LANGUAGE BARRIER: Even though I don’t speak Swahili, the average Tanzanian speaks much better English than I imagined. Most of this is because starting in secondary school, all classes and exams are in English. Those that graduated from secondary school or completed most of secondary school have fairly good English. While there can be a communication barrier during more complex conversations, it’s very easy to get around and all it takes is a little bit of patience. I can’t imagine passing high school in a second language!
I am in love with the tea here, which is always chai with fresh ginger. It is delicious.
The shower involves a bucket of cold water, much like the one I will be using in Arusha. We refer to it as “taking a bucket.” I think there used to be a real shower, but it may be broken. Plumbing is very hit or miss. To flush the toilet we have to lift up on the lever in the water retainer behind the toilet – basically manually flushing the toilet. Sometimes we have to refill it with water.
We walked around the alleyways of Stonetown and let ourselves get lost and discover some of the city. We walked through a fish market and lots of other markets and saw a bunch of different shops. I saw a mother/child health centre, a business consultant shop, travel bureau, and hair cutting shop. It’s so incredible to me that there is this microcosm of businesses in these little alleyways.
People here are very friendly. They love saying mambo and seeing what response they get. They also always ask what we think about Zanzibar. It sometimes bothers me when they make references to the U.S. in conversation and say “the U.S. is so much better or well this doesn’t happen in the U.S. like it does in Africa.” While in a lot of respects we have better resources and commodities that make life “better,” who’s to say we are right and they are wrong? The need is very evident in this country, but the ways I would change it are to make it more American (simply because that’s what I know best and what I’ve seen work). Why should we assume that is the way it should be changed and is in the best interest of the people?
Some highlights of the day: For dinner we had chapatti, chai, and spicy potatoes called kachuri, which were delicious. We watched Brazilian fighting dancing on the beach. We also saw a monkey on a leash.
Phrase of the day:
Jina lako nani? – What is your name?
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