Sorry I've been bad about posting lately. I've wanted to wait until I could upload pictures, but haven't been able to get a good enough connection. I know you've been on the edge of your seat, awaiting my next post. Here's a little something for being so patient...
-Bring your own toilet paper or prepare to be disappointed. I’ve quickly learned which facilities are likely to have TP and western toilets.
-Coffee’s a big export item, but no one here drinks it. Instead, people drink mostly chai but sometimes drink “Nescafe” or “Africafe”—the horrible, icky freeze dried crap Americans got conned into some years ago.
-The Watering Hole is popular because it is the only place in town that offers Wi-Fi and the price is cheap. Also, they serve cocktails using ice made from boiled water as well as the most American burger in town. There’s no sign, just a blue light outside the gate where you must be allowed entry by the guard.
-Shop keepers and most in the market will charge foreigners ( aka “mzungu”) exponentially more than local Tanzanians. I’ve been quoted prices five times what other would be charged. I ask people that have been here for a while what they think I should pay before I buy anything without a price tag.
-Tanzania is a conservative society and extremely pluralistic in regard to religion. In Moshi, Christians probably outnumber Muslims. There may be some minor conflicts, but I have never heard of such. From all I’ve heard and witnessed, everyone gets along.
-I’m lucky enough to own a water heater which is attached to the shower head in the bathroom. There’s no stall for the shower, it just drains into the “squat” toilet. We have a separate bathroom with a western style toilet because we’re living the high life.
-Tanzanian songs last twice as long as the average American song. I do not find this to be a good thing. P Squared, a set of twins from Kenya, plays on the radio about 50 times per day. I am also not very keen on this. Shania Twain and Gloria Estefan are also big here. Again…
-There are more pirated DVDs in Moshi than there are mosquitoes in Stuttgart, AR. Particularly popular are Prison Break and Lost. Compilation DVDs are also popular. They feature an artist such as Brad Pitt and put all his films on one disk. They are sometimes mistaken however, and will include Leonardo DiCaprio by mistake. Apparently these come from China; I hear most of them have Chinese subtitles.
For a good rundown on the day to day of an Arkie in East Africa, you can’t beat Michael Hodson’s blog. Please go visit and add him to your blog roll. I haven’t really been able to take the time to blog the minutiae (otherwise known as “the interesting stuff”), so you may benefit from a gander over there.
http://mobilelawyer.blogspot.com
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