my t’s like Tanzanians do…”inTernetT”, yikes). 

On Saturday I had my first hot shower since being here. IT WAS AMAZING. And really unexpected.  For this week we are staying in a hostel in Arusha that has HOT WATER and free breakfast in the morning consisting of toast, potatoes, AND COFFEE.  AND wait for it…FREE WIFI. (its incredibly slow, worse than AirBears, but I’ll take it).

But please don’t picture the Hyatt. Our room is pretty small with 2 bunk beds and the water in the building usually turns off at some point in the night so we wake up to lovely clogged toilets that the whole floor shares.  And I’m pretty sure we have bed bugs because these bites I have are definitely not mosquito ones, but I’m not really sure what to do about  that.  The guests here are pretty much all young adults, mostly Americans, studying or working or backpacking here.  

This week we’re setting up our independent study project logistics, so all the students are spread across Northern Tanzania, depending on their project’s location. Those of us in Arusha have been taking the dalas dalas (the insanely crowded van buses where you are usually on the outside just hanging on) around town and coordinating.  I’m getting use to the Arusha city life and really loving it, but unfortunately I won’t be staying here to do my ISP, instead I’m going to return to Bangata village to look at protein production and consumption.

Arusha city life can best be described as really noisy. So. Much. Honking. Everyone wants to be on the main tarmac road since the dirt ones are painful, making the traffic insane in “downtown” or what we call “clock tower area.” 

This past weekend a huge group of us went out to a local bar/”disco” called Babylon.  It’s somewhat hard for 20 white girls and 1 white guy to blend in, so instead we just went for it and made the whole place a dance floor, making everyone else dance too…a Tanzanian-American dance party.  

Lastly, three random things that have made me so happy: movies, ShopRite (the only supermarket here), and our balcony.

I thought I had no movies on my laptop, but recently found the movie Troy, which I must have downloaded long ago. Wow. I have never been so into a movie. I had to catch every word and was seriously just so entertained.

And then we stepped foot in ShopRite. I didn’t really even buy much, it was just so glorious to walk up and down aisles and just look. There was no one there saying, “Hello my sister, please take a look at my shop. Are you a volunteer? Where are you from? Just take a look.” There was one problem with ShopRite, however. They had no dark chocolate. Not even chocolate chips. Tanzania is severely severely lacking in the dark chocolate area.

And finally, the small balcony at our hostel.  I can finally just sit, be a fly on the wall, and watch the craziness of Arusha in the street below. (I especially love watching other tourists, aka other wazungu, deal with sellers and the Arusha craziness, some just look downright scared and overwhelmed.)  I’m not crazy for attention, so when sellers or just randoms follow us for what can sometimes be up to 30 minutes throughout the streets trying to sell you paintings/hats/shirts or attempting to be your city guide, it can be exhausting.  This could easily come across as petty, ignorant, or spoiled, but I really do miss just blending in and walking through a city street (especially walking through a city with my ipod, but that’s not really an option here unless I want it stolen).   (And for you Berkeley peeps just picture Sather Gate/ Sproul during senate election time. Now you understand.) I’ve gotten use to being called mzungu (“white person”) all day everyday, but I do miss blending in. We remind ourselves though that this is all true for any city, you just adjust. And it would be way way way harder to be the person selling on the street. I really don’t know how they make a living out it.

And it’s amazing how talking to one particular person can totally turn your day around and change your perspective.  Yesterday I made a new friend with the security guard in front of Airtel, the cellphone store.  Random I know, but he complimented my Kiswahili so he’s an automatic friend. Just kidding. But it was nice having a random conversation about American music, Obama, Tanzania, California, Bangata, etc. (<and no, not in Kiswahili. His English was even faster than mine.) 

Lastly, I’ve been getting questions about food. My go to is kuku (chicken) or maharage (beans) with wali (rice), drenched in pilipili (chili sauce). Or like today we had one of my favorite plates (after somewhat bartering the price with the hostel kitchen crew): chapatti (fried Indian bread) and mbogaboga (vegetables, usually some kind of cooked spinach).  Some other common foods: pilau (spiced rice), maandazi (donuts), chai maziwa (milk tea), nyama ya n’gombe (beef…really tough beef), mnafu, mchachi, cassava, okra, fries, goat, ugali, peanuts, cucumbers, carrots, peas, and potatoes. (And people here really like cooking with their oil and salt. Boo.)

And here’s a few really random things listed (because I’m somewhat lazy):

·      Ice cubes aren’t really a thing here aka there aren’t any.

·      Any drink you order (soda, water, beer, etc.) will be opened in front of you to prove it’s new and unopened.

·      I’ve oddly seen a large number of Crocs here. (yes the shoes).

·      Even though it’s pretty much always 80 degrees here, beanies are very popular, especially on babies.

·       A bottle of water here is more expensive than a bottle of soda. And glass bottles are cheaper than cans.

·      There are pretty much no enforced traffic laws here. If you want to drive on the other side of the road to pass traffic, go for it.

·      Guy friends hold hands a lot. (including teens) (kind of cute).

·      Random things that some of us have been asked:

o   Are you a soldier?

o   Are you a drunkard?

o   Do you know Arnold Swartznagger?

o   Does everyone in America use chopsticks to eat? (<Christine’s little brother…the cutest)

Arusha

Omega! At our home stay party.

The infamous daladalas.

Next on the adventure list is Ngorogoro Crater (to look for rhinos), Serengeti National Park (Cannot wait), Lake Natron, and a Maasai homestay (which I probably won’t survive). So no update for awhile. Pole (sorry). Still missing you all!