Blog Fodder

Hey friends!

So it has been HOT lately!! Today I finally, after two months, bought a fan. Last night was my breaking point when I woke up soaking wet and scratching my mosquito bites again (it happened for a few nights in a row about a month ago, I had to put socks on my hands to try and stop scratching in my sleep-very black swan) so anyways I decided that I would finally buy one. So I walked around Mwenge (the local market) asking prices and I finally bought a stand-up one. I then chased after the dala holding my fan and got some pretty funny looks, but now as I sit writing this basking in the wind it was totally worth it.

Today me and my roommate Emily went at got burgers at the Morocco stop, and it was heaven. At the Morocco bus stop there is a gas station that has a burger hut outside, and they stay open as long as they still have food. The burgers are real meat so they fall apart a little (a lot) but they are so good! And I swear they have the best fries in Dar.

Last weekend was good, on Saturday we went to Bagamoyo. It is the main slave and ivory port that was originally colonized by the Germans but then taken over by the British. There we saw a castle-like building where they would bring the slaves on the final stop until Zanzibar, where they would be sold to the Middle East and India. My guidebook cites that over 750,000 slaves were subject to this fate. The slaves came from as far as the Congo and had to walk thousands of miles, most of the time carrying goods such as ivory and copper. We also saw where they hung the slaves that revolted. Interestingly, on this side of the slave trade children were not sold along with their parents, and therefore many of them were left in Bagamoyo. We also learned in class that men that we slaves from East Africa were most often castrated, which explains why there are not as many African descendants in the Middle East and India as North America. Bagamoyo is also home to the first church on the mainland in East Africa. Although the original had been torn down, the new church was beautiful. Unfortunately my camera died so I have no pictures of the end of the trip. Interestingly, we read in the guidebook that Bagamoyo should be placed on the list of World Heritage Sites because of its importance in the slave trade. However, due to the high level of corruption UNESCO will not do it because they are afraid the money will be misused. In my development class we are learning the cycle of poverty, and although we did not discuss this specific example it seems to fit the criteria. Tanzania is so beautiful and has so much history, but it is sad to see the high levels of corruption and absolute poverty. I think the hardest part is when kids are begging on the street for things like water. It is these experiences that make me realize that me not having a fan at night or running water for the last 24 hours is really not that bad.

For me the most interesting part of studying here is the friendliness and generosity of the Tanzanians. Tanzania is one of the most stable countries in Africa, although poverty and unemployment are astronomical. There are also over 150 different tribes and languages, yet somehow they have been able to create a fairly unified government. I think one of the most interesting aspects about it is the level to which every Tanzanian emphasizes their identity as a peaceful nation. Although every Tanzanian knows their tribal identity, the main focus is Tanzanian hospitality. I have seen it through the people I have encountered as well as our professors. Another thing that has been fascinating has been the stories of the crimes I have heard of. Although there are evil people everywhere and this story absolutely does not reduce the dangers of living here, this one in particular I think is emblematic of my perception of Tanzania. About a week ago three other students, two girls and a guy were robbed in Posta during the day. Although that alone is odd and I’m not sure of the exact circumstances, Posta is really far from campus. So they explained to the robbers that they were students and asked them how they expected them to get home. The robbers then proceeded to give them 2,000 tsh to get back home. Although this certainly does not happen in every situation, we have been told by multiple people that when you are robbed, don’t resist because they only want your money.  I think that this collective ideal of Tanzania is probably a main reason for the way violence seems to be manifesting itself. Luckily, we have not had any problems so far and we absolutely will not stop being careful, I thought that was an interesting point.

Also, sorry for not posting in so long, two weekends ago we went to the Zanzibar music festival (Called sauti za busara-literally the wisdom of sound). It was really great, some of the music was really good. There was a mix of traditional artists and dances with the newer performers. I especially liked one artist named Nneka, I will definitely look up her music soon. But although there were Tanzanians there, the festival was more a tourist attraction for sure. I haven’t seen so many mzungus in one place in my whole time here! But all the same it was really neat to see so many different kinds of artists and dances. 

Thanks for reading! J

Much love,

Beebs

Tanzanian Tidbits

Hey all,

Things have been going really well lately, we sort of started classes this week and it will be nice when the schedule is established.  Sculpture looks like it is going to be so much fun, and we are going to go to the carvers market soon to see them at work and to buy tools! I know I’m probably going to be terrible at it but I think it is going to be awesome. I think I will also be taking Development 101, African foreign policy, and either Sociology or History (I haven’t decided yet).

Yesterday, thanks to Christina who put me in touch with Emily, we met another American couple and had a delectable dinner of grilled cheese and tomato soup. It was everything I thought it could be and more and I will definitely never take those foods for granted again. There were also a few Tanzanians who were studying at UDSM and Ardhi University and it was very interesting to hear how they view the Tanzanian system. They were telling us how everything depends on bribes and how someone is feeling that particular day. In terms of driving licenses, depending on how much you pay and who you know you can get any type of license you want, for instance the license to drive tractor trailers.  One of the guys also told a funny story about how he had gotten in an accident last week when a Bajaj (I guess I would describe them as three wheeled taxis that have open sides, but they are how we travel a lot in the city even though they are a little more expensive than the dalas) was speeding when they were pulling onto the street and they collided. He said that the Bajaj driver was so dramatic even though it was practically his fault. However, because the Bajaj driver was older than his friend, when the police arrived they believed the Bajaj driver because of his age. He said that age and money are key factors in dealings in Tanzania, and I have also learned that respect of elders is a huge cultural norm.

I learned another interesting thing about Tanzania while watching the news. No one owns land here. They can have the right to build and they own their houses, but if the government desires the land they can make everyone leave and then they ‘compensate’ them for their property. Technically they are obliged to offer to transfer their whole house but it sounded like that was not really a realistic option. Especially coming from New Hampshire where land rights are such a big issue it is interesting to see how the Tanzanians view their rights.

Anyways thanks again everyone from home for all the love, its been so great lately! :)

Much love,

Beebs