What do you eat?

One of the most common questions I receive is, "What do you eat?" Being a tropical country, Tanzania has all the usual suspects at the core of the dishes: cassava, potatoes, maize, banana, rice, greens, beans, vegetable oil and assorted vegetables (carrots, peas, cucumber, eggplant). These things have been in nearly all the local dishes I've eaten and readily available at the market. Although some things are seasonal, I assume that most of the items listed are available year round, whether grown locally or imported from other regions of Tanzania or East Africa. You can readily find mango and pineapples being sold, even though it's not the season.

As mentioned earlier, one of my favorite things about my job is we get free lunch. The cooks serve food to the children staying at our transition home and they cook enough so staff can also eat. This means the food is both local and nutritious. It also means that it is very filling, which leads to me eating a much smaller dinner.

I've posted some pictures below of our average lunch dishes. For dinner I typically steam veggies, usually a mixture of potato, carrot, cabbage, peas and onions, or if I'm really lazy, I'll go around the corner to a local bar/restaurant and get fries and chicken (or another meat) for 5,000 Tsh (about $3.50). There are also VERY local "restaurants" (called mama ntilie, meaning "mama serve me") though I'd call them more food shacks, that serve rice and beans for about 1000 Tsh (about $0.75). These are usually temporary set ups with a a few simple charcoal stoves.

For breakfast I am pretty routine orientated, so every day (literally) I have some oatmeal, a banana and a cup of coffee or tea. Because of Moshi's proximity to Mt. Kilimanjaro, coffee is easily grown and readily available in the area (coffee needs elevation to grow well). We have "tea time" at work around 11, so even if my breakfast is small, I always have a cup of chai and a chapati and/or samosa waiting for me.

When we have a workshop or meeting, we get bites on the house. This is obviously my dream team of bites. Chapati, donut, samosa and something called a kebabu that yes, resembles a turd, but is also delicious. 

It's funny because in the end my diet is very healthy and although I like to be somewhat conscious of what I eat, I wouldn't describe myself as a nutrition or health freak. I'm more concerned with eating locally, which inevitably is much cheaper anyway, as well as having fresh food.

Breakfast routine. 

It's just too easy to eat well here; extremely fresh and cheap vegetables are available just around the corner, a variety of sweet fruits are equally cheap, and any processed and imported food is too expensive to even think about buying. Well, I should admit, my one imported food that I have is olive oil (to go with the steamed vegetables) but I should be able to bring a five liter bottle on my next trip back from Spain. I tried eating steamed veggies with local vegetable oil and although it was palatable, it certainly was not delicious.

Rice, beans, assorted greens, and pineapple.

Ugali, gravy, chicken, greens, and pineapple. 

Bean/rice mixture (makande), greens, with a slice of watermelon.

Christmas party feast. 

Hope the pictures above give you a glimpse at some normal meals here in Tanzania. I'll do another post focused exclusively on local delicacies...coming soon!

Non-formal education: Youth Jump Rope

My organization has all types of activities to help children as part of our non-formal education program. Every third Saturday of the month we have a showcase called "Night of the Artist" where children have an opportunity to perform various dramas, sports, and other types of art.

However, once in a while we get a showcase after our morning meetings. Every Tuesday and Friday we have a full staff "catch up" where we all share our plans for the week. This week we were lucky enough to have a performance from the jump rope team. Apparently one of these kids was so good that he has traveled to America twice for jump rope competitions and the team is currently training for an event in Kenya. I can only describe it as jump rope that I've never even imagined possible. Apologies for the low quality video but figured it's one of those times where even the most detailed written description would not suffice.

Double dutch switcharoo. 

Jumping rope inside the double dutch?

Freestyle number one. 

Freestyle number two. I know the rope is hard to see but this should still blow your mind. Ninja rope?

The most hilarious part came after the performance when one of our members of staff on the janitorial team suggested to the boys that they should be actively performing at different events and that they "could make a lot of money". Obviously young men are attracted to the idea of making money but our program has been working with them to reintegrate them into school and home, which is the primary focus (we are not a jump rope academy). 

Our children's programs coordinator quickly jumped in and gave a somewhat awkward monologue, more so addressing our staff member than the boys. She spoke about how the boys were living and working on the street and since they started here they have all re-enrolled in school and have regular attendance and good grades. She rightfully stated that you can't jump rope forever and although it can open some doors, it's better to focus on your schoolwork first. 

I've heard this similar speech given to at-risk youths in America regarding basketball or football, though I'd never thought I'd be hearing it in relation to jump rope!

My Work: At the office

As I've just completed my first full week of work, I'll take some time to give you a glimpse into our office. You may think that life in Africa is very exotic but in the end I have a job quite similar to many of you in the developed world. It is my first "desk" job (though I will have probably 25% in the field) and because I've spent my entire life in the field, a desk job is a welcome relief (at least for now). It's amazing how much I can get done when I'm focused and not entirely dependent on other people to get my work done. I can't tell you how many hours I've wasted in my life waiting for meetings to start.

Our office is located about a half hour outside of downtown Moshi in a very large compound. Our property is rented from a woman who also has a large amount of farmland on the property as well. This is aesthetically very nice but my office is right next to a chicken coop so the chickens can be a bit annoying at times. It's a mix of permanent cement buildings and converted shipping containers. Our organization has 42 staff at the moment, though they are not all based in our office.

My department has three other people, one person from the UK and two interns, one from the US (Minnesota) and one from Tanzania. Our office has an air conditioning unit and back up power for when the power goes out. We have a steady ethernet internet line, as well as wireless throughout the compound. Although it's not up to developed country standards, it's more than enough.

The best perks of my job so far are tea time and lunch. For tea time (about 11AM) we order "bites" or snacks. Usually these are chapatis and samosas though there are a variety of greasy local snacks. We are provided tea, coffee and chai but have to pay for our bites (usually about 50 cents). We are also served free lunch, which is a local Tanzanian food. The meals are very well rounded and there is always a starch, protein, greens, and fruit.

This is our open air meeting hall/cafeteria. 

A view of our main office building. 

Front of the office. A shipping container that houses our community outreach workers.

The vibe at the office is extremely casual. Official working hours are 8-5 though people are very relaxed about this. Most employees have a lot of work in the field so at times it can be difficult to locate people.

All in all, I am quite enjoying my new workplace and those who know me know that free lunch is certainly the way to win my heart. 

Guest entry (Ana): Random Tanzanian Seeks Relationship Advice

Since my partner Ana has her own interesting experiences here in Tanzania, I thought it would be nice to periodically have a guest post. Without further adieu.... 

This is a blog-worthy story that happened to me the other day. I was running errands around Moshi, as I have been doing almost everyday lately, and a young guy approached me in the street. I thought he was yet another eager vendor targeting tourists and trying to convince me to buy crafts, safari packages, sunglasses or any other thing I, for sure, didn't need.

I was on my way to the Coffee Shop (excellent coffee and constant electricity making it one of my favorite places) and started chit-chatting with the guy whilst walking. "Where are you from?, how long have you been in Moshi for?, what will you do here..?"... The guy surprised me when, after I said that I work for an NGO (non government organization), he asked what an NGO was. When I was done trying to make clear what an NGO was we had reached the street I wanted to take and I basically told the guy that I was busy and had to go.

He seem a bit baffled and said he will walk with me to the Coffee Shop and then he will leave me alone, but that he needed to ask me a question. I had no clue what he would be asking me but I thought it would be something about loaning him money, asking on a date, or some other bizarre request. What followed surprised me. 

"I have a German girlfriend", the guy says, "and I was wondering if you could give me some clues on the Mzungu's (foreigners) behavior."

"What?!" I answered, "Can you give me an example?"(Tanzanians always say this when they don't understand what you want).

He then tells me that he is dating this German girl and that they see each other every other week and go out dancing or for dinner. Turns out he wants to live with her and he doesn't know what to do. He knows Tanzanian women behavior but doesn't know what to do with a Mzungu. He also thought he didn't have enough money to maintain her. Very interesting question...After a long counselling session I convinced him that he needed to ask the girl in question because not all white girls behave exactly the same. He was surprised when I said she will probably have a job and didn't need to be maintained. And wasn't very happy to know she may just want a boyfriend and not be interested in marrying. When I added this bit he exclaimed with disbelief, "A boyfriend...just for leisure?!?!" 

Hope he is lucky in his conquest of the German female, although his description of the situation leads me to believe that she just wants a boyfriend to go dancing with...

My Living Quarters

UPDATE: I have moved in March 2014, see blog post here

Aside from settling in at work, my primary task upon arrival was finding adequate housing. My organization told me they would arrange temporary housing for a month but due to some mis-communication, they had me staying in a hotel for a few days. After the hotel, a co-worker was told to house me temporarily as she has a large four bedroom house though it was sparsely furnished. Although I appreciated her hosting me, it was a bit awkward of a situation and I was anxious to get a place of my own and finally unpack my bags.

I was a bit skeptical of most expats opinions on housing. Many expats demand housing equivalent to what they would find in Europe and although it is obviously comfortable, for me, it's somewhat unnecessary. The human resource manager at my organization was very helpful in making contacts for me and I also set to work inquiring among expats and checking message boards at local coffee shops.

What I found was pretty surprising and downright expensive. It appeared that long term residents to bought houses and then rented out the rooms. This makes sense seeing the high turnover of short term volunteers down here but after living by myself for the last five years, I wasn't particularly keen on having roommates again. Plus, it seemed very expensive; rooms in a house ranged from $300-400USD/month, excluding utilities. I was also shocked that most every house required hiring a security guard. Although I understand the need for safety, it seemed a bit colonial and bourgeois to me, especially after getting a feel for how safe Moshi is.

I joined a local online message board specifically for Moshi and found several other people looking for housing. Most of them read something along the lines of “Looking for a room, must have security, cleaning lady, laundry service, electricity, cooking and hot water”. Although those are all nice things to have, had I posted my requirements would have read something like “Looking for room, prefer electricity and running water”. I guess years of living in rural areas disconnected from electricity and water has made me very flexible.

In the end I got a place through my human resource manager as he presented “local options”. The place is in a large plot of land with three houses on the property. One house is the owner's, a sweet old widowed woman who speaks broken English. The other house is a small house used for volunteers from Norway. She apparently has some type of agreement with an organization to periodically host the volunteers. And our place is pretty much two rooms with a separate bathroom, kitchen, and laundry area. It is more than adequate for me and I prefer to live with a local in a somewhat communal setting than in a big house with a security guard. I won't lie, there is something about having a security guard that makes me feel extremely uncomfortable and I'd like to avoid it at all costs. 

View of the restroom area and our two rooms (to the left) and the kitchen (to the right). 

Bedroom..not a lot to say here. 

Sitting room. 

Wash area and backyard.

View of the entrance and other houses in the compound. 

Kitchen. 

Backyard. It's currently a mango plantation. 

A huge bonus is that the house comes furnished. This is nice not only for the fact that I'll save some cash but also for the mental strain of having to navigate a new city and negotiate for dozens of items. The only amenity that is missing is a refrigerator and although it would be nice, I've put purchasing it on the backburner until I can save some money. A reader asked me if it has a washer and dryer, which it doesn't, but hand washing and sun drying are no problem for me.

The house also has a flat rate for utilities and is a five minute walk from my work, both which are huge bonuses. It's about a half hour walk to town though only a two minute walk to the boda-boda (motorcycle taxi) stand. There are various shops in the area with all the fruit and vegetables that I would need. And best of all, it is cheap. The two rooms plus utilities comes out to $88USD/month. At this point I am still looking at other options (I have paid rent through December) but it's gonna take a pretty epic house to convince me to pay $300-400/month.

All in all, the housing situation is perfect, at least for the moment. The only major drawback is the fact that our neighbors have a chicken coop so the rooster can be quite disturbing, especially when it is confused and crowing at 3AM. Fortunately, it's not the first chicken coop that I've lived next to and I know these things just take a bit getting used to. Splurging on the extra room is great for relaxing but also perfect if you should chance to come down and visit!

View from outside my place looking east. 

View from outside my place looking west.

  

The language: English and Swahili

The official languages of Tanzania are English and Swahili though no one language is spoken by the majority of the population. There are over 100 different languages that are spoken in Tanzania so having a unifying language (Swahili) has proven helpful. English is a remnant of British colonialism and is the language of the courts, high schools, and higher education. Many Tanzanians see English as critical to success if they want to emigrate or achieve senior positions of large organizations, though the education system does them no favors by having primary school administered in Swahili, and then switching to English in high school.

Swahili is also the official language of Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, the Comoros and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Never heard of Comoros? Me either, until I did some basic research for this entry. Anyway, the history of Swahili is quite interesting as it has historically been used as a trade language. Interesting fact; only about 5 million people claim Swahili as their native language but more than 60 million people (some estimates claim  over 150 million) speak it. To give you some context, the number of native speakers isn't even in the top 100 largest languages by native speakers!

I haven't really had time to delve into learning Swahili but after my first day of work it became apparent that I would have to learn quickly. As mentioned in my previous post, Swahili is apparently the most common language here and many people do not speak English. At work the majority of meetings are conducted in Swahili and I'm at the mercy of my co-worker, who is fluent (she is from the UK). It's not entirely uncommon to hear expats in Moshi that are fluent in Swahili and many have told me it's a very easy language to learn.

Although you may be thinking, "I've never heard anything in Swahili before!", you may be underestimating your life experience, more specifically, perhaps you have viewed the Disney classic "The Lion King". Yes, hakuna matata (what a wonderful phrase), does actually mean "no worries"(for the rest of your days). And "rafiki" means friend. So, if you find yourself in East Africa with people shouting at you in Swahili, the best thing you can do is start to quote "The Lion King". 

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!

Why did you move to Tanzania?

I have spent the last few years working in international development in a various countries around the world, mainly in community development and project management. My partner and I have been looking for a bit more stability, though stable jobs are difficult to find in developing countries with non-government organizations (NGOs). Also, finding a country where we can both find work in our fields (she is a wildlife biologist) can be challenging.

Nonetheless, with a little bit of persistence, I was presented with the opportunity to be the monitoring and evaluation coordinator for a small NGO that works with vulnerable children and their families based in Tanzania. Although I have done monitoring and evaluation as part of all my previous jobs, I had never exclusively focused on this aspect of projects. I'm hoping the job will provide a challenge, contribute to something meaningful, and allow my partner and I to live together in a country without having to worry about visas and immigration! (We are different nationalities).

I would like to be more explicit about my work, but at a previous job I had gotten into a bit of hot water with my candid blog posts, so I'd rather not link the actual name of the organization to my blog. If you are curious feel free to e-mail me and I'll send you a link to their site so you can learn more about what we do.

I have never been to Tanzania before, though I have six months of work experience in the fellow East African country of Uganda. I love not only the challenge of work, but the challenge of learning the history, language, culture, food, and everything else that makes each and every place in the world unique. I have signed a two year contract so if you've been having a tough time keeping track of me the last couple years, barring any unexpected change, you should know where I am for at least a few years!  

Tanzania: Country brief

As usual, I will start off my blog with a brief background on Tanzania. I try to do this before I arrive in the country because, believe it or not, I probably know as much (or as little) about Tanzania as my average reader. And while everyone can read the Wikipedia page, I will try to consolidate the pertinent and interesting facts in this post. Hopefully it will provide some context to my future posts!

For starters, Tanzania is in east Africa along the coast. Tanzania is a large country, roughly twice the size of California. The capital is Dodoma, though up until 1996 the capital was Dar es Salaam which also happens to be the largest city. The official languages are English and Swahili though there are over 100 different languages spoken. The population of Tanzania is somewhere around 45 million, making it the 6th most populated country in Africa.

The name "Tanzania" comes from the names of the two states, Tanganyika and Zanzibar, that united in October 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanzania. The majority of the pre-independence colonial period was dominated by German control (1800s), with the British taking over in the early 20th century. Independence was gained from the British at the end of 1961. Julius Nyerere was the first president of the country and remains a cult hero of Pan Africanism, despite many of his failed socialist policies.

Political reform and attempts at democracy were implemented in the 1990s, though it basically remains a one party state. Elections are frequently marred with irregularities, accusations of vote rigging, and general non-democratic behavior. Tanzania is an interesting case study regarding international development, foreign aid dependency and democracy.

The number one question I get is, "Is it pronounced tan-ZANE-ia or tan-zan-EE-a?". The explanation I have received relates to the rules of Swahili. In Swahili the stress is always on the second to last syllables. So "Tan-zan-EE-a" is correct. That being said, I have heard many people say "Tan-ZAHN-e-a". My hypothesis is that people tend to use grammar and vocal inflections of their first language, so perhaps certain people are influenced by their first language.

Hope that gives you enough background on the country...let the life in Tanzania begin!