Tanzania, on the other side

We are now in Moshi, Tanzania. The other side of the world, across the other side of the equator, and they drive on the other side of the road. The equator proximity makes the sun more intense (couple that with the anti-malirals and I am burning extra fast), driving on the other side of the road happens in many countries but I am still not used to it and find myself sucking in my breath when we make turns that feel like they are just going to collide into on coming traffic. It is a good thing we don't have our own car and I am not driving, period.

There are some good adjustments to me made in expectations for me in exactly how fast, and what I might get done in a day. I have been in 3rd world countries before that move at a different pace and this is that and more. I have been told, Kampala (in Uganda where we go next) will be much more intense, noisy, busy, and less safe than here so this is a good starter experience. Here I still don't understand the subtle cultural differences and expectations. There are many kind people and there are also people who walk up to me each time on the street trying to get me to buy something or follow me trying to ask where I am going and what I need but only as an end for them to get money from me. It is hard not to feel like I am seen only as a walking source of money and a little attacked, best way to describe it even if it isn't literal. People say you get used to it and it doesn't effect you quite so much.

It is about 6:30 am and I hear many dogs barking in the distance. Also at least 6 kinds of birds (the tropical dove sounds and some bird that makes a sound like a monkey) and I hear traffic slowly getting heavier. At night there is a group of SMALL yapping homeless street dogs which sleep all day then around five wake up and wonder out to yip and yap on and off for at least the first half of the night. I find myself thinking of how I read about the black momba snake. People have died from within 15 minutes of a bite and the snake can travel at 20 kmh. They often live in old termite mounds or porcupine holes. I wonder if one may come out of the termite mound the gardener here broke up in the front yard and silence them, then I remember it isn't abandoned. Then I find myself wondering why someone has poisoned them. I actually do like dogs and would think it terrible for them to suffer a poisoned it's just that they are so very very very very irritating to hear most of the night. Talking to the owner of the B and B I learned the main roads they run around at night are close to us. She told me (before I said anything!) she had wondered why no one had poisoned them. I know it's mean. I shouldn't even be putting that into written word.

The first Sunday we were here went to a social event for his classmates. They are from all over the world. They seem really a nice, extremely interesting, and diverse group. These next 3 months are going to be really enriching and great for Paul. He enjoys learning new things so much and to be with so many fun like minded people will be really nice for him. Sometimes I envy him going to a planned, catered to day full of interesting information and interactions. The boys and I are having a good time and having our own enriching and interesting days, DO NOT get me wrong. It can just feel like (for me)  a lot of work on many different levels some times like wading up stream, it will get easier as I understand more what to do. We are taking Swahili lessons (Paul has it at school, but the boys and I have been meeting with a tutor) and I think being a little more conversational and understanding the cultural customs (even though I've read about it before coming and have a small grasp) more will be helpful.

During one grocery store trip and I brought my small travel grocery bag. I gave it to them to use but they seemed annoyed or perplexed by it and put the plastic bag into my bag. The boys will say 'cultural iceberg' when we think something has happened but we aren't sure what. It is the model that AFS uses to explain how you see another culture. The things that you notice are different are like the tip of the iceberg. The rest of the cultural differences you don't realize are like the bulk under the sea. When two icebergs collide (you having a cultural misunderstanding) they don't even appear to have touched yet they have.

There is a Tanzanian staff woman, named Grace, at the Bed and Breakfast. She has been incredibly sweet and helpful. She went with me one day to the market (out door market with permanent stalls). We went by type of small bus. They are a van with a sliding door, a few men hang out the sliding door or the window of the door and bang on the top of the bus to stop. Somehow they know who is getting off where and will bang to stop the bus. Then people inside seem to know how to shuffle around so that the people staying on longer will be further inside. They stop to pick someone up and may stop 50 feet later for someone to get off. I wouldn't have had known which of these to get onto and then once there she paid for us (she had small change, I didn't but I paid her back) and the man taking her money wouldn't give her correct change, he kept more for me since I was white. At the market you can buy your own plastic bag (or bring a bag) and everyone was yelling (in Swahili) for her to bring the white person over to shop.

When we have traveled to places and we have small kitchens to use they are equipped with varying numbers of implements. I always think you really can get by with less in the kitchen, I don't need all the things I have in the kitchen at home. I could get rid of some of them. The B&B feeds us breakfast and then lets us use their kitchen space for our own lunch and dinner since we are here for 6 weeks. It has 2 knives, one wooden salad spoon, one spatula, one pasta serving spoon, a small one quart pan with lid, and a small saute pan. There is also a two burner gas cook top. We have use of those things, the silverware, glasses, cups, dishes, coffee press pot, and refrigerator. I did buy a bigger pot to cook with since cooking for 4 in the tiny pan is hard, I wouldn't say no to a cutting board but won't go buy one. I had a funny conversation with one of Paul's classmates from New Zealand he had a list of 3 items he always bring with him on travels. I have forgotten two of three but one was a vegetable peeler.

There is a place near us that is like a fun zone for kids. It has a play area, a pool and more. During the weekends they have more things: inflatable slides, Velcro wall, bouncy house and such. The boys and I went down and they swam. This pool was really nice for them. They also enjoyed the climbing wall behind it. I don't think they would sell it as a climbing wall but I think that describes it well, they have molded concrete into soft in and out rock like pattern that you climb up. It had about a 12 foot slope up to a flat area and that repeats 4 times. On the second flat area is a fish fountain and a 'kiddy' pool, this is only filled on the weekends. The top area might be 50 feet up or more. There are no edges to speak of,  just a straight drop off, if you fall you could break a bone or your neck quite easily. The staff say it's crawling with kids on the weekends. The pool had a very bumpy slide into it (you climb on the wall to get to the top), and two other smaller ones. The smaller ones made me a bit nervous since they were not attached. The boys loved it and can not wait to go back. They now like to make up an imaginary game where they also invent a kid's play area that is unsafe.

I took the boys on a TingaTinga tour. TingaTinga is a style of painting done in this area. It was a really interesting day and they got to each paint their own picture. The artist, Materu, set them up very carefully, showed them what type of picture they could paint, and stepped them each though what to do. It was quite sweet. People make very good use of objects that we would just throw away in a second. He had 3 brushes and used the paint can lids as his pallet. He worked out of an art co-op of sorts. There were different little shacks of sorts in a row that multiple artists worked out of. There were some good cultural exposures about people making their way with little. We had some garbage and asked where to put it and he pointed to a dirt mound. Here you burn your garbage, pretty much all of it. There was also a squatty potty time that later produced a very entertaining conversation between L and Paul.

The other day Grace taught me how to make Ugali and vegetables. Ugali is a thick paste you cook up and then ball up with your fingers to scoop up whatever the side dish is you made with it. It was tasty. I am not sure how confident I am to make Ugali on my own, particularly because she told me the first part of the water/maize mix needed to be cooked well (or you will have digestive issues- but the explanation was more detailed than that) but then you add more maize and it's not cooked as long, so I am not sure if I would cook it enough. Another night she showed me how to make chapati (flat bread) with come vegetables and meat. That was really good.