7/21/10 Funny stuff about living in Tanzania

Living in Tanzania has its share of funny moments especially when you are a mzungu learning for the first time. Everything tends to run on Tanzania time. So when I request a driver at 8am, I can expect him to show up at 9:30am or even 11am. The architects here building a new clinic find that their electrician is worse. He arrives 1 week and 4 hours later than scheduled, so I guess I have it good. Swahili and Luo are the main languages spoken in this area. Some students learn a bit of English in primary school. I love it when I walk down the street and young kids ask “What is my name?” and I look confused and ask back “I don’t know what is your name”. It happened like three times before I realized they were asking about MY name not theirs haha. Some funny but horribly dangerous situations often involve the independence of children. Today I saw a 2 year old with a machete just playing with it and chopping at a tree. Other days I see kids that look about 4 years old carrying their baby sibling on their back. I’ve also had almost marriage proposals or talks of possible engagement. Dowry is accomplished by giving cows. I estimated that I’m worth about 200 cows (estimated $4,000 USD). Some guys just ask about how many cows it would take to marry a mzungu. The bad thing is that the more cows you get, the more work you are expected to do once married. Another random thing I find amusing is that people in the area wear a lot of clothes that have been used from America. So far I’ve seen a polo that says Retail Manager of Cracker Barrell, numerous college tshirts, Blockbuster employee shirt, and men wearing shirts that are very obviously designed for a woman. Bugs and critters take an entire different meaning here. So far in our hostel, I’ve seen 1 scorpion, 2 bats, 1 gigantic spider, a rainforest colorful frog, cockroaches, brown geckos, and tons of ants. There’s all kinds of wildlife in this area, but I’ve been handling it well except for the tarantula sized spider in the living room that ran faster than I did.

I like comparing lifestyles in U.S. to Tanzania. I never realized how much of babies we Americans are. Its extremely rare to own a car in the area unless you are extremely wealthy so almost everybody takes piki pikis (motorbikes), bicycles, or walks. They are also pretty good at cutting down waste. Whenever you buy a soda or beer, the shopowners are adamant about you bringing back the bottles. Apparently Coca Cola pays these shopowners to return the glass bottles which are then sterilized and rebottled. Tanzanians also cut down on plastic waste by giving you the bare minimum plastic shopping bag. There is no such thing as doggy sweaters, gem studded collars, or pampered pets here. Dogs and livestock all have a purpose to herd the farm or be part of it. I realize that giving birth is way over-hyped in the U.S. Shirati women pop out babies, breastfeed, wrap a cloth diaper, and carry their babies on their backs with this colorful long cloth. Baby monitors, strollers, playpens, baby showers, teething rings are all completely unnecessary. Apparently babies grow up just fine without Babys R Us.