Little Differences

Dala dalas, tika tikas, and cabies comprise the local transportation in Tanzania. The tika tika are motorcycle taxis that are super dangerous because they just past a law two years ago allowing anyone with a regular license the ability to drive a moto. Needless to say they are visibly unstable and I won't be riding one , whereas the cabies are expensive; but the dalas are fantastic! They are multi-passenger vans originally attended to carry 15 passengers. The buses are about half the size of a 15 passenger van at home and the ceiling as been bubbled out in order to allow for standing. I take a dala to and from work everyday. My stop, Ilemela Mahacama, is the final stop on the route and when I get on at 6:30am there are few passengers. Everyone is sleepy, the conductor usually has his uniform on underneath a coat of some sort, the bus reeks of hot moist breath, pungently filling succumbing stagnant air, unbrushed teeth, sleep still in the air. It is very unpleasant until the wind starts blowing and the crisp morning air takes over. The bus ride usually takes about 35 minutes. Fifteen minutes into the ride there are 20-30 passengers, standing wherever possible, the ones standing in the middle don't need to hold on because they're so crammed in, a solid mass. I get off at the dampo stop, the site of the old city dump that has now been moved (I was surprised that they had a dump to begin with). I have a 20 minute walk up bugando hill to the university hospital. On my ride home I catch the bus at the market and we are packed in like sardines from the beginning. This ride usually takes about an hour and a half due to traffic, even though the ride is only 12km. Today is Monday the 24th of June and the dala I just

got off broke the attendance record that I've witnessed: 35 people! Oh yes and deodorant isn't a thing, so on the ride home in the heat of the day, the smell is not of unbrushed teeth, but of sweaty, hard-working bodies. Africans are nimble, resilient, beautiful!

The pictures above show my house that I live in and a mama cookin chipati! Also a bird that stands as tall as me, the class that we taught and a man frying fish~

One of the biggest differences I've noticed about the developed countries I've visited compared to home is the amount of people outside. People selling, people peddling, people, bargaining, people walking, people talking, people eating, people fighting, mamas carrying their luggage on their head, people laughing, strong people, short people, women and men, children and the elderly, friends and foes but all black and all outside. The streets are lively with communication and companionship. I'm am envious of this aspect of their culture.

Another odd difference of quirk if you will is the way they pronounce English words that were non-existent in Kiswahili or their native tongue. Anything with an e on the end will be pronounced like 'eeee', whereas anything with an i on the end will not pronounced while speaking. For instance, I wrote my name on the board for the class but they call me Lev.  But if you want change for the dala it is 'changeeee'.

What I truly dig is the everyday culture, riding in a dala dala, so uncomfortable that my legs are asleep frequently, and you realize that this is what these people do everyday! It's normal... The chaos of the markets and roadways, the strange smell of pollution, body odor, fresh fish, and burning plastic unique to any city in a developing country, the stares from the children you have never seen 'jesus', the happy older men who have come to terms with life and are living it to the fullest, they come up to you and say good morning how is your day, the unclothed children who are digging through garbage for bits of left over food competing with the vultures twice their size, people eating with their hands, but only their right hand because you traditionally wipe with the left, the women carrying anything from a suitcase to a 50 gallon barrel on their heads, ect... These are the sites I enjoy, that really make me think I could live over here for awhile, if only I could convince my friends and family to come along.