28th January 2010
It has come to my attention that I seem to have neglected the blog somewhat in the past week or so. So as a consolation, I will try to fill you in on all of the interesting events from these past few days.
However, I feel as though I should pick up where I left off. Let me tell you all about Esra. Esra is a 29 year old waiter at Picolo Beach Hotel. He randomly came up to me one evening when I was eating and we started chatting. He was suggesting that he wanted to go to England to work, and maybe to find a mature wife, who doesn’t drink much, and who can hold a conversation. Initially I thought that conversation seemed like I was working for a dating agency and I should have been taking notes on what this guy was looking for. He told me that he wanted to go to either Liverpool or Chelsea – I am fairly sure he meant London in general; otherwise he definitely looked into the geography of London and made an informed decision! It is hard to describe what it is about Esra that makes him so approachable. Like most of the staff he seemed friendly enough, but there was something about him that made him stand out. We had many conversations regarding life in England, and the truth came out that he was a qualified mechanic, but I have no idea why he is not making use of such skills over here. It would serve him much better than the pay he is receiving as a waiter. There is an exceptional likeable quality to this man; he seems to ooze the characteristic of a 100% Genuine Guarantee. Luckily I am not weakened by the nicety of people, as one day he asked me if he could have the shirt that I was wearing. As it happens, it was my University badminton shirt which has Portsmouth spread across the back, I am assuming he thought that it was a Portsmouth F.C. shirt, and he seemed less inclined to want it after I explained it was the only one of that shirt that I had, and that it was from uni rather than a football jersey. I have since been thinking about my many encounters with Esra during my stay in the hotel. I am fairly sure that he may actually be Jesus, only in a new body. I’ve given him my contact details so that when he comes to England (or rather if he comes to England – the best laid plans in Tanzania seldom come to fruition) he’ll be able to catch up with me. I like to think that I could be getting into heaven by being this chaps friend!
So I had another couple of nights at the hotel since I had last updated you with my humbling mumbling. As it turns out I was invited to sample some traditional food and to attend a bizarre wedding ceremony. In actual fact, the invitation was the most bizarre thing; the ceremony was fine, although, ceremony is the wrong word. A couple had married in Bukoba about 2 months ago, and they were holding a celebration for their friends who live in Dar who weren’t able to get up country for the actual day. 50 or so people were scattered around tables at the poolside end of the hotel. A buffet serving traditional Haya food was laid out (Haya is the tribal name for people from the Bukoba region). I had experienced this food whilst I was in Bukoba so it wasn’t a massive surprise to me, but I had to pretend that it was because I was invited there to try a different traditional taste of Tanzania. I thought it would be rude to tell them that I have been eating the same type of food for the previous three weeks. I was seated next to Remo, the Italian chef who doesn’t have a word of English but does have fluent Swahili. This strikes me as odd, although it really shouldn’t. I think I may be one of these people who thinks that everywhere in the world should speak English! I hope I’m not though. We were at the second table, i.e. the table that is to the right hand side of the bride, groom, best man, and maid of honour. A table normally reserved for the bits of the immediate family that don’t warrant the top table! So after meeting some people on the table, and chatting about what I am doing, and finding out about these people, I had to begin lying again! A guy called Mr Bruno, who was sitting on the other side of me, was from Mwanza. I had just told him that I had travelled down to Mwanza in order to get to Dar, and I was just about to say how I thought it was not a very nice town at all when he said how much he likes it there. Once again, I didn’t want to be rude so I told him I agreed, and said that I would like to spend longer there. Luckily, I am friends with Ezra so my lies will be forgiven and I’ll still be going to heaven!
So after a random evening at the wedding, where the bride and groom thanked me for coming along even though I wasn’t invited, and a few days relaxing by the pool and in my air conditioned room, I was eventually told that my apartment was ready...nearly. My apartment is based on the grounds of the Eastern and Southern African Universities Research Programme (ESAURP). I have a 10 second walk away from the office that I am meant to work at if I get sick of the apartment. In that 10 seconds, the opening and closing of doors is also taken into consideration. The offices are still 10-15 km from the city centre, but they are much closer to the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM). Where Picolo Beach Hotel had the luxury of the sea breeze cooling the locality down a bit, there is no such joy on University Road (that’s the name of the road, or barabara in Swahili, that I am living on).
The apartment itself is nothing more than a studio apartment. As you walk in there is a ‘kitchen’ (a fridge, a cooker, a sink, and a sideboard which acts as a kitchen cupboards), an ‘office’ (two desks placed along the window and the corner of the wall, and a ‘bedroom’ (a wardrobe on the same wall as one of the desks, and a double bed, equipped with a handy mosquito net). The one internal door leads to my bathroom, which is really a toilet, a sink, and a shower that trickles cold water on you. The slope of the bathroom floor was not great to start with, any time that I had a shower there would be a nice little flood that would eventually trickle into the ‘bedroom/office/kitchen’. The room is permanently stifling, the air conditioner doesn’t work at the moment (this was only dealt with today...it turns out that there is nothing powering the cooling unit, and only the fan is working). When I first arrived at the apartment I was a bit shocked. I had become accustomed to the luxuries in life having stayed in my rotunda in Bukoba and in the hotel for the past month or so. Now that I have been here a while it does feel a bit more homely. There is work going on outside every day as they are putting an additional floor onto the building. At the moment I am on the ground floor so this is not a major issue for me, but the plan is to move me up a floor once the building has been done.
The water in the apartment has been problematic, but as far as I can make it out is just about sorted now. For the first day and a half there was no water pressure at all, all I had was a trickle coming out from the taps. Since then they have put in a water tank on the roof of the adjacent building so I am getting supplied from that which is much needed! The small flood that occurs when you shower has also been fixed. The builders have adjusted the slant of the floor in the bathroom and there is a little ledge now that stops the water from overflowing into the main room now. As I am typing the air conditioning unit is being considered, and so soon I should have a nice cool apartment to relax in and work from. Once the roof has been put on the top floor, internet access will be installed so I will be able to waste my time more effectively. The only other job that needs doing is to put the mosquito gauze up around the windows to stop unwanted guests from venturing in. This I hope will be done sometime in the next week or so.
As you leave the ESAURP plot, and turn right up the road, there is a shopping centre with a variety of clothes shops, electrical shops, supermarkets and pharmacies. It is quite western in appearance, and is a safe haven for the mzungu’s around here apparently. I met a group of volunteers in there when I was getting some water, one of them was from Canada, one from Derby, another from Somerset, and a guy from Essex who is disappearing to Zanzibar to volunteer at a school for a month. They all seemed nice enough, and after an exchange of numbers, we parted ways. I am hoping to meet up with them at some point. It would be nice to flex my vocabulary a bit. You pass a couple of local shops on the way to the supermarket, and you pay dramatically less for your fruit from the stalls on the way!
If you head left from the ESAURP offices, you eventually get to a winding road which runs through the university campus. The campus itself is obscenely huge, it’s between 4 and 6 sq km and has ample amounts of grass space and trees. Approximately 20,000 students are registered to UDSM, which is a similar number to Portsmouth. The facilities here are less stretched, and you don’t need to walk through an area that resembles Somerstown. I have started to go running up to the computing offices (which are about 2-2.5 km away from the apartment) every other day. I am quite familiar with the route up there and people have begun to recognise me as the guy from Portsmouth who runs around in the ridiculous heat! Running is hard, not only because there are hills around, but also because it is so hot that you struggle to get the necessary oxygen into your body. After running the other day I had a shower, but my body was still so hot that once I had dried myself off, I was sweating again, and this is not the English version of sweating with a slightly misty brow, no no. This sweating is like emerging fresh from a bath of perspiration. It’s horrific, but also pleasing to know that your body can actually do something to help cool you down!
Yesterday the Professor and I went into the centre of Dar. The city centre is more familiar to me than the outside areas. Dar itself is spread out across a huge distance, but when you get to the small area that is considered the centre you begin to see something that resembles a city. Buildings are taller, streets are narrower, there are thousands of people, and you are washed in colour. I wasn’t able to stay and have a long look around the centre, but when I do I will have to give you all a proper description. I’ll even try to take some photographs of the place and the people.
In the evening yesterday I took my first trip in a dalla dalla. These are the Toyota Hiace’s where thousands of people are packed into a tiny space. They are very cheap to get around in (about 250/ - so maybe 10-12 pence), and they are less scary than they seem. They shouldn’t be used if you want to get to any place in a hurry. You can stop for anything from 30 seconds to nearly 10 minutes whilst the bloke who operates the sliding door and who collects the money shouts at passersby in case they need a lift, and they can’t see the brightly coloured human meat wagon in front of them. The dalla dalla that I took home from UDSM yesterday had 16 people in it at one point, but there was room for 4 more. If these things existed in the U.K. then health and safety advocates would have something immense to be screaming about. I have also taken a rickshaw around the city a little bit. These three wheeled menaces play havoc with your spinal cord as the crazy drivers fly around exceptionally bumpy streets. They are much more fun than a taxi, more expensive than a dalla dalla and can take nice shortcuts through tiny spaces in traffic. In short they are altogether great fun.
I am beginning to settle into the rhythm of Dar now, and I am growing in confidence with getting around, and butchering the language to ask for a mango. It certainly takes time to get used to the Tanzanian way of life but I think I am getting there. I am certainly on the right track at least! As for now I should be working on reading about the political history of Tanzania so I will be leaving you. I’ll keep you posted on my future movements. I am not sure if I’ll post anything new in the meantime, so the next thing you may be reading could be about my trip to Dodoma (the political capital of the country) with Kagasheki. Cheerio for now!
Friday, 29 January 2010
Saturday, 16 January 2010
Picolo Beach Hotel
16th January 2010
So today marks the month mark of my absconding from England. Since 16th December, I have travelled from London, to Dubai. From Dubai to Addis Ababa in Ethiopia. And then from Addis to Entebbe in Uganda, from there I’ve driven to Kampala where I stayed a night. The following day I crossed the border into Tanzania. I stagnated a while in Bukoba, and eventually moved through Mwanza, to Arusha, and then on to Dar es Salaam.
For the last week or so I have been in a hotel in the Kawa Beach region of Dar. Picolo Beach Hotel is a smallish hotel that oozes charm. It’s far and away the most comfortable hotel that I’ve stayed in so far. The hotel is being funded for me because my apartment won’t be ready until Monday. So I have basically stayed in on the hotel grounds because the centre of town is far away and I don’t want to sit in traffic for hours.
Dar is notorious for its heat and for its traffic jams. At this point I have experienced both of these! Temperatures have been ranging from the high twenties to the low thirties on a daily basis, and it gets very hot about an hour before the rains make an appearance. Some days you will sweat just sitting down. It’s bliss in comparison to what I hear England has been having.
Anyhow, back to the hotel. I was in a standard room for the first couple of nights before I got bumped up to the deluxe suite. I am hoping that I can get into the executive suit soon...that would be the best! Bakari, the hotel general manager, has been very accommodating and very friendly. We have regular chats about how the hotel business is going, about how good the food is, and about anything in general. He has given me passwords for the internet, and he moved me into the better room. Apparently he’s a very friendly chap! There is an Italian chef called Remo who has been living in Tanzania for 9 years and has fluent Swahili...and not a word of English. It’s fantastic, every day we see each other and say hellos in a variety of languages, and then conversation stops and he carries on about his business.
The hotel has a glorified sand pit which is meant to resemble a beach. There is a bar sitting on some decking by the sand, and a huge BBQ is next to that. Behind the ‘beach’ there is a building where the standard rooms are. Across the courtyard there is the main building with the reception. It is here where I am now, tapping away at the keyboard in my huge room. I’m at the back of the building looking out over the restaurant. Just to the side of the restaurant is a nice pool, which is possibly the most refreshing experience when it is sweltering.
The food here is a mix between traditional Tanzania grills, from the BBQ no less, and a lovely looking Italian menu, which I’ve not really sampled yet! All the food tastes ridiculously fresh, and is pretty tasty indeed. I sort of wish my new apartment was nearer to this place so that I could just run across the road and eat all the good food! I’ll have to remember how to cook I reckon.
The first day here was quite overcast. I went walking out to the beach which is about 5 minutes away and I was a bit disappointed. There was a tremendous amount of rubbish that had been washed up on the beach, and there was a lot of seafront development going on. It was not as appealing as it could be. I’ve only ventured up and down the main road twice in the last week, and that was because I was having lunch with the Professor. We have been to some local places which are meant to be very good. Foolishly I took the recommendation of one of the owners of the restaurant, and had oxtail soup. The soup was as I expected, a very hot broth. The oxtail, which I thought would be in the soup was actually a chopped up tail put around the bowl...equipped with bone, cartilage and the occasional ox hair. The meat tasted fine, but the concept was not a good one. I am quite put off trying that again!
I’ve spent the last week or so just relaxing and adjusting to the increase in temperature, I have written a report on the BDA, which needs a quick look over (which I should be doing now) and then I’ll send it on to the powers that be! I’ve been reading a lot, and I’ve decided to make a start on Harry Potter...I don’t know what to make of it yet though. There have been plenty of very bad American films on the TV. Today I watched one about a policeman who goes undercover to become a skydiver to track a drug smuggling venture. It would have suited Tom Cruise to play it...it was like a police version of Top Gun! Outstanding!
I haven’t really got much desire to keep typing here. I am craving the swimming pool and it is toasty enough to warrant such behaviour. I may have to redeem my musings in future posts as this is all you are getting from me today. Oh...remind me to tell you about Esra. He’s a legend!
Toodles.
So today marks the month mark of my absconding from England. Since 16th December, I have travelled from London, to Dubai. From Dubai to Addis Ababa in Ethiopia. And then from Addis to Entebbe in Uganda, from there I’ve driven to Kampala where I stayed a night. The following day I crossed the border into Tanzania. I stagnated a while in Bukoba, and eventually moved through Mwanza, to Arusha, and then on to Dar es Salaam.
For the last week or so I have been in a hotel in the Kawa Beach region of Dar. Picolo Beach Hotel is a smallish hotel that oozes charm. It’s far and away the most comfortable hotel that I’ve stayed in so far. The hotel is being funded for me because my apartment won’t be ready until Monday. So I have basically stayed in on the hotel grounds because the centre of town is far away and I don’t want to sit in traffic for hours.
Dar is notorious for its heat and for its traffic jams. At this point I have experienced both of these! Temperatures have been ranging from the high twenties to the low thirties on a daily basis, and it gets very hot about an hour before the rains make an appearance. Some days you will sweat just sitting down. It’s bliss in comparison to what I hear England has been having.
Anyhow, back to the hotel. I was in a standard room for the first couple of nights before I got bumped up to the deluxe suite. I am hoping that I can get into the executive suit soon...that would be the best! Bakari, the hotel general manager, has been very accommodating and very friendly. We have regular chats about how the hotel business is going, about how good the food is, and about anything in general. He has given me passwords for the internet, and he moved me into the better room. Apparently he’s a very friendly chap! There is an Italian chef called Remo who has been living in Tanzania for 9 years and has fluent Swahili...and not a word of English. It’s fantastic, every day we see each other and say hellos in a variety of languages, and then conversation stops and he carries on about his business.
The hotel has a glorified sand pit which is meant to resemble a beach. There is a bar sitting on some decking by the sand, and a huge BBQ is next to that. Behind the ‘beach’ there is a building where the standard rooms are. Across the courtyard there is the main building with the reception. It is here where I am now, tapping away at the keyboard in my huge room. I’m at the back of the building looking out over the restaurant. Just to the side of the restaurant is a nice pool, which is possibly the most refreshing experience when it is sweltering.
The food here is a mix between traditional Tanzania grills, from the BBQ no less, and a lovely looking Italian menu, which I’ve not really sampled yet! All the food tastes ridiculously fresh, and is pretty tasty indeed. I sort of wish my new apartment was nearer to this place so that I could just run across the road and eat all the good food! I’ll have to remember how to cook I reckon.
The first day here was quite overcast. I went walking out to the beach which is about 5 minutes away and I was a bit disappointed. There was a tremendous amount of rubbish that had been washed up on the beach, and there was a lot of seafront development going on. It was not as appealing as it could be. I’ve only ventured up and down the main road twice in the last week, and that was because I was having lunch with the Professor. We have been to some local places which are meant to be very good. Foolishly I took the recommendation of one of the owners of the restaurant, and had oxtail soup. The soup was as I expected, a very hot broth. The oxtail, which I thought would be in the soup was actually a chopped up tail put around the bowl...equipped with bone, cartilage and the occasional ox hair. The meat tasted fine, but the concept was not a good one. I am quite put off trying that again!
I’ve spent the last week or so just relaxing and adjusting to the increase in temperature, I have written a report on the BDA, which needs a quick look over (which I should be doing now) and then I’ll send it on to the powers that be! I’ve been reading a lot, and I’ve decided to make a start on Harry Potter...I don’t know what to make of it yet though. There have been plenty of very bad American films on the TV. Today I watched one about a policeman who goes undercover to become a skydiver to track a drug smuggling venture. It would have suited Tom Cruise to play it...it was like a police version of Top Gun! Outstanding!
I haven’t really got much desire to keep typing here. I am craving the swimming pool and it is toasty enough to warrant such behaviour. I may have to redeem my musings in future posts as this is all you are getting from me today. Oh...remind me to tell you about Esra. He’s a legend!
Toodles.
Tuesday, 12 January 2010
The Journey...
8th January 2010 – 10th January 2010 – A Tale of Four Cities and a Lot of Driving
8th January
I had another day off on the 7th where I went for another walk, but in comparison to the other day it was relatively uneventful. The only issue of note would be the fact that I had to pack up my bag as my time in Bukoba was over.
Salum returned from Dar es Salaam on Thursday evening. He told me that we would be leaving very early the next morning. We were expecting to leave at 6 for a long drive to Mwanza. At Mwanza we were to spend the night before another early start to drive to Arusha. After another night the final leg of the journey to Dar would be endeavoured!
Somehow managing to get myself up and ready at about 5:30, I had a knock at my door where Salum asked if I was ready to leave. It turned out that we left Bukoba before 6. It was still dark at this time, but somehow it was still warmer than most days in England. As we drove along a fairly good road, every so often there would be people emerging from the side of the road to try and catch a lift. It was quite eerie seeing the figures of people slowly approach the roadside. It was almost as if these people were nocturnal and looking to get somewhere before the sun came up! Speeding along at 120 kph, quite a worrying speed given the size of the road, Salum was making some very good time. A bird almost left it too late to fly out of the way, and Salum may have swerved a little bit, but the lucky bird was able to live for another day!
After about an hour on the road we encountered a herd of cows that were blocking the path. Eventually these moved out of the way and the good road gave way to a work in progress. For the next two hours of the journey we were traversing a dirt road that was running alongside a channel. The channel was between 1 and 5 metres deep (varying in places) and a road was supposedly being laid there. Between bumps and narrow roads and occasionally getting caught behind trucks which can’t get up the hills, the road luckily changed to tarmac and the going was good again.
We were driving south alongside the lake. There were some amazing views of the lake, and I was quite surprised as to the number of islands that float along the water. So after a quick stop for some photographs, we started back on the good road! A weasel-like animal crossed across the front of the car, got about halfway and changed its mind. This was not a good choice. But there was only a small bump so I didn’t feel so bad! Soon after the weasel incident we stopped at what would be equivalent to a service station. Breakfast was a beef broth with a chapatti and a cup of tea was surprisingly good. We’d been on the road for about 3 and a half hours and I hadn’t realised how hungry I actually was.
After another few hours on the road I noticed a sign in the town of Geita indicating that a gold mine was located 5 km away. This seemed odd to me, why would you so readily advertise that? We headed in the opposite direction to the gold mine and got onto a bad road. We bumped about for another hour, passed through a lightning storm and we approached the ferry. We’d been travelling for about 8 hours at this point, and after a while the ferry appeared. The boat took us across a fjord-like aspect of the lake, and after a half hour we were back on another poor road.
When we arrived at Mwanza I couldn’t help but draw parallels between the town and many Eastern European towns. The architecture seemed similar, although I may have been imaging it. The town seemed very dirty, and it did not have the same charm that Bukoba has.
I stopped in a hotel which only cost 15,000/ per night. That is about £7.00. As it turns out there was a reason for this. Although the bedroom was okay itself, the bathroom was not good. The toilet kept a constant flow of water coming from the cistern, and the shower had loose, exposed wiring. It also had a tendency to randomly drip small trickles of water.
I avoided using the hot tap on the shower and was very glad to leave the hotel at 6 the next morning. I wouldn’t recommend staying at the Wande Hotel. I’d look elsewhere in future!
9th January
Before running away from the hotel, I braved another cold shower in the room. It was still dark when we left but after about half an hour on a decent road the sun started to pull itself up. The finish point for the day’s journey was Arusha, via Serengeti National Park and Ngorongoro Crater Conservation Area. It was going to be a very long journey.
We headed on in the direction of Serengeti, which involved going north along the east shore of Lake Victoria. Nothing much happened on the journey to the Serengeti except I saw a sign to warn drivers of cow...but rather specifically Friesian cows. It was a detailed sign.
We arrived at Serengeti after two and a half hours, and $50 and 15,000/ to pay for permission to drive across the park. Even before driving through the gate a troop of baboons walked by as if to let you know that you were in the right place.
The road in the park was a gravel track but it was relatively smooth and it was less bumpy than I thought it would be. We were in the park for about 5 minutes before we encountered some gazelle and zebra and wildebeest. This was setting the trend for the rest of the day. There were warthogs and more deer, and then a bit of a drive with no wildlife. Soon after this dry patch, we encountered a couple of hyena looking for something to eat. I’d set my hopes on seeing elephant and giraffe and I was not expecting to see much more. As I was thinking this to myself we came across four elephants casually destroying the trees with their trunks. I’ve seen elephants in the zoo and thought that they were rather large. However these wild elephants appeared to be about the size of the moon. They were huge and so fantastic to see. About 3 minutes after seeing the elephants we stumbled across several giraffes. It was as if I was being spoilt by nature. I was really happy about seeing the animals and I thought if the luck would continue. As we came to some more gazelle I noticed that there was a little rodent running around near them. I thought it would be good to appreciate the little animals as much as the big animals so I took a couple of pictures! We came across some buffalo which I was amazed to see. I was quickly informed by Charles that if the car broke down then we would be dead within minutes as the buffalo would be goring us with the massive horns. This was some nice information to process so we drove on. We passed some more zebra, one of which had a bird hitching a ride on its back. Quite cheeky of it, I bet it didn’t ask for permission. After some more zebra and buffalo and antelope and more glorified pigs we then stumbled on some baboons and some more giraffe. We hit another wildlife dry spell for a while and then saw some ostriches and a few different kinds of monkey. After a quick stop to fill up the car with some petrol we passed a tour operator who told us they were off to see a cheetah in a tree. I was a bit puzzled by this because as far as I know it is leopards that carry food into trees. It was incredible to see the big cat in the tree casually munching away at its dinner. Just up across the branch was a cub. We didn’t stay long, and it was pretty hard to take a good photo of the animals. I felt quite happy that I’d seen it, but I still had hopes for seeing a lion. Salum said that we should get a move on because we still had to get through Ngorongoro. On the last stretch of road before the next park we encountered a huge eagle sitting on a rock. It didn’t do much so we didn’t stop for long. Just as I was giving up hope of seeing the lions we came across four lionesses sitting on a rock about 5 metres from the road. I took millions of photos of the lazy animals. I assume that they had just eaten because they were very lethargic and didn’t seem to mind the car that stopped very close to them!
I was very happy with all the animals that I had seen, and I was looking forward to seeing Ngorongoro. So after a short break and another $50 and 15,000/ to pay to drive through the next park we were on the way again. Across the flat plains of Ngorongoro there were hundreds of thousands of wildebeest and zebra. I’d never seen so many animals in one place at one time. Words can’t describe the scene. I would only suggest that you go an experience it for yourself. It was mind blowing. Passing through Ngorongoro we saw lots of Massai. A couple of girls tried to get us to stop and buy some beads from them, when we didn’t stop they threw rocks at the car. It was a bizarre experience, and somewhat hostile, just because we didn’t stop. Ngorongoro has some spectacular scenic views. If I had the time I would spend a few days just roaming around and taking photos. As Salum was keen to get through the parks I only managed to take a couple of shots, and most of them were while the car was moving which is slightly disappointing.
It took 5 hours to cross the parks and I had taken something in the region of 400 photos. We stopped in a town after the parks and had some dinner. This was the first time in over 24 hours that I got to eat. Unsurprisingly I was quite hungry so dinner didn’t last long at all! We drove for another 2 hours before we arrived at Arusha. The hotel that we stayed in was a relatively plush place. It cost twice as much as the place in Mwanza but it was well worth it! All in all, the day was the best experience that I have had in Tanzania so far. I would do it all again at a drop of a hat. Unfortunately the words don’t seem to do it any justice so I would recommend doing it all for yourself.
10th January
After the excitement from the day before I was looking forward to getting to Dar es Salaam as soon as possible. I wanted to check the photos and make sure that they were up to scratch. The day started in a slightly more fun fashion...an 8 o’clock start off time.
I had had a very comfortable sleep the night before and I felt quite refreshed. I even had time to grab some breakfast before we set off on our merry way. It is about 650 km or so from Arusha to Dar, so we were in for one last bout of heavy driving. Luckily most of the roads were friendly and nice.
So having left off at 8 we made some very good progress and it wasn’t long until we were in the metaphorical shadow of Kilimanjaro. This is a huge hunk of rock that seems to be located in an almost questionable location. It sort of seems out of place, but you know it can’t be. The foothills to the mountain and the mountain itself took up about 90 degrees of my vision for the majority of the trip along the Arusha-Moshi road. Unfortunately the weather was not cooperating with me, and the clouds covered the top half of the mountain. I was a bit disappointed because a picture of the snow capped peak would have been lovely. Never mind though. Perhaps another time.
The scenery was spectacular again. The road followed a chain of mountains which were just high enough for clouds to be breaking over them. It was a fantastic view and I caught a couple of moving pictures on the way. We stopped briefly to stretch our legs and I got out to shoot some photos, but I could really feel the intensity of the heat. It was like being in the middle of a desert, although it wasn’t very desert-like.
The amusing sign that I saw this day was one suggesting that drivers slow down because there are strong winds ahead. I like the way that the meteorological system in Tanzania can be so accurate. Other than the amusing sign, and the Liverpool F.C. restaurant that I saw in Moshi the trip was comparatively dull. The roads were long and boring, and there was a lack of entertainment.
We tried stopping for lunch at another motorway service centre equivalent, but there were 8 or 9 coaches there already, and the place was packed tight! We grabbed some biscuits for the journey and then headed back to the road.
The traffic jam for Dar started about 25 km outside of the city. We crawled along the road and eventually the city became apparent. Dar is not built up like many western cities, but rather it is built outwards in a sprawling nature. It is bizarre to see. It was very muggy and quite dusty but it seemed okay for the first few minutes. We stopped to drop off Charles at his housebefore heading to the hotel where I stay for a few nights. The hotel is much nicer than the one in Arusha, and it has a pool which looks quite cool.
I’ll be sure to let you know how my adventures in Dar go over the next few days. Right now it is time to stop typing...
8th January
I had another day off on the 7th where I went for another walk, but in comparison to the other day it was relatively uneventful. The only issue of note would be the fact that I had to pack up my bag as my time in Bukoba was over.
Salum returned from Dar es Salaam on Thursday evening. He told me that we would be leaving very early the next morning. We were expecting to leave at 6 for a long drive to Mwanza. At Mwanza we were to spend the night before another early start to drive to Arusha. After another night the final leg of the journey to Dar would be endeavoured!
Somehow managing to get myself up and ready at about 5:30, I had a knock at my door where Salum asked if I was ready to leave. It turned out that we left Bukoba before 6. It was still dark at this time, but somehow it was still warmer than most days in England. As we drove along a fairly good road, every so often there would be people emerging from the side of the road to try and catch a lift. It was quite eerie seeing the figures of people slowly approach the roadside. It was almost as if these people were nocturnal and looking to get somewhere before the sun came up! Speeding along at 120 kph, quite a worrying speed given the size of the road, Salum was making some very good time. A bird almost left it too late to fly out of the way, and Salum may have swerved a little bit, but the lucky bird was able to live for another day!
After about an hour on the road we encountered a herd of cows that were blocking the path. Eventually these moved out of the way and the good road gave way to a work in progress. For the next two hours of the journey we were traversing a dirt road that was running alongside a channel. The channel was between 1 and 5 metres deep (varying in places) and a road was supposedly being laid there. Between bumps and narrow roads and occasionally getting caught behind trucks which can’t get up the hills, the road luckily changed to tarmac and the going was good again.
We were driving south alongside the lake. There were some amazing views of the lake, and I was quite surprised as to the number of islands that float along the water. So after a quick stop for some photographs, we started back on the good road! A weasel-like animal crossed across the front of the car, got about halfway and changed its mind. This was not a good choice. But there was only a small bump so I didn’t feel so bad! Soon after the weasel incident we stopped at what would be equivalent to a service station. Breakfast was a beef broth with a chapatti and a cup of tea was surprisingly good. We’d been on the road for about 3 and a half hours and I hadn’t realised how hungry I actually was.
After another few hours on the road I noticed a sign in the town of Geita indicating that a gold mine was located 5 km away. This seemed odd to me, why would you so readily advertise that? We headed in the opposite direction to the gold mine and got onto a bad road. We bumped about for another hour, passed through a lightning storm and we approached the ferry. We’d been travelling for about 8 hours at this point, and after a while the ferry appeared. The boat took us across a fjord-like aspect of the lake, and after a half hour we were back on another poor road.
When we arrived at Mwanza I couldn’t help but draw parallels between the town and many Eastern European towns. The architecture seemed similar, although I may have been imaging it. The town seemed very dirty, and it did not have the same charm that Bukoba has.
I stopped in a hotel which only cost 15,000/ per night. That is about £7.00. As it turns out there was a reason for this. Although the bedroom was okay itself, the bathroom was not good. The toilet kept a constant flow of water coming from the cistern, and the shower had loose, exposed wiring. It also had a tendency to randomly drip small trickles of water.
I avoided using the hot tap on the shower and was very glad to leave the hotel at 6 the next morning. I wouldn’t recommend staying at the Wande Hotel. I’d look elsewhere in future!
9th January
Before running away from the hotel, I braved another cold shower in the room. It was still dark when we left but after about half an hour on a decent road the sun started to pull itself up. The finish point for the day’s journey was Arusha, via Serengeti National Park and Ngorongoro Crater Conservation Area. It was going to be a very long journey.
We headed on in the direction of Serengeti, which involved going north along the east shore of Lake Victoria. Nothing much happened on the journey to the Serengeti except I saw a sign to warn drivers of cow...but rather specifically Friesian cows. It was a detailed sign.
We arrived at Serengeti after two and a half hours, and $50 and 15,000/ to pay for permission to drive across the park. Even before driving through the gate a troop of baboons walked by as if to let you know that you were in the right place.
The road in the park was a gravel track but it was relatively smooth and it was less bumpy than I thought it would be. We were in the park for about 5 minutes before we encountered some gazelle and zebra and wildebeest. This was setting the trend for the rest of the day. There were warthogs and more deer, and then a bit of a drive with no wildlife. Soon after this dry patch, we encountered a couple of hyena looking for something to eat. I’d set my hopes on seeing elephant and giraffe and I was not expecting to see much more. As I was thinking this to myself we came across four elephants casually destroying the trees with their trunks. I’ve seen elephants in the zoo and thought that they were rather large. However these wild elephants appeared to be about the size of the moon. They were huge and so fantastic to see. About 3 minutes after seeing the elephants we stumbled across several giraffes. It was as if I was being spoilt by nature. I was really happy about seeing the animals and I thought if the luck would continue. As we came to some more gazelle I noticed that there was a little rodent running around near them. I thought it would be good to appreciate the little animals as much as the big animals so I took a couple of pictures! We came across some buffalo which I was amazed to see. I was quickly informed by Charles that if the car broke down then we would be dead within minutes as the buffalo would be goring us with the massive horns. This was some nice information to process so we drove on. We passed some more zebra, one of which had a bird hitching a ride on its back. Quite cheeky of it, I bet it didn’t ask for permission. After some more zebra and buffalo and antelope and more glorified pigs we then stumbled on some baboons and some more giraffe. We hit another wildlife dry spell for a while and then saw some ostriches and a few different kinds of monkey. After a quick stop to fill up the car with some petrol we passed a tour operator who told us they were off to see a cheetah in a tree. I was a bit puzzled by this because as far as I know it is leopards that carry food into trees. It was incredible to see the big cat in the tree casually munching away at its dinner. Just up across the branch was a cub. We didn’t stay long, and it was pretty hard to take a good photo of the animals. I felt quite happy that I’d seen it, but I still had hopes for seeing a lion. Salum said that we should get a move on because we still had to get through Ngorongoro. On the last stretch of road before the next park we encountered a huge eagle sitting on a rock. It didn’t do much so we didn’t stop for long. Just as I was giving up hope of seeing the lions we came across four lionesses sitting on a rock about 5 metres from the road. I took millions of photos of the lazy animals. I assume that they had just eaten because they were very lethargic and didn’t seem to mind the car that stopped very close to them!
I was very happy with all the animals that I had seen, and I was looking forward to seeing Ngorongoro. So after a short break and another $50 and 15,000/ to pay to drive through the next park we were on the way again. Across the flat plains of Ngorongoro there were hundreds of thousands of wildebeest and zebra. I’d never seen so many animals in one place at one time. Words can’t describe the scene. I would only suggest that you go an experience it for yourself. It was mind blowing. Passing through Ngorongoro we saw lots of Massai. A couple of girls tried to get us to stop and buy some beads from them, when we didn’t stop they threw rocks at the car. It was a bizarre experience, and somewhat hostile, just because we didn’t stop. Ngorongoro has some spectacular scenic views. If I had the time I would spend a few days just roaming around and taking photos. As Salum was keen to get through the parks I only managed to take a couple of shots, and most of them were while the car was moving which is slightly disappointing.
It took 5 hours to cross the parks and I had taken something in the region of 400 photos. We stopped in a town after the parks and had some dinner. This was the first time in over 24 hours that I got to eat. Unsurprisingly I was quite hungry so dinner didn’t last long at all! We drove for another 2 hours before we arrived at Arusha. The hotel that we stayed in was a relatively plush place. It cost twice as much as the place in Mwanza but it was well worth it! All in all, the day was the best experience that I have had in Tanzania so far. I would do it all again at a drop of a hat. Unfortunately the words don’t seem to do it any justice so I would recommend doing it all for yourself.
10th January
After the excitement from the day before I was looking forward to getting to Dar es Salaam as soon as possible. I wanted to check the photos and make sure that they were up to scratch. The day started in a slightly more fun fashion...an 8 o’clock start off time.
I had had a very comfortable sleep the night before and I felt quite refreshed. I even had time to grab some breakfast before we set off on our merry way. It is about 650 km or so from Arusha to Dar, so we were in for one last bout of heavy driving. Luckily most of the roads were friendly and nice.
So having left off at 8 we made some very good progress and it wasn’t long until we were in the metaphorical shadow of Kilimanjaro. This is a huge hunk of rock that seems to be located in an almost questionable location. It sort of seems out of place, but you know it can’t be. The foothills to the mountain and the mountain itself took up about 90 degrees of my vision for the majority of the trip along the Arusha-Moshi road. Unfortunately the weather was not cooperating with me, and the clouds covered the top half of the mountain. I was a bit disappointed because a picture of the snow capped peak would have been lovely. Never mind though. Perhaps another time.
The scenery was spectacular again. The road followed a chain of mountains which were just high enough for clouds to be breaking over them. It was a fantastic view and I caught a couple of moving pictures on the way. We stopped briefly to stretch our legs and I got out to shoot some photos, but I could really feel the intensity of the heat. It was like being in the middle of a desert, although it wasn’t very desert-like.
The amusing sign that I saw this day was one suggesting that drivers slow down because there are strong winds ahead. I like the way that the meteorological system in Tanzania can be so accurate. Other than the amusing sign, and the Liverpool F.C. restaurant that I saw in Moshi the trip was comparatively dull. The roads were long and boring, and there was a lack of entertainment.
We tried stopping for lunch at another motorway service centre equivalent, but there were 8 or 9 coaches there already, and the place was packed tight! We grabbed some biscuits for the journey and then headed back to the road.
The traffic jam for Dar started about 25 km outside of the city. We crawled along the road and eventually the city became apparent. Dar is not built up like many western cities, but rather it is built outwards in a sprawling nature. It is bizarre to see. It was very muggy and quite dusty but it seemed okay for the first few minutes. We stopped to drop off Charles at his housebefore heading to the hotel where I stay for a few nights. The hotel is much nicer than the one in Arusha, and it has a pool which looks quite cool.
I’ll be sure to let you know how my adventures in Dar go over the next few days. Right now it is time to stop typing...
The Lakeside and the Storm...
6th January 2010
As I had managed to get enough work done over the past few days I was having a couple of days off. The plan is to leave Bukoba on Friday, and travel through Mwanza, and onto the Serengeti. Stopping overnight at Serengeti before heading to Arusha for a night, and then on to Dar Es Salaam. This has left me to have Wednesday and Thursday all to myself.
I decided to branch out and become more independent so I decided to go for a walk into town. Once I had told Charles this he looked exceptionally shocked. I don’t think many people tend to walk from Ntungamo to Bukoba town! The drive to town is only 10 minutes or so, but the walk is considerably longer. The dirt road that leads to the professors house is about half a mile long so I finally made it to the slightly more significant road after a 5 minute slog in quite hot and heavy conditions. I had to avoid falling avocados as apparently the neighbours’ trees attack people by hurling fruit at them! I had gone another few minutes on the road that resembles a road a little bit more than the dirt track before more happening upon some more falling objects. A palm tree decided to shed some of the leaves as I passed. This even took a local person by surprise so I feel a little less like the world is out to get me.
It takes 50 minutes to walk into town from the house, and that is downhill. It was the first activity that I have done that actually resembles exercise in any shape or form. I was pretty tired before I had got to the internet cafe. After a short while of checking the emails and facebook, and a bit of blogging, I trotted down the road to the lake shore.
The shore has lovely golden sands, and the water looks very inviting. Part of me really wanted to jump in the lake and splash around, but rumour has it that there is bilharzias in the water. This is a nasty illness that causes those who get it some rather horrific pain. I decided that photographs would have to do. The clouds had stated rolling in at this point, and the weather was still very heavy. It felt very much like there was going to be a big storm.
I started the long trek back to the house, and halfway up the hill I was already sweating and had breathing patterns that I would expect if I was out running for several miles. It seemed that the more that I climbed the big hill the angrier the sky looked. I was about three quarters of the way home before the grumbling of the sky started. I should probably say at this point that I was approached by loads of random people who just wanted to say hi, and some kids who wanted to talk to me in English. “How are you?” is apparently the best phrase ever! Several people were asking me for money, but since arriving here I have made a point of only giving money to those who are unable to work. The Professor has told me that many young Tanzanian’s are too lazy to get jobs. They remind me of students, only without the education!
A few days ago I had noticed that the neighbour of the Professor put up a Swedish flag, but I hadn’t seen him. As I was walking up the hill, a guy on a piki-piki (almost a cross between a scooter and a motorbike) pulled over and said hello. The bloke who was being driven around on the bike was Tomas, the Swedish neighbour. The first things that I noticed were his eyes. They were ridiculously blue, it was as if the sky had modelled its colour on this guys eyes. He had a big mop of curly brown hair and was holding a rose plant (it wasn’t big enough to be considered a bush) whilst wearing a bicycle helmet on the back of a piki-piki. The whole appearance confused me. Conversation went on for a few minutes and I was invited over to his house for a beer in the afternoon. It was a lovely gesture, but sadly I didn’t take him up on the offer. After all, I will be leaving for Dar soon...he clearly wanted a friend for life, but I couldn’t provide that. (That last sentence may be something of an exaggeration).
By the time I had reached the dirt track, the lightning had started, and the sky was very dark. I had just made it back to the house when the heavens opened and the flood waters from the time of Noah were deposited in Bukoba. A little lamb was born a few days ago, so that had to be scooped up and hidden away from the weather. I wonder how lambs survive in the wild. The pine trees that I could see from the rotunda were being battered by the wind and the rain. It was a whopping storm. It was tremendously exciting from the confines of the indoors. I imagine that being out in the rain would have been a different story!
The rest of the afternoon and evening were spent enjoying the storm, and once that had cleared, a quick walk around the rocks whilst I was on the phone to the people at home. I did notice a very odd animal in a tree, it looked like a koala, but I am fairly sure that couldn’t be the case! I’ll have to do a bit of internet research to find out what it was!
And so there was the excitement of the day off! A thrilling read for you no doubt!
As I had managed to get enough work done over the past few days I was having a couple of days off. The plan is to leave Bukoba on Friday, and travel through Mwanza, and onto the Serengeti. Stopping overnight at Serengeti before heading to Arusha for a night, and then on to Dar Es Salaam. This has left me to have Wednesday and Thursday all to myself.
I decided to branch out and become more independent so I decided to go for a walk into town. Once I had told Charles this he looked exceptionally shocked. I don’t think many people tend to walk from Ntungamo to Bukoba town! The drive to town is only 10 minutes or so, but the walk is considerably longer. The dirt road that leads to the professors house is about half a mile long so I finally made it to the slightly more significant road after a 5 minute slog in quite hot and heavy conditions. I had to avoid falling avocados as apparently the neighbours’ trees attack people by hurling fruit at them! I had gone another few minutes on the road that resembles a road a little bit more than the dirt track before more happening upon some more falling objects. A palm tree decided to shed some of the leaves as I passed. This even took a local person by surprise so I feel a little less like the world is out to get me.
It takes 50 minutes to walk into town from the house, and that is downhill. It was the first activity that I have done that actually resembles exercise in any shape or form. I was pretty tired before I had got to the internet cafe. After a short while of checking the emails and facebook, and a bit of blogging, I trotted down the road to the lake shore.
The shore has lovely golden sands, and the water looks very inviting. Part of me really wanted to jump in the lake and splash around, but rumour has it that there is bilharzias in the water. This is a nasty illness that causes those who get it some rather horrific pain. I decided that photographs would have to do. The clouds had stated rolling in at this point, and the weather was still very heavy. It felt very much like there was going to be a big storm.
I started the long trek back to the house, and halfway up the hill I was already sweating and had breathing patterns that I would expect if I was out running for several miles. It seemed that the more that I climbed the big hill the angrier the sky looked. I was about three quarters of the way home before the grumbling of the sky started. I should probably say at this point that I was approached by loads of random people who just wanted to say hi, and some kids who wanted to talk to me in English. “How are you?” is apparently the best phrase ever! Several people were asking me for money, but since arriving here I have made a point of only giving money to those who are unable to work. The Professor has told me that many young Tanzanian’s are too lazy to get jobs. They remind me of students, only without the education!
A few days ago I had noticed that the neighbour of the Professor put up a Swedish flag, but I hadn’t seen him. As I was walking up the hill, a guy on a piki-piki (almost a cross between a scooter and a motorbike) pulled over and said hello. The bloke who was being driven around on the bike was Tomas, the Swedish neighbour. The first things that I noticed were his eyes. They were ridiculously blue, it was as if the sky had modelled its colour on this guys eyes. He had a big mop of curly brown hair and was holding a rose plant (it wasn’t big enough to be considered a bush) whilst wearing a bicycle helmet on the back of a piki-piki. The whole appearance confused me. Conversation went on for a few minutes and I was invited over to his house for a beer in the afternoon. It was a lovely gesture, but sadly I didn’t take him up on the offer. After all, I will be leaving for Dar soon...he clearly wanted a friend for life, but I couldn’t provide that. (That last sentence may be something of an exaggeration).
By the time I had reached the dirt track, the lightning had started, and the sky was very dark. I had just made it back to the house when the heavens opened and the flood waters from the time of Noah were deposited in Bukoba. A little lamb was born a few days ago, so that had to be scooped up and hidden away from the weather. I wonder how lambs survive in the wild. The pine trees that I could see from the rotunda were being battered by the wind and the rain. It was a whopping storm. It was tremendously exciting from the confines of the indoors. I imagine that being out in the rain would have been a different story!
The rest of the afternoon and evening were spent enjoying the storm, and once that had cleared, a quick walk around the rocks whilst I was on the phone to the people at home. I did notice a very odd animal in a tree, it looked like a koala, but I am fairly sure that couldn’t be the case! I’ll have to do a bit of internet research to find out what it was!
And so there was the excitement of the day off! A thrilling read for you no doubt!
Job done...
5th January 2010
Another early morning for me...and then straight to work. Well nearly. I was told that I would be paying Salum to drive me to Dar, via Serengeti and Arusha. This was okay, I was expecting to have to do that, but I needed money. So off we popped, the Professor and I, to the same bank where I decided queue jumping would be okay. Once again the same practice occurred, the Professor took me to his accountant who fast-tracked me through the queue, once again to the grumblings of the residents of Bukoba. At this point I am glad I am heading away from here. I think I have managed to annoy just about everyone in the town with the queue jumping shenanigans.
When I was waiting for the lift to the BDA offices from the bank a random chap came up to me. He informed me that I looked very much like someone he went to school with (this I doubt because the guy was about 50 or so), and he wanted to make sure that I wasn’t actually that same guy. I was a bit apprehensive because I had just changed quite a lot of money (I received roughly 831,000/ - I am a millionaire in Tanzania!). Luckily the driver turned up, and for some reason the man darted off fairly quickly. This has since added to my suspicion of the gentleman.
One of the interviewees from Audax’s research, an absolute bear of a man, was my first appointment of the day. He met me in the BDA office and we conducted the first interview there. From there we picked up the same psychotic taxi driver from the day before who once again performed death defying feats of driving prowess. The next respondent was a woman who owned a bar, who we coincidently found in the street.
A quick chat later and we were heading into the rural end of the municipality. We were off to find a brick maker. He lived down a dirt track of a road, which is not suitable for standard cars. A 4x4 would not have gone amiss. As the grass and occasional rock scraped the underbelly of the car, and the feeling of the earth underneath the floor of the car rumbling as we went by, we eventually ground to a halt outside the chaps house. The driving adventure started up again as we headed back to the road and civilisation. This time the back of the car was fishtailing on the mud and we skewed nicely around corners that weren’t there.
We then visited a shop in the Kashai ward. Incidentally this is my favourite area of Bukoba because is so ‘African’, and no one cares for western influence, well at least not obviously. We then drove down to the shore of the Lake to talk to a couple of other people. Hon. Kagasheki was having another publicity event on the shore, and again a huge turnout was present. He drove by me but failed to see me so I got on with the days chores!
We visited a banana grower who invited us into her traditional home. It was very dark inside but reasonably well furnished. She had a small cat which looked quite healthy and clean, if not a touch underfed. I wanted to play with the kitty but I thought it would probably be best just to get on with the interview. Having nearly forgotten my hat in the house, we eventually took off back to the office. Here another two people were waiting to be interviewed so they were added to the list.
That was me done for the research in the BDA. All that is left is to write up the findings, which I should probably be doing now instead of writing this. Such is life. I was told to meet the Professor at 3 at the airport as he was flying to Dar that evening. I wasted about an hour walking around town looking for nail clippers. I couldn’t find them anywhere so I gave up and stood in a shop being ignored for 5 minutes before I realised that I was running late. I jumped in a taxi and got to the airport a couple of minutes late. Luckily the Professor was late too. We saw him off and headed back to the house at Ntungamo.
I had the rest of the day to myself where I toyed with the prospect of working, but then I changed my mind. They should have checked my work ethic before they employed me I feel!
Another early morning for me...and then straight to work. Well nearly. I was told that I would be paying Salum to drive me to Dar, via Serengeti and Arusha. This was okay, I was expecting to have to do that, but I needed money. So off we popped, the Professor and I, to the same bank where I decided queue jumping would be okay. Once again the same practice occurred, the Professor took me to his accountant who fast-tracked me through the queue, once again to the grumblings of the residents of Bukoba. At this point I am glad I am heading away from here. I think I have managed to annoy just about everyone in the town with the queue jumping shenanigans.
When I was waiting for the lift to the BDA offices from the bank a random chap came up to me. He informed me that I looked very much like someone he went to school with (this I doubt because the guy was about 50 or so), and he wanted to make sure that I wasn’t actually that same guy. I was a bit apprehensive because I had just changed quite a lot of money (I received roughly 831,000/ - I am a millionaire in Tanzania!). Luckily the driver turned up, and for some reason the man darted off fairly quickly. This has since added to my suspicion of the gentleman.
One of the interviewees from Audax’s research, an absolute bear of a man, was my first appointment of the day. He met me in the BDA office and we conducted the first interview there. From there we picked up the same psychotic taxi driver from the day before who once again performed death defying feats of driving prowess. The next respondent was a woman who owned a bar, who we coincidently found in the street.
A quick chat later and we were heading into the rural end of the municipality. We were off to find a brick maker. He lived down a dirt track of a road, which is not suitable for standard cars. A 4x4 would not have gone amiss. As the grass and occasional rock scraped the underbelly of the car, and the feeling of the earth underneath the floor of the car rumbling as we went by, we eventually ground to a halt outside the chaps house. The driving adventure started up again as we headed back to the road and civilisation. This time the back of the car was fishtailing on the mud and we skewed nicely around corners that weren’t there.
We then visited a shop in the Kashai ward. Incidentally this is my favourite area of Bukoba because is so ‘African’, and no one cares for western influence, well at least not obviously. We then drove down to the shore of the Lake to talk to a couple of other people. Hon. Kagasheki was having another publicity event on the shore, and again a huge turnout was present. He drove by me but failed to see me so I got on with the days chores!
We visited a banana grower who invited us into her traditional home. It was very dark inside but reasonably well furnished. She had a small cat which looked quite healthy and clean, if not a touch underfed. I wanted to play with the kitty but I thought it would probably be best just to get on with the interview. Having nearly forgotten my hat in the house, we eventually took off back to the office. Here another two people were waiting to be interviewed so they were added to the list.
That was me done for the research in the BDA. All that is left is to write up the findings, which I should probably be doing now instead of writing this. Such is life. I was told to meet the Professor at 3 at the airport as he was flying to Dar that evening. I wasted about an hour walking around town looking for nail clippers. I couldn’t find them anywhere so I gave up and stood in a shop being ignored for 5 minutes before I realised that I was running late. I jumped in a taxi and got to the airport a couple of minutes late. Luckily the Professor was late too. We saw him off and headed back to the house at Ntungamo.
I had the rest of the day to myself where I toyed with the prospect of working, but then I changed my mind. They should have checked my work ethic before they employed me I feel!
Back to Work...
4th January 2010
The past couple of days have been really quite dull. I have in essence achieved nothing, and I thought that you would probably like to read about things that I have done, rather than the things that I haven’t done.
This morning I headed out to work, at about 10ish. I was out interviewing people for my research into the performance of the BDA. We had a different taxi driver this time, and we had the usual fun of sitting in an aromatic car.
Our first interviewee was with a woman of about 40 who runs a tailoring business out of a container. I spent the whole of the interview wishing that I had my camera with me. The lighting, and the setting in general made the scene look like it would fit quite nicely into a National Geographic magazine. I still am kicking myself that I didn’t have the camera, but knowing me I probably would not have asked her if I could take her photo. Alas, I will endeavour to keep my camera with me in future.
After this interview we went to visit a man who had borrowed money to buy a cow. The guy was quite interesting, but his cows were smelly enough for me to wish that I wasn’t so close to them. He has tapped quite nicely into a constant market where he’ll be able to sell milk for a long, long time. The chap has struck a deal up with the prison in Bukoba town where he provides them with 50 litres of milk each day! It is some clever dealing indeed. He should hope that people keep committing crimes!
It became apparent that this taxi driver must have been a stunt driver at one point. On the way to the next interview the car came close to toppling over as he was driving along an incline of about 50-60 degrees. Judy, one of the people from the office, nearly fell down from her seat on to me. The notion of seatbelts assisting with safety issues is lost on some taxi drivers in Tanzania.
Our eventual destination, after the circus act, was a chap who breeds pigs. Having read Orwell’s Animal Farm that day before, I couldn’t help myself, and started assigning names to the animals. There was Squealer, Snowball, Old Major, Napoleon and then a series of nameless piglets. So after the rather heavily scented visit to a pig farm we drove on to a land that time forgot. We were in search of a vegetable grower who apparently lived in really, really rural Tanzania. We had to get a local chap to direct us to the guy. The car went through spaces that I am sure would have been difficult to walk through. Eventually the car had to stop so we walked into the bush for another five minutes or so before seeing what can only be described as the world’s biggest tree. I refuse to believe that any other tree will be bigger than this one. It must have been well over 1,000 years old. I half expected it to start talking really slowly like the trees in Lord of the Rings. I didn’t though, and I was quite disappointed.
We arrived at a traditional Tanzania hut which was the residence of the interviewee. The local kids started kicking around a makeshift football and then another one came running out whilst steering a tyre with a stick. A very scrawny cat ran out of the hut and started sniffing around for something to eat. Eventually the chap came along and showed us a very impressive plot with a variety of vegetables growing.
It had been dry but quite heavy for the whole day and it looked like it was going to rain heavily. On the way back to town the roads were horrific if you were behind any other vehicle. The amount of dust that was spat up from the cars in front caused bouts of coughing, and even with the windows up it still felt like you were taking in mouthfuls of sand. Such is the price of a couple of very dry days in a row.
I arrived back at the house to the suggestion that I should head back into town for lunch. I headed to the Victorious Perch Hotel. I have had lunch there before which was very nice, and I was there the other night with the Professor, Jimmy and Mary. It was a bit odd sitting there on my own but was quite good to watch the world go by. I decided to read the leaflet of the Doxycycline tablets (anit-malarial drugs that I love taking) which said that they should not be taken with alcohol. I found this to be a recommendation, not an essential. So far the tablets have been washed down with red wine, and Kilimanjaro lager. I don’t feel any worse for it!
The afternoon and evening were spent relaxing, and it is about time for bed. I am still suffering from excessive tiredness after days of work. I have definitely slipped into lazy habits. I’ll have to sort that out before it really kicks in!
The past couple of days have been really quite dull. I have in essence achieved nothing, and I thought that you would probably like to read about things that I have done, rather than the things that I haven’t done.
This morning I headed out to work, at about 10ish. I was out interviewing people for my research into the performance of the BDA. We had a different taxi driver this time, and we had the usual fun of sitting in an aromatic car.
Our first interviewee was with a woman of about 40 who runs a tailoring business out of a container. I spent the whole of the interview wishing that I had my camera with me. The lighting, and the setting in general made the scene look like it would fit quite nicely into a National Geographic magazine. I still am kicking myself that I didn’t have the camera, but knowing me I probably would not have asked her if I could take her photo. Alas, I will endeavour to keep my camera with me in future.
After this interview we went to visit a man who had borrowed money to buy a cow. The guy was quite interesting, but his cows were smelly enough for me to wish that I wasn’t so close to them. He has tapped quite nicely into a constant market where he’ll be able to sell milk for a long, long time. The chap has struck a deal up with the prison in Bukoba town where he provides them with 50 litres of milk each day! It is some clever dealing indeed. He should hope that people keep committing crimes!
It became apparent that this taxi driver must have been a stunt driver at one point. On the way to the next interview the car came close to toppling over as he was driving along an incline of about 50-60 degrees. Judy, one of the people from the office, nearly fell down from her seat on to me. The notion of seatbelts assisting with safety issues is lost on some taxi drivers in Tanzania.
Our eventual destination, after the circus act, was a chap who breeds pigs. Having read Orwell’s Animal Farm that day before, I couldn’t help myself, and started assigning names to the animals. There was Squealer, Snowball, Old Major, Napoleon and then a series of nameless piglets. So after the rather heavily scented visit to a pig farm we drove on to a land that time forgot. We were in search of a vegetable grower who apparently lived in really, really rural Tanzania. We had to get a local chap to direct us to the guy. The car went through spaces that I am sure would have been difficult to walk through. Eventually the car had to stop so we walked into the bush for another five minutes or so before seeing what can only be described as the world’s biggest tree. I refuse to believe that any other tree will be bigger than this one. It must have been well over 1,000 years old. I half expected it to start talking really slowly like the trees in Lord of the Rings. I didn’t though, and I was quite disappointed.
We arrived at a traditional Tanzania hut which was the residence of the interviewee. The local kids started kicking around a makeshift football and then another one came running out whilst steering a tyre with a stick. A very scrawny cat ran out of the hut and started sniffing around for something to eat. Eventually the chap came along and showed us a very impressive plot with a variety of vegetables growing.
It had been dry but quite heavy for the whole day and it looked like it was going to rain heavily. On the way back to town the roads were horrific if you were behind any other vehicle. The amount of dust that was spat up from the cars in front caused bouts of coughing, and even with the windows up it still felt like you were taking in mouthfuls of sand. Such is the price of a couple of very dry days in a row.
I arrived back at the house to the suggestion that I should head back into town for lunch. I headed to the Victorious Perch Hotel. I have had lunch there before which was very nice, and I was there the other night with the Professor, Jimmy and Mary. It was a bit odd sitting there on my own but was quite good to watch the world go by. I decided to read the leaflet of the Doxycycline tablets (anit-malarial drugs that I love taking) which said that they should not be taken with alcohol. I found this to be a recommendation, not an essential. So far the tablets have been washed down with red wine, and Kilimanjaro lager. I don’t feel any worse for it!
The afternoon and evening were spent relaxing, and it is about time for bed. I am still suffering from excessive tiredness after days of work. I have definitely slipped into lazy habits. I’ll have to sort that out before it really kicks in!
A New Year...
01/01/10 –
So the start of the New Year is upon us and it seems that nothing has changed. Like the U.K., Tanzania has New Years day is a public holiday. The Professor has told me that to some families, New Years is a bigger deal than Christmas. Initially I was somewhat surprised by this, but after considering the religious demographic of the country it became clear why it was the case. It is a universal celebration; well as far as the Roman calendar goes!
I had a very relaxing morning of listening to the occasional spits of rain on my roof, and passing the time by reading Plato’s The Republic. It is a very tough book to read, not for the faint of heart. I’ve been plugging away and have read maybe 20 pages!
A meeting was scheduled with Hon. Kagasheki for 4 o’clock, and that was my only appointment for the day. We were meeting to discuss my payment, my travel and living arrangements when I get to Dar, and a more detailed discussion regarding the work that I will be doing.
Arriving at his house at 4, we had to wait for just over an hour before he turned up. He had got caught by a voter with a problem and a three and a half hour meeting. To pass the time the Professor gave me a lesson in agriculture where he made me guess what food was growing where. It turns out that I have no idea about growing food. When Kagasheki arrived we finally began discussing what needed to be done. So after a great deal of talking, nothing was really clarified, but I did get paid, and it is looking likely that I will be heading to Dar via the Serengeti National Park, and Arusha. However it will be my responsibility to pay the driver of the car, and to put him up in a drivers quarters when we stay in the Serengeti. A small price to pay I suppose.
After a cup of tea and a bit more circular discussion, the Professor and I took off to go and meet his cousin. His cousin’s grandson was 13 years old and has been at an English speaking school for his entire school life. He had excellent English, and was a very intelligent kid. Or so I though until I asked him what he wanted to do when he finishes school. His response was that he wanted to be a pirate. I don’t know how much schooling you need to get before you become a pirate. At least he has dreams. The Prof’s cousin, who I think was called Jimmy, was very friendly and quite welcoming. He showed me around their plot of land, where they had chickens, pigs and one cow. The poor cow looked very lonely...I think it needs a friend.
We arranged to meet Mary, the woman who fed me grasshoppers, in a bar in town. So we plodded along and Jimmy joined us. Stopping at the bar for a while, we had a couple of beers and a snack, and Mary eventually turned up about an hour after we had arranged to meet. The wind picked up and they decided that it was getting cold...it wasn’t...so they went inside and invaded the personal space of a couple who were waiting for their dinner whilst watching football. As it normally does conversation fell into Swahili-mode and I was left watching the football. Apparently Jimmy had said something along the lines of him being drunk and he needed to go home. As he was being driven by the Professor this meant that the evening was cut short, and I think that Mary was less than impressed. I had gotten to the point where I was too tired to care really and was glad to be heading home.
A quick bite to eat was had, and I took off to the land of sleep. I still think that I have been shocked by the work that I will be doing and my system is yet to adjust. I’m sure I’ll get some sort of rhythm or routine soon. At the very latest it will be when I am in Dar!
So the start of the New Year is upon us and it seems that nothing has changed. Like the U.K., Tanzania has New Years day is a public holiday. The Professor has told me that to some families, New Years is a bigger deal than Christmas. Initially I was somewhat surprised by this, but after considering the religious demographic of the country it became clear why it was the case. It is a universal celebration; well as far as the Roman calendar goes!
I had a very relaxing morning of listening to the occasional spits of rain on my roof, and passing the time by reading Plato’s The Republic. It is a very tough book to read, not for the faint of heart. I’ve been plugging away and have read maybe 20 pages!
A meeting was scheduled with Hon. Kagasheki for 4 o’clock, and that was my only appointment for the day. We were meeting to discuss my payment, my travel and living arrangements when I get to Dar, and a more detailed discussion regarding the work that I will be doing.
Arriving at his house at 4, we had to wait for just over an hour before he turned up. He had got caught by a voter with a problem and a three and a half hour meeting. To pass the time the Professor gave me a lesson in agriculture where he made me guess what food was growing where. It turns out that I have no idea about growing food. When Kagasheki arrived we finally began discussing what needed to be done. So after a great deal of talking, nothing was really clarified, but I did get paid, and it is looking likely that I will be heading to Dar via the Serengeti National Park, and Arusha. However it will be my responsibility to pay the driver of the car, and to put him up in a drivers quarters when we stay in the Serengeti. A small price to pay I suppose.
After a cup of tea and a bit more circular discussion, the Professor and I took off to go and meet his cousin. His cousin’s grandson was 13 years old and has been at an English speaking school for his entire school life. He had excellent English, and was a very intelligent kid. Or so I though until I asked him what he wanted to do when he finishes school. His response was that he wanted to be a pirate. I don’t know how much schooling you need to get before you become a pirate. At least he has dreams. The Prof’s cousin, who I think was called Jimmy, was very friendly and quite welcoming. He showed me around their plot of land, where they had chickens, pigs and one cow. The poor cow looked very lonely...I think it needs a friend.
We arranged to meet Mary, the woman who fed me grasshoppers, in a bar in town. So we plodded along and Jimmy joined us. Stopping at the bar for a while, we had a couple of beers and a snack, and Mary eventually turned up about an hour after we had arranged to meet. The wind picked up and they decided that it was getting cold...it wasn’t...so they went inside and invaded the personal space of a couple who were waiting for their dinner whilst watching football. As it normally does conversation fell into Swahili-mode and I was left watching the football. Apparently Jimmy had said something along the lines of him being drunk and he needed to go home. As he was being driven by the Professor this meant that the evening was cut short, and I think that Mary was less than impressed. I had gotten to the point where I was too tired to care really and was glad to be heading home.
A quick bite to eat was had, and I took off to the land of sleep. I still think that I have been shocked by the work that I will be doing and my system is yet to adjust. I’m sure I’ll get some sort of rhythm or routine soon. At the very latest it will be when I am in Dar!
New Years Eve
31/12/09
I have never been a fan of New Year’s celebrations...it always seems to be overrated, overpriced, and generally an overcrowded and mediocre evening out. I thought that this year may be different. It was...but it was no better.
The day started as it did the day before, only an hour earlier. I headed down to the BDA office, where I had to wait for the best part of half an hour before anyone turned up to let me in. After a brief discussion with the two people in the office we set off to interview some of the beneficiaries of the loans that are offered.
Jumping into a taxi, where you had to fight your way through the scent of armpits, we set off to a number of local business people. Our first stop was at a welding company. Here I was partially blinded by the light from the welding machines. Down the road, and past a seemingly impassable trench of a road, we arrived at a fish farm. Did you know that every female tilapia fish has the potential to produce 1,000 eggs? It was my favourite fact from the day! After a flutter around several shops, bars, a shoemaker, and someone who keeps chickens I felt that I had enough information. The taxi took me up to the house where I started to write up the findings.
As it turns out this was a very wise decision. I knew that I had a meeting at 4 with the Professor and with Hon. Kagasheki: What I didn’t know was that I would also be presenting what I had found to the board of the BDA. Having something typed up and presented quite well, I was able to bluff my way through the presentation. One of my university tutors told me on several occasions that a good presentation is one where you have a script to follow to the word. Not having a script here apparently was just as well. The board were very impressed with the work that I had done in a couple of days. They were reasonably happy with the recommendations that I had offered too.
Discussion about next steps meandered on. It turned out that the report that I have to write up will be a good opportunity to attract further sponsors and investors. This put quite a lot of immediate pressure on me straight away. Then the fantastic idea of presenting the report to the Vice President of the Republic of Tanzania was mentioned. He was the official opener of the BDA back in March. They were convinced that he would like to know all about the progress that is being made. So now, my written report will be sent to one of the more powerful men in Tanzania, and it will also be sent to potential not-for-profit investors...of which the U.N. will be receiving the document. It seems that after two days of work, my role is going to be something much more considerable than the original research position that I was expecting to be passing the time with.
I spent most of the early evening thinking about how much work I will have to do for this job. It is not quite the holiday that I was expecting to have! It is very exciting though. I can’t wait to get into this properly...if I am not already there! Having a dinner of steak and chips with the Professor up at the house was a great idea! I have been having western food cravings for the past few days! The lake was completely still and the full moon was lighting it up like a floodlight. Musila Island was silhouetted by the reflection...it was an amazing view. Over to the south the clouds were being lit up by a spectacular electrical storm. It was like fireworks for New Year!
But that was where the New Years evening ended. I headed to the rotunda and just sat back and put on some documentary on the laptop as I struggled to stay awake...at about 10! Exciting stuff!
I hope y’all had a good New Year...but I want you to remember this...I have had three more hours of the New Year than you have! I am a time traveller...of that I am sure!
I have never been a fan of New Year’s celebrations...it always seems to be overrated, overpriced, and generally an overcrowded and mediocre evening out. I thought that this year may be different. It was...but it was no better.
The day started as it did the day before, only an hour earlier. I headed down to the BDA office, where I had to wait for the best part of half an hour before anyone turned up to let me in. After a brief discussion with the two people in the office we set off to interview some of the beneficiaries of the loans that are offered.
Jumping into a taxi, where you had to fight your way through the scent of armpits, we set off to a number of local business people. Our first stop was at a welding company. Here I was partially blinded by the light from the welding machines. Down the road, and past a seemingly impassable trench of a road, we arrived at a fish farm. Did you know that every female tilapia fish has the potential to produce 1,000 eggs? It was my favourite fact from the day! After a flutter around several shops, bars, a shoemaker, and someone who keeps chickens I felt that I had enough information. The taxi took me up to the house where I started to write up the findings.
As it turns out this was a very wise decision. I knew that I had a meeting at 4 with the Professor and with Hon. Kagasheki: What I didn’t know was that I would also be presenting what I had found to the board of the BDA. Having something typed up and presented quite well, I was able to bluff my way through the presentation. One of my university tutors told me on several occasions that a good presentation is one where you have a script to follow to the word. Not having a script here apparently was just as well. The board were very impressed with the work that I had done in a couple of days. They were reasonably happy with the recommendations that I had offered too.
Discussion about next steps meandered on. It turned out that the report that I have to write up will be a good opportunity to attract further sponsors and investors. This put quite a lot of immediate pressure on me straight away. Then the fantastic idea of presenting the report to the Vice President of the Republic of Tanzania was mentioned. He was the official opener of the BDA back in March. They were convinced that he would like to know all about the progress that is being made. So now, my written report will be sent to one of the more powerful men in Tanzania, and it will also be sent to potential not-for-profit investors...of which the U.N. will be receiving the document. It seems that after two days of work, my role is going to be something much more considerable than the original research position that I was expecting to be passing the time with.
I spent most of the early evening thinking about how much work I will have to do for this job. It is not quite the holiday that I was expecting to have! It is very exciting though. I can’t wait to get into this properly...if I am not already there! Having a dinner of steak and chips with the Professor up at the house was a great idea! I have been having western food cravings for the past few days! The lake was completely still and the full moon was lighting it up like a floodlight. Musila Island was silhouetted by the reflection...it was an amazing view. Over to the south the clouds were being lit up by a spectacular electrical storm. It was like fireworks for New Year!
But that was where the New Years evening ended. I headed to the rotunda and just sat back and put on some documentary on the laptop as I struggled to stay awake...at about 10! Exciting stuff!
I hope y’all had a good New Year...but I want you to remember this...I have had three more hours of the New Year than you have! I am a time traveller...of that I am sure!
New Years Eve
31/12/09
I have never been a fan of New Year’s celebrations...it always seems to be overrated, overpriced, and generally an overcrowded and mediocre evening out. I thought that this year may be different. It was...but it was no better.
The day started as it did the day before, only an hour earlier. I headed down to the BDA office, where I had to wait for the best part of half an hour before anyone turned up to let me in. After a brief discussion with the two people in the office we set off to interview some of the beneficiaries of the loans that are offered.
Jumping into a taxi, where you had to fight your way through the scent of armpits, we set off to a number of local business people. Our first stop was at a welding company. Here I was partially blinded by the light from the welding machines. Down the road, and past a seemingly impassable trench of a road, we arrived at a fish farm. Did you know that every female tilapia fish has the potential to produce 1,000 eggs? It was my favourite fact from the day! After a flutter around several shops, bars, a shoemaker, and someone who keeps chickens I felt that I had enough information. The taxi took me up to the house where I started to write up the findings.
As it turns out this was a very wise decision. I knew that I had a meeting at 4 with the Professor and with Hon. Kagasheki: What I didn’t know was that I would also be presenting what I had found to the board of the BDA. Having something typed up and presented quite well, I was able to bluff my way through the presentation. One of my university tutors told me on several occasions that a good presentation is one where you have a script to follow to the word. Not having a script here apparently was just as well. The board were very impressed with the work that I had done in a couple of days. They were reasonably happy with the recommendations that I had offered too.
Discussion about next steps meandered on. It turned out that the report that I have to write up will be a good opportunity to attract further sponsors and investors. This put quite a lot of immediate pressure on me straight away. Then the fantastic idea of presenting the report to the Vice President of the Republic of Tanzania was mentioned. He was the official opener of the BDA back in March. They were convinced that he would like to know all about the progress that is being made. So now, my written report will be sent to one of the more powerful men in Tanzania, and it will also be sent to potential not-for-profit investors...of which the U.N. will be receiving the document. It seems that after two days of work, my role is going to be something much more considerable than the original research position that I was expecting to be passing the time with.
I spent most of the early evening thinking about how much work I will have to do for this job. It is not quite the holiday that I was expecting to have! It is very exciting though. I can’t wait to get into this properly...if I am not already there! Having a dinner of steak and chips with the Professor up at the house was a great idea! I have been having western food cravings for the past few days! The lake was completely still and the full moon was lighting it up like a floodlight. Musila Island was silhouetted by the reflection...it was an amazing view. Over to the south the clouds were being lit up by a spectacular electrical storm. It was like fireworks for New Year!
But that was where the New Years evening ended. I headed to the rotunda and just sat back and put on some documentary on the laptop as I struggled to stay awake...at about 10! Exciting stuff!
I hope y’all had a good New Year...but I want you to remember this...I have had three more hours of the New Year than you have! I am a time traveller...of that I am sure!
I have never been a fan of New Year’s celebrations...it always seems to be overrated, overpriced, and generally an overcrowded and mediocre evening out. I thought that this year may be different. It was...but it was no better.
The day started as it did the day before, only an hour earlier. I headed down to the BDA office, where I had to wait for the best part of half an hour before anyone turned up to let me in. After a brief discussion with the two people in the office we set off to interview some of the beneficiaries of the loans that are offered.
Jumping into a taxi, where you had to fight your way through the scent of armpits, we set off to a number of local business people. Our first stop was at a welding company. Here I was partially blinded by the light from the welding machines. Down the road, and past a seemingly impassable trench of a road, we arrived at a fish farm. Did you know that every female tilapia fish has the potential to produce 1,000 eggs? It was my favourite fact from the day! After a flutter around several shops, bars, a shoemaker, and someone who keeps chickens I felt that I had enough information. The taxi took me up to the house where I started to write up the findings.
As it turns out this was a very wise decision. I knew that I had a meeting at 4 with the Professor and with Hon. Kagasheki: What I didn’t know was that I would also be presenting what I had found to the board of the BDA. Having something typed up and presented quite well, I was able to bluff my way through the presentation. One of my university tutors told me on several occasions that a good presentation is one where you have a script to follow to the word. Not having a script here apparently was just as well. The board were very impressed with the work that I had done in a couple of days. They were reasonably happy with the recommendations that I had offered too.
Discussion about next steps meandered on. It turned out that the report that I have to write up will be a good opportunity to attract further sponsors and investors. This put quite a lot of immediate pressure on me straight away. Then the fantastic idea of presenting the report to the Vice President of the Republic of Tanzania was mentioned. He was the official opener of the BDA back in March. They were convinced that he would like to know all about the progress that is being made. So now, my written report will be sent to one of the more powerful men in Tanzania, and it will also be sent to potential not-for-profit investors...of which the U.N. will be receiving the document. It seems that after two days of work, my role is going to be something much more considerable than the original research position that I was expecting to be passing the time with.
I spent most of the early evening thinking about how much work I will have to do for this job. It is not quite the holiday that I was expecting to have! It is very exciting though. I can’t wait to get into this properly...if I am not already there! Having a dinner of steak and chips with the Professor up at the house was a great idea! I have been having western food cravings for the past few days! The lake was completely still and the full moon was lighting it up like a floodlight. Musila Island was silhouetted by the reflection...it was an amazing view. Over to the south the clouds were being lit up by a spectacular electrical storm. It was like fireworks for New Year!
But that was where the New Years evening ended. I headed to the rotunda and just sat back and put on some documentary on the laptop as I struggled to stay awake...at about 10! Exciting stuff!
I hope y’all had a good New Year...but I want you to remember this...I have had three more hours of the New Year than you have! I am a time traveller...of that I am sure!
Work in progress...
30/12/09
So finally, two weeks to the day after leaving the cold climes of England I have actually started to work. The first project that I have is to assess the efficiency of the Bukoba Development Agency. I have to make sure that loans are being given to the right people, and to make sure that the process is fair and has a significant impact on the way of life of people in the local community.
I arrived at the office of the BDA at just gone nine, and the weather was soaking me from head to toe. It was a delight. Upon arrival into the office it became apparent that I had been here before...this was the nice office that I had visited with Audax when we were doing interviews. So as a temporary base, I have a nice little office to get on with my work. Not too shabby.
One problem with this is the issue of work. I am meant to be assessing this organisation, but I have no criteria to judge this against. I have no frame of reference in this field and I am still not quite accustomed to how business in Africa is conducted. I am sure that I will be able to blag something though. I am fairly sure that no one will be reading the report anyway!
I spent most of the morning and afternoon working out how the agency runs; I was interviewing a guy called Justin who explained to me the processes in broken English. As it turns out, following a discussion with Professor Maliyamkono, that most of the details that I had been provided with from Justin were not quite accurate. This is going to make the next few days a bit more complicated. Alas, we shall have to take it one day at a time.
So after several hours of misinformed fact collection, the Professor and I headed to a political rally. Hon. Kagasheki was involved with a handing over ceremony. He had recently purchased an ambulance for the Kashai ward, and this was the official hand-over. This is the first time in the history of Tanzania that a ward has been granted its own ambulance. It is normally the case that ambulances are owned by the district or town authority so this was quite a big deal. A good two hundred or so local residents came to listen to the politician speak, and he was able to really rouse the crowd. Although I don’t understand Swahili, it was obvious that what was said by Kagasheki was definitely something that pleased the crowd. The Professor and I arrived shortly after the opening of the speech. As time went on a number of people tried ushered us to the front. I assumed they meant the front of the crowd so that we could have a better look. This was not to be the case. As we inched a bit closer one of the crowd control people came over to us, pointing to a gap in the crowd. Still thinking that this was a voluntary option, I was soon corrected when I heard Professor Maliyamkono’s name, followed closely by ‘Mr. Stephen’ (apparently Geraghty is tricky to say). We were moved forward through the crowd to sit on the makeshift stage, in the front row no less. I felt like I was being used for political gain, which I should really have expected, but this was quite excessive. I did get a big clap when I went up to the stage, apparently employing a white man to do some research warrants a hearty welcome. This was all being filmed by someone, who I think may be a member of CCM, but the thought did cross my mind that I could be on local TV. I really hope that wasn’t the case!
After a long series of speeches from three or four different people, the ambulance was started up, it drove away and the crowd dissipated. The Professor and I were invited back to Kagasheki’s house. We first of all had to pick up a present for his wife as she had given grasshoppers as a gift to the Professor. When we arrived at his house we were greeted by several pairs of shoes. As it is a Muslim household tradition dictates that shoes must be removed. We sat on some beautifully coloured and designed mats (I am sure there is a real name for these, but I am not sure what that would be). After a lot of discussion in Swahili, with a couple of words being picked up here and there we said our goodbyes. The house was packed full of Kagasheki’s supporters and family, so we weren’t missed. In fact, as we left a troop of about 20 people came in to say thank you for the ambulance, and to offer best wishes.
It was just about 8:30 when we got in, and I was shattered. I had no idea that work would be so demanding, and then the excitement of the ambulance unveiling, and a trip to Kagasheki’s house...it all added up and I felt totalled. I had a glass of wine which almost sent me straight to sleep. An eventful day...not too bad for the first day of work!
So finally, two weeks to the day after leaving the cold climes of England I have actually started to work. The first project that I have is to assess the efficiency of the Bukoba Development Agency. I have to make sure that loans are being given to the right people, and to make sure that the process is fair and has a significant impact on the way of life of people in the local community.
I arrived at the office of the BDA at just gone nine, and the weather was soaking me from head to toe. It was a delight. Upon arrival into the office it became apparent that I had been here before...this was the nice office that I had visited with Audax when we were doing interviews. So as a temporary base, I have a nice little office to get on with my work. Not too shabby.
One problem with this is the issue of work. I am meant to be assessing this organisation, but I have no criteria to judge this against. I have no frame of reference in this field and I am still not quite accustomed to how business in Africa is conducted. I am sure that I will be able to blag something though. I am fairly sure that no one will be reading the report anyway!
I spent most of the morning and afternoon working out how the agency runs; I was interviewing a guy called Justin who explained to me the processes in broken English. As it turns out, following a discussion with Professor Maliyamkono, that most of the details that I had been provided with from Justin were not quite accurate. This is going to make the next few days a bit more complicated. Alas, we shall have to take it one day at a time.
So after several hours of misinformed fact collection, the Professor and I headed to a political rally. Hon. Kagasheki was involved with a handing over ceremony. He had recently purchased an ambulance for the Kashai ward, and this was the official hand-over. This is the first time in the history of Tanzania that a ward has been granted its own ambulance. It is normally the case that ambulances are owned by the district or town authority so this was quite a big deal. A good two hundred or so local residents came to listen to the politician speak, and he was able to really rouse the crowd. Although I don’t understand Swahili, it was obvious that what was said by Kagasheki was definitely something that pleased the crowd. The Professor and I arrived shortly after the opening of the speech. As time went on a number of people tried ushered us to the front. I assumed they meant the front of the crowd so that we could have a better look. This was not to be the case. As we inched a bit closer one of the crowd control people came over to us, pointing to a gap in the crowd. Still thinking that this was a voluntary option, I was soon corrected when I heard Professor Maliyamkono’s name, followed closely by ‘Mr. Stephen’ (apparently Geraghty is tricky to say). We were moved forward through the crowd to sit on the makeshift stage, in the front row no less. I felt like I was being used for political gain, which I should really have expected, but this was quite excessive. I did get a big clap when I went up to the stage, apparently employing a white man to do some research warrants a hearty welcome. This was all being filmed by someone, who I think may be a member of CCM, but the thought did cross my mind that I could be on local TV. I really hope that wasn’t the case!
After a long series of speeches from three or four different people, the ambulance was started up, it drove away and the crowd dissipated. The Professor and I were invited back to Kagasheki’s house. We first of all had to pick up a present for his wife as she had given grasshoppers as a gift to the Professor. When we arrived at his house we were greeted by several pairs of shoes. As it is a Muslim household tradition dictates that shoes must be removed. We sat on some beautifully coloured and designed mats (I am sure there is a real name for these, but I am not sure what that would be). After a lot of discussion in Swahili, with a couple of words being picked up here and there we said our goodbyes. The house was packed full of Kagasheki’s supporters and family, so we weren’t missed. In fact, as we left a troop of about 20 people came in to say thank you for the ambulance, and to offer best wishes.
It was just about 8:30 when we got in, and I was shattered. I had no idea that work would be so demanding, and then the excitement of the ambulance unveiling, and a trip to Kagasheki’s house...it all added up and I felt totalled. I had a glass of wine which almost sent me straight to sleep. An eventful day...not too bad for the first day of work!
Another paid day off...
29/12/09
Today was another day where I did very little. I am getting quite anxious to start working at this point so I was hoping to actually make a start today. The original plan was to have a meeting with Hon. Kagasheki at 11 o’clock. As this is Africa the meeting was delayed until 1 where it was decided he will have lunch with us. The Professor and I headed to the market in search of bananas, beans and a variety of fish that resembles a mackerel, only smaller. Apparently the fish is good in soup...who am I to argue!
So after a morning of haggling and wondering around the market, which is still a sensual feast I may add, we headed back to the house for a cup of chai (tea) and little Hindi pastries that had a big chilli hit.
It was 1 o’clock exactly when Hon. Kagasheki arrived at the house. At this point we finally got some answers regarding the work that I will be doing. Not bad, only the best part of two weeks in before I get a starting point! For the next few days I will be working in Bukoba town doing an assessment of the Bukoba Development Agency’s (BDA) work. The BDA offers loans to small businesses so local people can start up their enterprises or so they can develop and expand, all with the notion of encouraging economic development in the local region. My first assignment is to examine the effectiveness of the BDA at assisting local economic development, and to offer suggestions of how the Agency can become a more efficient and effective organisation.
From the meeting it was also discussed that I will be driven down to Dar Es Salaam via Serengeti National Park, and possibly the Ngorongoro Crater. Both of these will be possibly the best part of coming to Tanzania. It is essentially going to be wildlife heaven and I will be there attempting to photograph everything as we pass through! I’d also like to see if we could swing by Mount Kilimanjaro, but that may be out of the way. I get quite distracted with all this talk of tourist activity, forgetting that I am here to work, not to play. Nevertheless I will have my fun!
So after an hour or so of discussion of politics in the local area, Hon. Kagasheki left to go to a meeting. The Professor suggested that I should make a trip to the BDA to introduce myself, and I fancied the use of the internet, so we trotted off to town for the second time that day. There was no response from the BDA so I went off about my internet duties. As I was waiting for a lift back to the house (which I have recently discovered is in a place called Ntungamo) I was greeted by a young girl of about 6 or 7 years. Tanzania has a vast array of greetings for both formal and informal meetings, and I was greeted with “Shikamo” which is the most respectful of all the greetings I knew. This took me back a bit and I could only say thank you in return. I bet she wished she’d greeted me with the standard “Habari” instead.
Eventually the car arrived and then we headed back to Ntungamo for a relaxed evening of nothingness. I feel I should tell you a bit about Professor Maliyamkono’s car. It is a white Ford Everest, a 4x4 of some description. It is spacious, monstrous, and powerful. It also has blue number plates of a differing format to the average cars. The car is actually a diplomat’s car, as the Professor is considered to be a diplomat in his own country. I am not sure how this works but it basically means that random police spot checks will never stop the car, speeding is often overlooked (unless it is very dangerous), and issues of insurance and tax are dealt with by the state, not the ‘owner’. I often feel like a very important person when I am driven around sitting in the back seat. Not many people seem to care that much though.
Well that’s enough about the day where nothing too exciting happened! I start work tomorrow...almost definitely...so I should have something else to talk about then!
Today was another day where I did very little. I am getting quite anxious to start working at this point so I was hoping to actually make a start today. The original plan was to have a meeting with Hon. Kagasheki at 11 o’clock. As this is Africa the meeting was delayed until 1 where it was decided he will have lunch with us. The Professor and I headed to the market in search of bananas, beans and a variety of fish that resembles a mackerel, only smaller. Apparently the fish is good in soup...who am I to argue!
So after a morning of haggling and wondering around the market, which is still a sensual feast I may add, we headed back to the house for a cup of chai (tea) and little Hindi pastries that had a big chilli hit.
It was 1 o’clock exactly when Hon. Kagasheki arrived at the house. At this point we finally got some answers regarding the work that I will be doing. Not bad, only the best part of two weeks in before I get a starting point! For the next few days I will be working in Bukoba town doing an assessment of the Bukoba Development Agency’s (BDA) work. The BDA offers loans to small businesses so local people can start up their enterprises or so they can develop and expand, all with the notion of encouraging economic development in the local region. My first assignment is to examine the effectiveness of the BDA at assisting local economic development, and to offer suggestions of how the Agency can become a more efficient and effective organisation.
From the meeting it was also discussed that I will be driven down to Dar Es Salaam via Serengeti National Park, and possibly the Ngorongoro Crater. Both of these will be possibly the best part of coming to Tanzania. It is essentially going to be wildlife heaven and I will be there attempting to photograph everything as we pass through! I’d also like to see if we could swing by Mount Kilimanjaro, but that may be out of the way. I get quite distracted with all this talk of tourist activity, forgetting that I am here to work, not to play. Nevertheless I will have my fun!
So after an hour or so of discussion of politics in the local area, Hon. Kagasheki left to go to a meeting. The Professor suggested that I should make a trip to the BDA to introduce myself, and I fancied the use of the internet, so we trotted off to town for the second time that day. There was no response from the BDA so I went off about my internet duties. As I was waiting for a lift back to the house (which I have recently discovered is in a place called Ntungamo) I was greeted by a young girl of about 6 or 7 years. Tanzania has a vast array of greetings for both formal and informal meetings, and I was greeted with “Shikamo” which is the most respectful of all the greetings I knew. This took me back a bit and I could only say thank you in return. I bet she wished she’d greeted me with the standard “Habari” instead.
Eventually the car arrived and then we headed back to Ntungamo for a relaxed evening of nothingness. I feel I should tell you a bit about Professor Maliyamkono’s car. It is a white Ford Everest, a 4x4 of some description. It is spacious, monstrous, and powerful. It also has blue number plates of a differing format to the average cars. The car is actually a diplomat’s car, as the Professor is considered to be a diplomat in his own country. I am not sure how this works but it basically means that random police spot checks will never stop the car, speeding is often overlooked (unless it is very dangerous), and issues of insurance and tax are dealt with by the state, not the ‘owner’. I often feel like a very important person when I am driven around sitting in the back seat. Not many people seem to care that much though.
Well that’s enough about the day where nothing too exciting happened! I start work tomorrow...almost definitely...so I should have something else to talk about then!
Starting work...or not as the case may be...
28/12/09
I was prepared to start working today. However, like all of the best laid plans in Africa, this did not come to fruition. The Professor’s phone had broken so instead we went to town to sort that out. The Tanzanian government have a new tax collection scheme, occurring through mobile phones. Everyone who owns a mobile phone has to register the SIM card before the end of this month. Anyone who fails to do so loses their number until they can register either the old number or a new one. I am working off a Tanzanian SIM at the moment so this included me. Heading out with the possibility of killing two birds with one stone we set off into town.
The queues for SIM registration have been huge for the majority of the past week, and today was no different. I waited in line whilst the Professor went to see if he could have his phone fixed. The line had shifted about halfway in a half hour or so, but luckily I am under the wing of the most connected man in Bukoba. He had arranged for an employee of the Zain Network to sort out my registration details. Once again the white man in Bukoba managed to jump the queue quite significantly. I am sure that the people of Bukoba are actually getting sick of my presence. Ah well...too late to change it now.
Driving around town the Professor randomly says to me “There’s the fourth.” I had no idea what he was talking about until he reminded me of the conversation we had had the day before. Somehow conversation had got on to the number of white people in Bukoba; I had told him that I’d seen three in the past week or so. He dutifully was pointing out that there was the fourth. About twenty minutes later we passed two backpackers, also of white descent and 10 minutes after that we saw a small white woman walking down the road. This prompted the question from the Professor “Is something wrong with her?” She was quite small, but I wouldn’t say that she was ill...however there was no convincing the Prof, he was sure she was malnourished. I am sure she was just small.
With all the excitement of seeing the many mzungus in town, we headed back to the house where I remained for the rest of the day. I tried my luck at sitting on the rocks and reading again, but sadly there were no close encounters with winged-beasts from hell. Not a vast deal to report to you from the day really. In fact, this has been quite a dull day. I would take the time to recommend to you all to read The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga. It’s a good story about life in India. A bit grim in places but you can’t complain!
Well that’s all from me. Let’s see if I actually start working tomorrow.
I was prepared to start working today. However, like all of the best laid plans in Africa, this did not come to fruition. The Professor’s phone had broken so instead we went to town to sort that out. The Tanzanian government have a new tax collection scheme, occurring through mobile phones. Everyone who owns a mobile phone has to register the SIM card before the end of this month. Anyone who fails to do so loses their number until they can register either the old number or a new one. I am working off a Tanzanian SIM at the moment so this included me. Heading out with the possibility of killing two birds with one stone we set off into town.
The queues for SIM registration have been huge for the majority of the past week, and today was no different. I waited in line whilst the Professor went to see if he could have his phone fixed. The line had shifted about halfway in a half hour or so, but luckily I am under the wing of the most connected man in Bukoba. He had arranged for an employee of the Zain Network to sort out my registration details. Once again the white man in Bukoba managed to jump the queue quite significantly. I am sure that the people of Bukoba are actually getting sick of my presence. Ah well...too late to change it now.
Driving around town the Professor randomly says to me “There’s the fourth.” I had no idea what he was talking about until he reminded me of the conversation we had had the day before. Somehow conversation had got on to the number of white people in Bukoba; I had told him that I’d seen three in the past week or so. He dutifully was pointing out that there was the fourth. About twenty minutes later we passed two backpackers, also of white descent and 10 minutes after that we saw a small white woman walking down the road. This prompted the question from the Professor “Is something wrong with her?” She was quite small, but I wouldn’t say that she was ill...however there was no convincing the Prof, he was sure she was malnourished. I am sure she was just small.
With all the excitement of seeing the many mzungus in town, we headed back to the house where I remained for the rest of the day. I tried my luck at sitting on the rocks and reading again, but sadly there were no close encounters with winged-beasts from hell. Not a vast deal to report to you from the day really. In fact, this has been quite a dull day. I would take the time to recommend to you all to read The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga. It’s a good story about life in India. A bit grim in places but you can’t complain!
Well that’s all from me. Let’s see if I actually start working tomorrow.
Sunday Lunch...
27/12/09
So another Sunday is upon us. I am amazed that I am still writing nearly daily, although I suppose with restrictions on my activities I have a lot of spare time. The location of the house, and my inability to drive prevents me from heading into town on a daily basis, I tend to go out only when I am told to. Sometimes it can feel a little bit like I have been imprisoned within the compound (standard descriptive word used to suggest the land and buildings that are owned by the occupier).
Luckily I have been dragged here and there over the past few days so I have been guided about the area by some experienced people. I thought that today would be one of the days where I spend most of the time in my rotunda. The rain was quite heavy during the early hours but it did ease off come 10 o’clock. I was informed (via text) that I would be heading to a woman called Mary’s house. Mary has worked for the best part of 20 years working on a variety of tourism projects. We were to head to her house for lunch.
Before the luncheon meeting I had decided to take my book out to have a quick read in the garden. I was sitting on the rocks enjoying the sunshine, and the view. I was just settled when a huge ‘whoosh’ came over my head. I looked up to see one of the large birds that circle the rocks pulling up from the swoop. I casually thought that such manoeuvres are a bit uncharacteristic and went back to reading. A few minutes later the same thing happened. But this time I kept an eye on the winged beast. It was circling around me again and I kept following it. It then pulled in its wings and propelled itself in my direction. I bravely cowered away from it, and then lost sight of it. The one sensible solution that I could think of was to run and get my camera to see if the bird would do it again. It didn’t attack again but a few more joined in with the circling of the rocks that I was sitting at. In hindsight it was quite a scary experience having a huge bird fly right at you. I’ll get my revenge one day though...possibly through the art of photography...Wildlife Photographer of the Year here I come.
Back to the rest of the day...Mary lives on the other side of the town of Bukoba, quite near to the centre of town which is a fine location, although she doesn’t get the wonderful view of the hill. She is staying in her mothers’ home for the time being because she is only around in Bukoba for a week or so. Normally she works in Mwanza, which is another lakeside town, but on the southern shore of Lake Victoria. She opened a bottle of South African Claret, a very nice wine indeed, and we all had a chat about life in general (all of us being Professor Maliyamkono, Mary and I). The Professor has known Mary for years and they had a lot to talk about. Mostly conversation was in English which I really appreciated. I am not sure how comfortable I would have been having lunch and listening to a Swahili conversation.
The pre-lunch snack was brought out...dried and smoked grasshopper. I have not eaten many insects in my day, mainly just flies, and that is mostly through accidental ingestion. The grasshoppers are caught, I assume killed somewhere along the way, and then put into a leaf package that is put in chimney stacks to be smoked. They can apparently be held in these leaves for a number of years before they are considered to be off. This foodstuff is considered a delicacy in Bukoba, and I have to say that they weren’t bad at all. They tasted very smoky and had a bizarre texture to them, but all in all they were not unpleasant. The legs however can get caught in your teeth and you sometimes need a drink to make sure you can rinse all the little leftover bits of insect from your mouth. I’d recommend them to anyone who wants to try a bizarre local delicacy, and who doesn’t really care that it is an insect that they are eating.
Shortly after the insect event, the real lunch was served. This was a nice meal of bananas in beans, a beef stew, and steamed spinach. This is a very traditional Tanzanian dish, and most households will be able to eat this as bananas are so readily available and can act almost as a staple food for their diet. Conversation ebbed and flowed and a range of topic were discussed including the use of the cave that is located just behind Mary’s house, to ecotourism in Tanzania, to attacks by members of the public on politicians. A highly varied conversation was then followed with a discussion about inconsistencies in the Bible, and Professor Maliyamkono was coming out with some fantastic notions that he had read about in a variety of books which examine the Bible so thoroughly that it would not be possible to come to any conclusion other than the Bible is not accurate. An discussion which could just have easily been supported with an argument of “Yeah right he was able to walk on water”.
The rest of the day was spent back at the house, in fairness we were out for most of the day at Mary’s house so I don’t feel like I am too caged up! The Professor is coming down with a horrific sounding cold so I am doing my best to keep my distance. The final discussion we had that day was to do with me working. Apparently tomorrow (that is Monday 28th) I will be starting to work at the Bukoba Development Agency. I’m quite excited about the prospect of actually starting to work at this point. Although I still want to try to get to Musila Island as I am yet to get on the boats! Soon I hope.
Ciao for now...
So another Sunday is upon us. I am amazed that I am still writing nearly daily, although I suppose with restrictions on my activities I have a lot of spare time. The location of the house, and my inability to drive prevents me from heading into town on a daily basis, I tend to go out only when I am told to. Sometimes it can feel a little bit like I have been imprisoned within the compound (standard descriptive word used to suggest the land and buildings that are owned by the occupier).
Luckily I have been dragged here and there over the past few days so I have been guided about the area by some experienced people. I thought that today would be one of the days where I spend most of the time in my rotunda. The rain was quite heavy during the early hours but it did ease off come 10 o’clock. I was informed (via text) that I would be heading to a woman called Mary’s house. Mary has worked for the best part of 20 years working on a variety of tourism projects. We were to head to her house for lunch.
Before the luncheon meeting I had decided to take my book out to have a quick read in the garden. I was sitting on the rocks enjoying the sunshine, and the view. I was just settled when a huge ‘whoosh’ came over my head. I looked up to see one of the large birds that circle the rocks pulling up from the swoop. I casually thought that such manoeuvres are a bit uncharacteristic and went back to reading. A few minutes later the same thing happened. But this time I kept an eye on the winged beast. It was circling around me again and I kept following it. It then pulled in its wings and propelled itself in my direction. I bravely cowered away from it, and then lost sight of it. The one sensible solution that I could think of was to run and get my camera to see if the bird would do it again. It didn’t attack again but a few more joined in with the circling of the rocks that I was sitting at. In hindsight it was quite a scary experience having a huge bird fly right at you. I’ll get my revenge one day though...possibly through the art of photography...Wildlife Photographer of the Year here I come.
Back to the rest of the day...Mary lives on the other side of the town of Bukoba, quite near to the centre of town which is a fine location, although she doesn’t get the wonderful view of the hill. She is staying in her mothers’ home for the time being because she is only around in Bukoba for a week or so. Normally she works in Mwanza, which is another lakeside town, but on the southern shore of Lake Victoria. She opened a bottle of South African Claret, a very nice wine indeed, and we all had a chat about life in general (all of us being Professor Maliyamkono, Mary and I). The Professor has known Mary for years and they had a lot to talk about. Mostly conversation was in English which I really appreciated. I am not sure how comfortable I would have been having lunch and listening to a Swahili conversation.
The pre-lunch snack was brought out...dried and smoked grasshopper. I have not eaten many insects in my day, mainly just flies, and that is mostly through accidental ingestion. The grasshoppers are caught, I assume killed somewhere along the way, and then put into a leaf package that is put in chimney stacks to be smoked. They can apparently be held in these leaves for a number of years before they are considered to be off. This foodstuff is considered a delicacy in Bukoba, and I have to say that they weren’t bad at all. They tasted very smoky and had a bizarre texture to them, but all in all they were not unpleasant. The legs however can get caught in your teeth and you sometimes need a drink to make sure you can rinse all the little leftover bits of insect from your mouth. I’d recommend them to anyone who wants to try a bizarre local delicacy, and who doesn’t really care that it is an insect that they are eating.
Shortly after the insect event, the real lunch was served. This was a nice meal of bananas in beans, a beef stew, and steamed spinach. This is a very traditional Tanzanian dish, and most households will be able to eat this as bananas are so readily available and can act almost as a staple food for their diet. Conversation ebbed and flowed and a range of topic were discussed including the use of the cave that is located just behind Mary’s house, to ecotourism in Tanzania, to attacks by members of the public on politicians. A highly varied conversation was then followed with a discussion about inconsistencies in the Bible, and Professor Maliyamkono was coming out with some fantastic notions that he had read about in a variety of books which examine the Bible so thoroughly that it would not be possible to come to any conclusion other than the Bible is not accurate. An discussion which could just have easily been supported with an argument of “Yeah right he was able to walk on water”.
The rest of the day was spent back at the house, in fairness we were out for most of the day at Mary’s house so I don’t feel like I am too caged up! The Professor is coming down with a horrific sounding cold so I am doing my best to keep my distance. The final discussion we had that day was to do with me working. Apparently tomorrow (that is Monday 28th) I will be starting to work at the Bukoba Development Agency. I’m quite excited about the prospect of actually starting to work at this point. Although I still want to try to get to Musila Island as I am yet to get on the boats! Soon I hope.
Ciao for now...
Christmas Day and Boxing Day
25/12/09 & 26/12/09
You would think with the festive season offering so much to talk about that I would have been able to provide you with an interesting blog for each day. Alas, there is no such joy this Christmas.
This is my first Christmas away from home, and I have to say that I have found it to be a very odd experience. On the Sunday before I departed for Africa, my family had a fake Christmas, whereby we pretended that it was Christmas, when in fact it wasn’t. I know what you think; such heresy should not go unpunished. Apparently it didn’t. Real Christmas was a very lonely day for me. It was almost a karmic response for having an early Christmas.
The day started the same as any other. I woke up at around 7:30 and had breakfast. I toyed with the idea of texting people at home but it was very early and I don’t think they would appreciate being woken up at such an unearthly hour. After a short while of reading and plodding around the garden, I walked up to the house. Professor Maliyamkono greeted me and asked me if I was still interested in going to church. (As far as I can remember I have told you about the special mass that was going to be said for me?!) Not wanting to disappoint, and not wanting to seem like a heathen in such a religious country I plodded along. However, when the car turned down to head towards the town I realised that once again the plans had changed.
Instead of going to the seminary with the nun (Profs Sister in law) we were heading into the centre of Bukoba to the Catholic church down there. The church was an open sided, tin-roofed, barn-like, shelter. Do not be deceived, when you walk into the church it is like walking into the world of Sony Bravia TVs. You enter the church and you’re greeted with a wash of colour, waves of reds, blues, greens, purples, pinks, organs, yellow, and many other Dulux inventions. Also, the sheer number of people is something that should be noted. My parents parish in Southwick consists of about 40-50 relatively ancient people who regularly attend church. The number of people that I saw must have been over 300. It was packed worse than the average Dada (local bus services, mainly Toyota Hiace’s holding about 20 people...not bad for a car designed to hold 8 or 9).
The choir slowly started to filter into the church and their number alone rivalled that of those in Southwick. The choir members were dressed in a blue, gold and white robe, and I couldn’t help be reminded of an American Gospel Choir. The signing and the music was absolutely fantastic, I would recommend anyone who is in this area, whether or not you are religious, to go and listen to the music. Halfway through the service (so about an hour in), I noticed that occasional members of the choir had subtly produced a percussion instrument. It was as if they had had to sneak them into the church, but it was fantastic and added even more to the experience.
Naturally the mass was in Swahili so I didn’t really know what was going on, and I only managed to pick up the odd word here and there. However, in spite of that, the experience was wonderful and I really enjoyed the singing and the colours. I wonder why England seems so dull in comparison?
After a quick jaunt to the market to see if there was any meat on sale; me and Charles headed back to the house. I spent the majority of the rest of the day watching The Matrix on my laptop...what a wild Christmas I had!
My parents and brothers called and I spent about an hour on the phone to them, talking about the different things that I have been doing and the different things that they have been doing. I felt like one of the extended family that we used to call each Christmas, where everyone would have their turn on the phone to say their bit and then to move on to talk to the next person. It was good talking to the family though but it made me realise how much I am missing the Christmas period at home. Mustn’t grumble though.
My mum had put a couple presents into my bag before I left so I took my time opening them up. There was a stuffed snowman teddy thingy which is cool and is currently sitting by my pillow, and there were a couple of microfiber towels which are extremely practical. In a nutshell that was my Christmas Day. A bit lonely, but a good experience nonetheless.
Boxing Day (Second Christmas)
Boxing Day is affectionately known as the ‘second Christmas’ in certain circles of Tanzanian society. All along the streets the children are in groups showing off their new clothes or portable radios. These seem to be the main gifts from what I can ascertain. I am fairly sure that the local present giving is quite a different thing to the European and American tradition. I wonder if people still get unwanted gifts...like the cliché knitted jumper.
Anyway, I mustn’t get side tracked here. The morning was exceptionally wet. From before 6 a.m. I could hear the rain pounding on the roof of the rotunda. The rain was borderline violent for the best part of 7 hours. The plan for the day was to visit Professor Maliyamkono at his village home. He had left for there on Christmas morning and he was getting picked up by Salum in the afternoon of the following day. So I was invited to see his village.
The village, Kilate, was about an hours’ drive away, but this way mainly due to the condition of the roads. The main road to Kilate was quite rough but partially tarmac so it was bearable. The rain had left little lake-like puddles on the road and in places we had to drive on the other side of the road so that we could get by okay. By this point in the day the rain had started to ease off and the clouds were beginning to break up a little bit. We stopped to drive a woman to the bus station as public transport is limited on Boxing Day and we also stopped to pick up a priest. The priest, as it happens, was Professor Maliyamkono’s cousin. Occasionally on the road to Kilate we would stop so that I could take some pictures. The scenery was breathtaking and Salum knew some very good stops for me to get pictures of the amazing vistas.
When we arrived at Kilate, we took the car down a very tight ‘road’, although path may serve to describe the way better, and eventually arrived at a small box of a house. This was the house that Professor Maliyamkono grew up in. Surrounding the house there were banana trees, coffee plants, avocado trees, sweet corn plants and a whole host of other horticultural treats. The family had a pet cat, which had just given birth to the tiniest kitten ever. This was the first time that I had noted that a pet was kept for no other purpose than to have some entertainment. In a shed which was fairly close to where the cat seemed to loiter, there was the soft grunting of a number of pigs. It seems as though Professor Maliyamkono’s sister (the current person residing in the house) had quite a small holding. However, when I asked if the produce was ever sold I was told that there was very little financial gain from growing all of the crops and tending to the pigs. This surprised me, but when I gave it more thought it became apparent that the family was virtually self sufficient so less money would be needed to go out to feed the family.
We drove from the village to a peninsula that juts out into Lake Victoria. From the peninsula you could see the border with Uganda and again some absolutely stunning scenery. The Professor pointed out to me a couple of people who were at the waters’ edge having an ‘elephant shower’. This was the first time that I had heard that expression. Apparently it means that people stand at the side of the lake, river, etc. naked, and throw water over each shoulder – not unlike the way that elephants wash. It made sense to me!
In the trees on the opposite side of the road we were being watched by a couple of monkeys. I am not sure what type they were but I quickly ran off to get my zoom lens to take their photo. Once I was positioned and ready to shoot both monkeys started to run down the tree into the cover of the rocks. Apparently the presence of a camera looks similar to that of a gun to monkeys. Or so I was told. I may have just spooked them by getting a little bit too close.
We headed back to the village and had a cup of tea and some fresh corn. A random combination I grant you but still good nonetheless. The return journey to Bukoba was another sightseeing adventure for me. The Professor was pointing out the various places of interest. We passed over a couple of bridges that his father had built, or helped to build. At about the halfway point we had driven to an area where a memorial was placed to show where the first Catholic Missionaries had landed in Tanzania. I sat in the car changing my lens so I could try and get a photo of it, and when I looked up I noticed that there were about 15 children surrounding the car, particularly my window. They were very excited to see a mzungu and they all ran away when I got out of the car. The Professor shouted something at the kids; I assume something along the lines of ‘Do you want your picture taken?’ – At this they all lined up at a tree. I took a couple of snaps of them and then showed them on the cameras LCD screen. They were all fascinated and got very excited and noisy for the situation. I felt like I was very popular, but in hindsight I was nothing more than a circus attraction for the kids.
The rest of the journey back was very mundane in relation to that experience but it can’t all be so exciting. At the house the Professor and I had a discussion about his current projects and about the wonderful view of Lake Victoria. Dusk doesn’t last long on the Equator so we had a sit down and a beer and then started talking about the potential of life on other planets as the stars came out. All in all it was a good day, and it was made much better as the rain had stopped in the afternoon and the clouds had cleared. It was a great experience to see the village and I am sure that it will be one of the lasting memories of the trip.
So that is my tale of the festive season, what did you get up to?
You would think with the festive season offering so much to talk about that I would have been able to provide you with an interesting blog for each day. Alas, there is no such joy this Christmas.
This is my first Christmas away from home, and I have to say that I have found it to be a very odd experience. On the Sunday before I departed for Africa, my family had a fake Christmas, whereby we pretended that it was Christmas, when in fact it wasn’t. I know what you think; such heresy should not go unpunished. Apparently it didn’t. Real Christmas was a very lonely day for me. It was almost a karmic response for having an early Christmas.
The day started the same as any other. I woke up at around 7:30 and had breakfast. I toyed with the idea of texting people at home but it was very early and I don’t think they would appreciate being woken up at such an unearthly hour. After a short while of reading and plodding around the garden, I walked up to the house. Professor Maliyamkono greeted me and asked me if I was still interested in going to church. (As far as I can remember I have told you about the special mass that was going to be said for me?!) Not wanting to disappoint, and not wanting to seem like a heathen in such a religious country I plodded along. However, when the car turned down to head towards the town I realised that once again the plans had changed.
Instead of going to the seminary with the nun (Profs Sister in law) we were heading into the centre of Bukoba to the Catholic church down there. The church was an open sided, tin-roofed, barn-like, shelter. Do not be deceived, when you walk into the church it is like walking into the world of Sony Bravia TVs. You enter the church and you’re greeted with a wash of colour, waves of reds, blues, greens, purples, pinks, organs, yellow, and many other Dulux inventions. Also, the sheer number of people is something that should be noted. My parents parish in Southwick consists of about 40-50 relatively ancient people who regularly attend church. The number of people that I saw must have been over 300. It was packed worse than the average Dada (local bus services, mainly Toyota Hiace’s holding about 20 people...not bad for a car designed to hold 8 or 9).
The choir slowly started to filter into the church and their number alone rivalled that of those in Southwick. The choir members were dressed in a blue, gold and white robe, and I couldn’t help be reminded of an American Gospel Choir. The signing and the music was absolutely fantastic, I would recommend anyone who is in this area, whether or not you are religious, to go and listen to the music. Halfway through the service (so about an hour in), I noticed that occasional members of the choir had subtly produced a percussion instrument. It was as if they had had to sneak them into the church, but it was fantastic and added even more to the experience.
Naturally the mass was in Swahili so I didn’t really know what was going on, and I only managed to pick up the odd word here and there. However, in spite of that, the experience was wonderful and I really enjoyed the singing and the colours. I wonder why England seems so dull in comparison?
After a quick jaunt to the market to see if there was any meat on sale; me and Charles headed back to the house. I spent the majority of the rest of the day watching The Matrix on my laptop...what a wild Christmas I had!
My parents and brothers called and I spent about an hour on the phone to them, talking about the different things that I have been doing and the different things that they have been doing. I felt like one of the extended family that we used to call each Christmas, where everyone would have their turn on the phone to say their bit and then to move on to talk to the next person. It was good talking to the family though but it made me realise how much I am missing the Christmas period at home. Mustn’t grumble though.
My mum had put a couple presents into my bag before I left so I took my time opening them up. There was a stuffed snowman teddy thingy which is cool and is currently sitting by my pillow, and there were a couple of microfiber towels which are extremely practical. In a nutshell that was my Christmas Day. A bit lonely, but a good experience nonetheless.
Boxing Day (Second Christmas)
Boxing Day is affectionately known as the ‘second Christmas’ in certain circles of Tanzanian society. All along the streets the children are in groups showing off their new clothes or portable radios. These seem to be the main gifts from what I can ascertain. I am fairly sure that the local present giving is quite a different thing to the European and American tradition. I wonder if people still get unwanted gifts...like the cliché knitted jumper.
Anyway, I mustn’t get side tracked here. The morning was exceptionally wet. From before 6 a.m. I could hear the rain pounding on the roof of the rotunda. The rain was borderline violent for the best part of 7 hours. The plan for the day was to visit Professor Maliyamkono at his village home. He had left for there on Christmas morning and he was getting picked up by Salum in the afternoon of the following day. So I was invited to see his village.
The village, Kilate, was about an hours’ drive away, but this way mainly due to the condition of the roads. The main road to Kilate was quite rough but partially tarmac so it was bearable. The rain had left little lake-like puddles on the road and in places we had to drive on the other side of the road so that we could get by okay. By this point in the day the rain had started to ease off and the clouds were beginning to break up a little bit. We stopped to drive a woman to the bus station as public transport is limited on Boxing Day and we also stopped to pick up a priest. The priest, as it happens, was Professor Maliyamkono’s cousin. Occasionally on the road to Kilate we would stop so that I could take some pictures. The scenery was breathtaking and Salum knew some very good stops for me to get pictures of the amazing vistas.
When we arrived at Kilate, we took the car down a very tight ‘road’, although path may serve to describe the way better, and eventually arrived at a small box of a house. This was the house that Professor Maliyamkono grew up in. Surrounding the house there were banana trees, coffee plants, avocado trees, sweet corn plants and a whole host of other horticultural treats. The family had a pet cat, which had just given birth to the tiniest kitten ever. This was the first time that I had noted that a pet was kept for no other purpose than to have some entertainment. In a shed which was fairly close to where the cat seemed to loiter, there was the soft grunting of a number of pigs. It seems as though Professor Maliyamkono’s sister (the current person residing in the house) had quite a small holding. However, when I asked if the produce was ever sold I was told that there was very little financial gain from growing all of the crops and tending to the pigs. This surprised me, but when I gave it more thought it became apparent that the family was virtually self sufficient so less money would be needed to go out to feed the family.
We drove from the village to a peninsula that juts out into Lake Victoria. From the peninsula you could see the border with Uganda and again some absolutely stunning scenery. The Professor pointed out to me a couple of people who were at the waters’ edge having an ‘elephant shower’. This was the first time that I had heard that expression. Apparently it means that people stand at the side of the lake, river, etc. naked, and throw water over each shoulder – not unlike the way that elephants wash. It made sense to me!
In the trees on the opposite side of the road we were being watched by a couple of monkeys. I am not sure what type they were but I quickly ran off to get my zoom lens to take their photo. Once I was positioned and ready to shoot both monkeys started to run down the tree into the cover of the rocks. Apparently the presence of a camera looks similar to that of a gun to monkeys. Or so I was told. I may have just spooked them by getting a little bit too close.
We headed back to the village and had a cup of tea and some fresh corn. A random combination I grant you but still good nonetheless. The return journey to Bukoba was another sightseeing adventure for me. The Professor was pointing out the various places of interest. We passed over a couple of bridges that his father had built, or helped to build. At about the halfway point we had driven to an area where a memorial was placed to show where the first Catholic Missionaries had landed in Tanzania. I sat in the car changing my lens so I could try and get a photo of it, and when I looked up I noticed that there were about 15 children surrounding the car, particularly my window. They were very excited to see a mzungu and they all ran away when I got out of the car. The Professor shouted something at the kids; I assume something along the lines of ‘Do you want your picture taken?’ – At this they all lined up at a tree. I took a couple of snaps of them and then showed them on the cameras LCD screen. They were all fascinated and got very excited and noisy for the situation. I felt like I was very popular, but in hindsight I was nothing more than a circus attraction for the kids.
The rest of the journey back was very mundane in relation to that experience but it can’t all be so exciting. At the house the Professor and I had a discussion about his current projects and about the wonderful view of Lake Victoria. Dusk doesn’t last long on the Equator so we had a sit down and a beer and then started talking about the potential of life on other planets as the stars came out. All in all it was a good day, and it was made much better as the rain had stopped in the afternoon and the clouds had cleared. It was a great experience to see the village and I am sure that it will be one of the lasting memories of the trip.
So that is my tale of the festive season, what did you get up to?
Wednesday, 6 January 2010
Rain Delays Play...
24/12/09
A few days ago I was complaining about the weather, and how it should never be hot on the run up to Christmas, it just didn’t seem right. As it turned out, I was making a prediction of sorts. The weather was actually cool...no blazing and offensive sunlight, just overcast and cool. By cool I am guessing it was probably about 18-20°C, but it still felt chilly enough to put on a jumper!
Today I had another day off. I know it seems that I am not working a tremendous amount at the moment, but technically I have not yet started. I was told that today I was going sightseeing, and that I should bring my camera. I dutifully obliged. Salum and I headed in the general direction of Mwanza (another town on the shore of Lake Victoria), but after a while we turned away from the Lake and the car was pointed at some mountains. Our destination was the huge Bugonzi Waterfall which is fairly close to Kamachumu.
The road was generally quite good for most of the journey, so I wasn’t too upset when there were bumpy areas of the road! As it was about 80km from Bukoba to Kamachumu, of which about 5km was on bad roads, I certainly had no complaints! The weather was slowly crawling in on us as we drove towards the waterfalls which made a lovely addition to the already stunning scenery.
On the approach to the plateau where the waterfall is located you can just about make out a thin, almost silver, line that cuts down through the rocks. This, is the waterfall. From far away you get a great impression of the scale of the waterfall, and a chance to admire the rock formations and the entirety of the setting in general. We stopped a couple of times en route so that I could take a couple of pictures and Salum could make the occasional phone call.
It took just over an hour to get to the village of Kamachumu. Along the way Salum had told me about how the village was very pretty and how it seemed to differ from many other Tanzanian villages. I was somewhat sceptical about this but as it turned out, there was something that set this village apart. I have no idea what it was though. For the most part, Kamachumu looks very similar to most villages, but there was something special about the place. The people seemed friendlier and they seemed less curious to see a white man arriving at the village, despite my assumptions that very few white people do pass through that area. Along the roads are trees that have a bright yellow flower that behave in similar ways to the blossom trees in England. Underneath these trees the road looks golden with all the petals that have dropped down.
Bukoba is somewhere around about 4,000 feet above sea level (I tend to get confused with that measure because the Lake is so big that it seems almost like it is a sea). Kamachumu must be somewhere between 7,000 and 8,000 feet above sea level. As the clouds started to roll in the nearby radio mast was completely covered by the clouds. The clouds were so close to the mountains that it would have been possible to kick a football into the clouds and lose sight of it. I’m sure the clouds were no more than 10-15 metres above head height.
Having made an enquiry into the population of the town, Salum set off to find out from the locals. We asked random people on the street, members of the local CCM organisation and were advised to ask at the hospital and other significant institutions. I decided that this would be a bit much. Instead we started to drive to the hospital, apparently it was very modern and a nice building. Salum was then going to take me to the top of the waterfall, and he was about to show me the hydroelectric dam, but because the weather had closed so fast it was not safe to go close to the edge of the plateau.
Instead we started the drive back to Bukoba through a curtain of rain that was ridiculously heavy. Salum kept describing it as “big rain” which has a certain charm to it. The rain continued until we had arrived back in the house. I was meant to be going on a half day tour to Musila Island. The weather put a halt to that idea though. I am still waiting for the opportunity to get out to the island. It sits so prominently off the lake shore that it is so appealing. I hope the weather holds off for a day soon so that I get to head out there.
I spent the rest of the day at rest. I am getting good at doing very little each day. It’s quite a talent. Anyways, as tomorrow is Christmas I hope that I’ll have something interesting to entertain you all with then. For now, I am off to do something strenuous...maybe go to bed.
A few days ago I was complaining about the weather, and how it should never be hot on the run up to Christmas, it just didn’t seem right. As it turned out, I was making a prediction of sorts. The weather was actually cool...no blazing and offensive sunlight, just overcast and cool. By cool I am guessing it was probably about 18-20°C, but it still felt chilly enough to put on a jumper!
Today I had another day off. I know it seems that I am not working a tremendous amount at the moment, but technically I have not yet started. I was told that today I was going sightseeing, and that I should bring my camera. I dutifully obliged. Salum and I headed in the general direction of Mwanza (another town on the shore of Lake Victoria), but after a while we turned away from the Lake and the car was pointed at some mountains. Our destination was the huge Bugonzi Waterfall which is fairly close to Kamachumu.
The road was generally quite good for most of the journey, so I wasn’t too upset when there were bumpy areas of the road! As it was about 80km from Bukoba to Kamachumu, of which about 5km was on bad roads, I certainly had no complaints! The weather was slowly crawling in on us as we drove towards the waterfalls which made a lovely addition to the already stunning scenery.
On the approach to the plateau where the waterfall is located you can just about make out a thin, almost silver, line that cuts down through the rocks. This, is the waterfall. From far away you get a great impression of the scale of the waterfall, and a chance to admire the rock formations and the entirety of the setting in general. We stopped a couple of times en route so that I could take a couple of pictures and Salum could make the occasional phone call.
It took just over an hour to get to the village of Kamachumu. Along the way Salum had told me about how the village was very pretty and how it seemed to differ from many other Tanzanian villages. I was somewhat sceptical about this but as it turned out, there was something that set this village apart. I have no idea what it was though. For the most part, Kamachumu looks very similar to most villages, but there was something special about the place. The people seemed friendlier and they seemed less curious to see a white man arriving at the village, despite my assumptions that very few white people do pass through that area. Along the roads are trees that have a bright yellow flower that behave in similar ways to the blossom trees in England. Underneath these trees the road looks golden with all the petals that have dropped down.
Bukoba is somewhere around about 4,000 feet above sea level (I tend to get confused with that measure because the Lake is so big that it seems almost like it is a sea). Kamachumu must be somewhere between 7,000 and 8,000 feet above sea level. As the clouds started to roll in the nearby radio mast was completely covered by the clouds. The clouds were so close to the mountains that it would have been possible to kick a football into the clouds and lose sight of it. I’m sure the clouds were no more than 10-15 metres above head height.
Having made an enquiry into the population of the town, Salum set off to find out from the locals. We asked random people on the street, members of the local CCM organisation and were advised to ask at the hospital and other significant institutions. I decided that this would be a bit much. Instead we started to drive to the hospital, apparently it was very modern and a nice building. Salum was then going to take me to the top of the waterfall, and he was about to show me the hydroelectric dam, but because the weather had closed so fast it was not safe to go close to the edge of the plateau.
Instead we started the drive back to Bukoba through a curtain of rain that was ridiculously heavy. Salum kept describing it as “big rain” which has a certain charm to it. The rain continued until we had arrived back in the house. I was meant to be going on a half day tour to Musila Island. The weather put a halt to that idea though. I am still waiting for the opportunity to get out to the island. It sits so prominently off the lake shore that it is so appealing. I hope the weather holds off for a day soon so that I get to head out there.
I spent the rest of the day at rest. I am getting good at doing very little each day. It’s quite a talent. Anyways, as tomorrow is Christmas I hope that I’ll have something interesting to entertain you all with then. For now, I am off to do something strenuous...maybe go to bed.
A Day of Nothing...
23/12/09
As this is my seventh day away, I was hoping to mark the occasion with some interesting details of the exciting adventures that I have had so far. I have nothing to offer you.
Today I have spent the entire day inside, or around my rotunda. I was meant to be going on an overnight tour but plans have changed. Hon. Kagasheki, my MP boss, sadly had his mother in law pass away last night. As a result of this Professor Maliyamkono has had to attend the funeral and has put a halt to the original plans. This morning an alternative plan was proffered. A half day tour was to be booked with the tour group I had interviewed the day before. This was meant to take place at about 2 o’clock but the Professor failed to return. I am under the impression that the funeral went on for longer than expected.
This essentially meant that I had another day off. I have been told that I will start working properly on the 26th. This is quite annoying as I would have liked to have been home for Christmas, and as it stands, through a number of variables, the work has been delayed by almost 10 days. I would have liked to have been settled and working before Christmas, or I would have preferred to be at home with the family. Alas, the unforeseeable circumstances must be forgiven.
I have spent the day sitting around reading and watching the world go by. Occasionally toying with the idea of writing up my notes from the interview was justification of me working. This didn’t happen.
Instead I got to watch the storm come in across the lake and listen to the thunder that was shaking the roof of the rotunda. When the rain eventually got here it was as if huge buckets were dropping water repeatedly on the roof. The term raindrop is not fitting here. Like all things natural in
Being the brave soldier that I am, I sat inside thinking about the structural integrity of the mountain/hill that the house and rotundas sit on. One slip in the soil a few metres below us could create a giant mudslide. This is likely to be an exaggeration. But the rain was very heavy.
As you can see...not a lot has happened on my exciting day off, one week after leaving for
The good news is that I seem to be settling into the African life a bit more now. I expect certain things at the right time, I am used to not understanding what is being said around me, and I can almost firmly suggest that my original plans of staying in Bukoba for two weeks is likely to change. Everything that has been arranged at some point is entirely likely to change at any given moment, such is the Tanzanian way. Luckily I can be laid back enough not to care. I imagine this may change when I am trying to get things done though.
Until next time...
A Strange Day...
22/12/09
Another early morning start was on the agenda because I was helping Audax with his last interviews. Or so I thought. Having smartened myself up for the job at hand I eagerly awaited breakfast to find that it wasn’t forthcoming. This broke the usual trend as normally Charles would bring something down to the rotunda for me. Alas, with a grumbling stomach and a stiff upper lip, I proceeded with the day.
We were meant to be interviewing a hospital administrator/manager, but this did not emerge. Our first stop was at the bank. Audax was in the worlds’ longest queue for the ATM. ATMs in
Having caused enough disruption in the bank we drove into town opposite the bus station. Here Audax got out and told me that he was going to get a bus home (his home village is roughly 2 hours from Bukoba). In my confused state I had to ask what about the hospital administrator. The response was along the lines of ‘Maybe another time?’
Salum and I proceeded to the market which was a fantastic experience. The place was filled with so much colour and so many smells that it was a complete sensory overload. The place was selling everything from huge fish caught that morning from the lake, to fresh tomatoes and bizarre looking herbs, onions, children’s clothing, and soft drinks. As soon as you approach one vendor, others, selling the same product swarm around you as they jostle to see who will make the sale. As a white man I got paid special attention. It’s like they could sense I had just got a huge handful of cash out from the bank.
Once we arrived back in the house I had some time to sit around wasting my day. Soon after that exciting activity I was told that I would be interviewing one of the managers of a tour company so that I can get an idea of exactly what tourism facilities exist within Bukoba and the larger Kagera region. William, my interviewee, was a really helpful and very genuine guy. Possibly in his mid-thirties, his kids were running around the office, excited to see someone new. One of the kids took out a camera and snapped a couple of photos of the interview that was taking place. I quite liked this idea because the kid couldn’t have been more than 5 years old and he was already a budding young photographer. The scope for tourism in Bukoba and Kagera is restrained by a variety of features. Firstly, central government fail to put enough emphasis on the tourism market in Bukoba. Secondly, constraints in infrastructure exist, and this is predominately relating to roads, but also communication failings can be difficult too. The statistics show that there is small, but steadily increasing trend, number of visitors to the region each year. For the past three years the growth rate has been roughly 100% on the previous year. This is a huge statistic, but realistically such growth cannot be sustained. It’s a shame really.
I am fairly sure that the majority of you will not be too keen to read about the evaluation of the current tourism trend in Bukoba, and I hope that soon I will have something more exciting to tell you about it. Alas for now I am running out of words to keep you entertained. Basically I had a very quiet evening in after the interview and I had a call from home which was always nice. Oh, actually one more issue of note. I met Professor Maliyamkono’s sister in law who happens to be a Roman Catholic nun. She said that she would bring me to mass in the seminary where they would be saying a mass in English on Christmas to make me feel more at home. Although I am a very out of practice Catholic I couldn’t get over the niceness of the gesture. I hope the parish don’t get annoyed that the mass structure has changed because of me! If I keep skipping queues and cause changes in the mass scheduling I feel like I won’t be welcome in Bukoba for much longer. Maybe I should learn Swahili?
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