Karibu Tanzania!

For those who are following me but don't know much about Tanzania I will provide a little background.

I am staying in Dar es Salaam, which is NOT the capital, Dodoma is the capital. However, it was once the capital until 1973 when it was moved to Dodoma. For it's purposes I used a map that emphasized Dar es Salaam so you can all see where I am.
Tanzania is located on the eastern coast of Africa. It's border countries are: Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Dem. Rep of Congo, Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique. Because it lies below the equator, the coolest months are during what we in the North hemisphere see as summer, although the temperature doesn't vary a whole lot. The dry season is from June to October the then various rains from November to May.
23% of the landscape is allotted to game reserves and national parks. Here is where you'll find Mt. Kilimanjaro and the Serengeti National Park. The first Europeans were German missionaries and the German colonial period lasted until the end of the first World War when Germany was forced to give up their colonies as punishment. Afterwards Britain took it over as their colony. They gained the independence on December 9th, 1961 with Julius Nyerere as the first elected president.

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Karibu Tanzania! (Welcome to Tanzania) is the first thing I heard upon existing the plane and
that already showed great insight into a part of the culture: the culture of greetings. Tanzanians are very friendly and welcoming people which makes the exchange of greetings a very important part of the conversation. You are always expected to be greeted and welcomed before engaging in conversation with everyone you want to talk to. These greetings can usually be accompanied by a prolonged handshake. When traveling to Tanzania I suggest you learn the many ways to greet in Swahili before arriving, they are fairly easy to get a hang of and will show that you care enough to try which is very appreciated. Fortunately for those traveling without any Swahili everyone around wants to and is willing to help.
I've come to understand how little English is actually used in day-to-day life even though it is an official language. Just like English is my mother tongue, theirs is Swahili meaning how they will communicate to each and use most often. The only time I hear English at all is when they are talking to me or at the university. For the first few days of being here I was overwhelmed by this fact and felt at lost in conversations. These first days I was rather quiet, my family would be speaking to each other in Swahili and then say how they wanted to hear from me but I couldn't understand or respond to their conversations so I was feeling a little defeated. Some Tanzanians, like those driving the buses, don't know English at all. However, like I stated someone around will know English and be happy to help you out. After my family helped me out with some useful phrases I feel better equipped in getting around however, I am looking forward to starting my intense Swahili next week along with my classes to help me get around more.
What really started to make me feel at home were my tours around town with my on-site coordinator of my program and learning how to use the dala-dalas (city buses) and my weekend trip to the town of Bagamoyo. Bagamoyo is a town know for it's artists and creativity and every October there is a festival hosted by the college full of dance, singing and other various performances. In Bagamoyo we stayed in these cute little bandas right on the beach for about $12 a night then spent most of the day/night around the festival art booths. Here I got a real taste of how friendly people can be but also like everywhere there are some shady characters. One guy approached us saying that he would get us "friend price" for the show instead of tourists price, which we already noticed to be a trap but he ran ahead and bought tickets for 15,000 shillings instead of the 2,000 that they were. We immediately saw that it wasn't right when then he claimed it said 1,500 instead. But otherwise the festival was really entertaining and really helped me to feel at home.

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Here I thought I'd end this post by giving some useful details that I would have liked to have known before arriving.

1. You do not need an alarm clock when you have a rooster. Even though I'm from Kentucky never have I had a rooster within earshot in the morning, but at least I don't waste the day away sleeping.
2. Water to shower with is cold and usually found in buckets. I've become a pro a bucket showers even with my thick hair.
3. Bring toilet paper everywhere. You will find somewhere to use it but none around.
4. Prepare for swatting toilets, although they can be avoided too.
5. Plastic is almost impossible to use, especially credit cards with no PINS. Most places don't even take debit or credit.
6. Transportation to use are Dala-dalas or Bajajis. Dala-dalas are the city bus but they are this phenomenon of the private and public sector which seems to be blending in the best way for most efficient use. From what I can tell people own these buses and decided for the good of the community (or to make some money) that providing ways around town would be beneficial to all parties. Maybe we should all learn from this? Bajajis are at best what I can describe to be motorized tricycles with a seat in the back that can fit about three people. Both dala-dalas and bajajis are very cheap as well.
7. Electricity and water are not always available and usually at the most inconvenient times.
8. Also I would have loved to know how to dress before coming. Here, women mostly where skirts but always at knee length or below. I have seen for tops everything for tanks to long sleeves though. Jeans would be fine and you do see them but they are less common because of the heat that is always around and humidity that the rains can bring.
9. Insect Repellent! This I knew before coming but I figured I'd stress this point. Seriously take your malaria pills and use repellent. In Bagamoyo my feet were eaten by sand fleas without my knowledge so always always always use it!

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Hakuna Matata,
Kimberly