Welcome to Moshi – First Impressions

The town I am living in is called Moshi, found within the municipality of Kilimanjaro. Located in the far northeast of Tanzania, Moshi is a relatively large town with about 250,000 people. Positioned close to the boarder of Kenya (about 20km/12 miles), Moshi is home to many traders and people of various ethnic groups, evidenced by the presence of Hindu temples, Islamic mosques and various churches. It is not rare to see Maasai wearing their signature shuka, as well as women dressed in the colorful clothe of East Africa. The city does not have the claustrophobic and hectic feel that many African cities have, though it's all relative. The city also appears to be quite clean and a low number of homeless and beggars (at least not very visible). Moshi also boasts an international airport, for those who are interested in visiting!

Moshi's biggest claim to fame is its proximity to Mt. Kilimanjaro. The mountain, locally known as “Kili”, towers over the city to the north. It can usually be seen in the mornings and evenings with clouds covering it during the daytime. Many tourists use Moshi as point of departure for their safaris to Serengeti and various other national parks as well as a jumping off point for the seven day climb to the summit of Kilimanjaro. As a result there are numerous touts in the city that will approach you asking if you are interested in a safari or a climb. To be honest, there are far less touts and hustlers than I expected and they are far less aggressive in their demeanor and approach. Typically a simple “No thank you, I'm not interested” sends them on their way. I'm sure once my Swahili improves these interactions will reduce even further.

Evening view of Kili. 

My first impressions of the city are overwhelmingly positive. The city seems to have the perfect mix of goods and services catering to the upperclass/tourists, while maintaining an “authentic” vibe and options for people of all classes. Locals seem accustomed to tourists; there are very few calls of “mzungu”(white person) or aggressive hustlers. There are more coffee shops in Moshi (coffee is a major cash crop in the region) than I have seen in any other African city. Numerous Indian restaurants are found around town, most at a very affordable price and having excellent quality food.

One of my favorite things I have observed is the lack of spoken English. 99% of public conversations are in Swahili and I've had more than a few challenging transactions as a result of my language deficiencies. Although it's a rough transition, I think the lack of spoken English shows that locals haven't completely succumbed to tourism and it also affords me the opportunity (or forces me) to learn Swahili. There is no better way to learn a languages than being forced to speak it and if people readily spoke English I'm sure it would be enough of a crutch to delay or hamper my learning. After an attempt to buy eggs ended with three shop employees surrounding me as I imitated a chicken laying an egg, it's safe to say that I have hit the books. (The Swahili word for egg is 'yai' by the way).

Sundays most shops are closed, which allows for even more illicit selling to occur. Here is one of the many makeshift DVD shops. 

I haven't even completed my first week here so I've got a lot to learn and I'm sure my feelings are highly influenced by my optimism and excitement. Still, most every expat that I have met has expressed their love of Moshi. I'm looking forward to exploring the city in the coming days, weeks, months and years!