Stuff I’ve Noticed About Tanzania: Part 1

          I’ve decided to start a collection of unusual things I’ve noticed that are different in Tanzania:

          •   It’s tomorrow, today.  Thanks to that +11 hour time difference, I get experience tomorrow before anyone in the US does.  It’s like being in a time machine, only a lot more anti-climatic.
          •   There’s no Root Beer.  None.   No one had even heard of it.  The horror still wakes me some nights.
          •   It the second place after New York that I’ve been to where everything’s surrounded by high walls topped with barb wire.  Only difference is, this is in the country.
          •   I have seen more ads for Coca-Cola here in one week than in my entire life back in the US.  You know how at fairs some booths will get free banners for their stalls by going to Coca-Cola or Pepsi and having them print them signs for their business with an ad for that company?  Well that’s what everyone does here.  Even fancy business and large hotels have signs that double as soda, beer, or cigarette ads. (Hmmm, a rather interesting grouping, makes one wonder what the future of soft drinks holds…)
          •   Most of the television shows and commercials are in English (they even have Spanish soaps dubbed into English).  The most disconcerting is when they have a Swahili commercial with an English slogan at the end.
          •   Everything happens slowly.  As the saying goes: There's no hurry in Africa.
          •   The power goes out so often its like random clockwork.  This makes me very glad I'm using a laptop that can automatically switch over to a battery without losing power.
          •   Hot Dogs are considered to be sausages, despite the fact that they have absolutely no seasoning.
          •   The Mosquitoes are all racist.  They only like American Blood.  You want proof?  How about the fact that I've got umpteen bites, and my baba has none.  The Mosquitoes are racist man, I'm telling you they're racist.
          •   It's really hot.  I've been drinking a lot more water ever since I came here, though I wish I could drink more Root Beer.
          •   There are no gravel roads.  Ether its paved, or it's dirt with more ruts and holes than I've got padding.
          •   People sell everywhere.  Lost of people just wander around, their goods on the their back or bicycle, selling to everyone they meet.  Barring a trip the grocery store, if you stand in the right places, you don't have to go anywhere to go shopping at all.
          •   I'm bloody rich.  In Tanzanian Shillings, that is.  I wonder if I can keep it in that currency when I go back to the states?  Having an eight figure bank account is really nice...
          •   There are a lot of speed bumps.  And I mean a lot.  You see, in Tanzania there isn't enough money to hire cops just to watch how people drive, so another method is needed to keep peoples speed in check.  And speed bumps are a natural, self enforcing way of controlling the speed.  What is most interesting  though, is that instead of using just one speed bump, the group them in collections of three.  To make them more effective I assume.  All I know is that they work!


          And now for some words of wisdom (hehe):
          Expect the unexpected is, in my opinion, a rather stupid phrase.  After all, if you expected it, it wouldn't be unexpected.  So my advice to you is the same as that great creators of the inter-galactically acclaimed best seller, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Don't Panic.  Stuff will happen.  Including the unexpected.  Especially the unexpected.  Prepare for what you can, and ride out what you can't.  What ever you do do, Don't Panic.  Keep a level head, and you will be able to make the best of any situation.  As to how "best" that will be, you can find out here.


           I hope you enjoyed all that, and found at least some of it useful.  Stay tuned for more episodes of: Stuff I’ve Noticed About Tanzania.


E’ya! - Tate


Jump to: Part 2