Vacation to Spain and America

This will probably be my only entry for July as the month has been a busy one for holiday. Trips to Spain and America took up much of the month and then it's been busy catching up with work. It was nice to see family but also a lot of time on an airplane and certainly an adjustment to an entirely different lifestyle!

Since this is a blog about Tanzania I won't go into much detail about my holiday, and besides, trips home aren't really vacation anyway! Lots of family and friends and other things to catch up on so I'm typically in need of a holiday from my holiday. Still, it was nice to see my family and friends, take a break from work, and get some well needed perspective on my current situation and life in Tanzania. The best part is, it felt good to come home!!!

Internet in Tanzania

As cell phones emerged as an affordable option for developing countries, they allowed countries to bypass the development of a fixed-landline phone network. Although some major cities have land-line networks, it was rare to see them in households and average businesses. Now cell phones are doing it again, this time in regards to internet, bypassing cable connections (DSL, telephones) to allow the average person to connect to the internet with their cell-phone and a SIM card.

I've seen the internet rapidly expand in developing countries over the last five years. Due to increased phone network coverage and availability of affordable smartphones, the average person has the opportunity to access the internet not only by way of internet cafes, but also in the home. In between the stages of smartphones and cable connections there was the internet "dongle" which is still widely used today.

Dongle with a SIM card. 

Dongle plugged into the USB port. 

The dongle, also called, USB modem, internet stick, USB network adapter or USB mobile broadband stick, acts as a modem to use mobile broadband connections to connect your computer to the internet. You typically by them from a mobile carrier and apply "credit" to the SIM card. Pre-pay is the most common way of accessing mobile services and as a result it's similar with dongles. They are convenient as you can use them in both laptops and PCs and they don't require an external power source. The speeds can be slow but beggars can't be choosers!

Dongles are great but they are highly specialized and come at a cost. Most people who can afford a dongle can probably afford a smart-phone as they are becoming cheaper and more ubiquitous in the developing world. I recently bought a Samsung smart-phone and even the most basic model has an option for USB tethering and switching your phone to be a Wi-Fi hotspot. My phone can still function as a phone while tethered or acting as a hot-spot thus rendering the dongle redundant.

Because I'm living in a city I have nearly constant access to the internet. Naturally the networks here aren't 100% reliable and the speed fluctuates. You have to shop around their "bundles" to find the most affordable package but it can be very cheap. I have even been able to stream (albeit in low quality) the recent World Cup games. This takes about 300mb which I pay under $1.00 for.

As smartphones become cheaper (Mozilla even introduced a $25 smart phone) and phone networks become even more widespread, I'm curious to see how the internet continues to change the world. East Africa has already pioneered the mobile-money scheme using cell phones to bypass an institution that many in the west would think is unthinkable to bypass; banks. It will be interesting to see what other sectors it revolutionizes!


  

Food: Oranges

Baskets of oranges in the market. 

As the rainy season comes to an end, many fruits and vegetables are available in great quantities and oranges have got to be my current favorite. Oranges are best grown in places with a moderate climate (20-28C/68-80F) with plenty of sun and low rainfall, though as they reach the late stages of maturity they need increased water. At the end of the rains they're full of juice and abundant in the markets and among hawkers in the street. I prefer to buy my oranges in the market from a seller that specializes in oranges, most commonly having a push cart or a gigantic sack full of oranges.

Three unpeeled oranges and one ready for consumption. 

Much like bananas, oranges here in Tanzania are a different variety than what you may be accustomed to at home. While researching the type of orange here I found a website with a wealth information on different varieties. I'm not sure which variety (I think African Sour Orange) are most common here but I've eaten a similar variety of oranges in Jamaica and West Africa. They actually have more of a yellow appearance (both inside and outside) than the traditional orange. The rind is very thick and best cut with a knife as opposed to peeling by hand. This is because the rind gives off a cloud of citrus juice when peeled which can cause irritation for both the skin and eyes. There are many ways to peel an orange from the corkscrew method (see above), vertical method (see below) and any other way you can think of while using a knife.

Orange peeled vertically with the very top cut off for the juice-box effect. 

Even after peeling, there are a lot of different ways consume the orange. You can cut off the very top and squeeze the oranges like a juice-box (see above). This method provides more juice and less flesh and also helps to filter out the numerous seeds found in the variety. Alternatively you can cut directly in the middle and scrape out the orange using your front teeth to scoop the flesh out. Often times people will cut at about the 60% line to avoid running the knife through the seeds and thus spilling some of the bitter taste held within the seeds.

Despite the name, I wouldn't describe the oranges as sour though they aren't as sweet as types most commonly available in Europe and America. Right now they are extremely cheap; you can get about 20 for $1.00. As you can imagine, I have been eating as many oranges as possible during the good times! 

Food: Corn (mahindi)

Corn lady preps a piece for me by dipping half a lime in spices and then squeezing/wiping the mix onto the corn.

One of the easiest and most widely available snacks this time of year is corn (mahindi). Only needing a simple setup, vendors can easily set up shop, roast a couple of ears of corn, and make a nice profit charging 300-800 TZS ($0.17-0.50).

The corn here is a variety of maize that is much less sweet than the corn most widely available in America. However, it is grown nearly everywhere, from large scale agriculture fields to in peoples backyards, and is typically covered in a mix of spices, salt and lime giving it a bit of flavor. It is served in a piece of the husk to keep your hands clean and protected from hot pieces.

Now that we're nearing the end of the rainy season corn is widely available. People also use corn to make a variety of local foods including the most popular starch ugali and the hearty makande. Luckily, if you can't be bothered to prepare and process the corn in such an intricate way, you can always just roast it!

Drugs: Khat

Bag of khat. 

Like the coca leaf in South America, the kola nut of West Africa, and coffee worldwide, khat is a plant that provides locals with a natural stimulant. Though similar in effect, khat relies on different chemicals and in my opinion is the stronger of the aforementioned natural stimulants. Khat (Catha edulis) is a slow growing shrub that contains monoamine alkaloid called cathinone, an amphetamine-like stimulant. When the fresh leaves are chewed it gives a very strong buzz that I would classify as somewhere between a caffeine buzz and an amphetamine.

Khat is a controversial substance as it has been consumed as a social custom for thousands of years in the Horn of Africa and Arabian peninsula. In 1980 it was classified as a drug of abuse by the World Health Organization (WHO) but remains legal and widely used in several countries, including Kenya (where I tried it).

Khat (locally called miraa) is sold in small bundles for 50 KES (roughly $0.60).  The leaves are removed from the stem and chewed with either bubblegum or peanuts to help maintain the consistency. The taste is bitter but not as bitter as I expected and most certainly tasted well, like a leaf. I eventually ditched the gum and peanuts and just chewed on it straight though the leaves got dry and required me to occasionally spit out chewed balls of khat.

I thought the effect of khat was quite strong. I was going to ask for a coffee when I arrived at my friends house around 2pm but I was instead presented with khat which gave a similar effect. I immediately felt more energized though not in a shaky-too-much-caffeine kind of way. I chewed for about an hour on and off and I didn't come close to finishing my bag, though my friend easily munched his entire bag. I felt extremely talkative, had a small body high, and perhaps a slight sense of euphoria. I definitely lost my appetite, which was convenient since I ended up not eating until 1AM!

In the end I'm not sure I would ever become a regular khat user as it is just a bit too strong for my tastes. I don't like having a suppressed appetite and at times I felt like I had a little too much energy. It's said to have some other pretty uncomfortable negative side effects such as heightened aggressiveness, manic behavior and insomnia. And although it's not associated with physical dependence it can cause psychological dependence.

However, I see how this plant is extremely popular, especially due to how cheap it is. And I was told that it's not just a drug for low-income users, rather even "business men and members of parliament" chew, though those who chew are most commonly men. So if you find yourself in East Africa and offered a chew green leaf with peanuts, you'll now have an idea what you're getting yourself into!

Cooking tool: Mbuzi ya nazi

Mbuzi ya nazi

Many cultures located in the tropics often cook their rice with coconut. This can be a laborious process as you must husk the exterior, open and remove the coconut from the shell, then finally grate and extract the flavor from the flesh.

For those of us from the temperate world, the coconut in itself is a mysterious fruit, probably most commonly seen on a beach resort hosting a tropical fruit drink. They are more of a novelty in American supermarkets and certainly not used to the extent of those in the tropics. I was first properly introduced to coconuts in Jamaica where they enjoy drinking the sweet juice from the immature coconuts (jellys) as well as grating "fit" coconuts for the staple of "rice and peas". Due to my adequate climbing skills, I was easily able to trade coconuts for cooking lessons and I have Mama Marva to thank for teaching me how to properly husk, grate and prepare coconuts.

An awesome hide-away mbuzi ya nazi. Doubles as a small table.

Tanzanians equally use coconuts in their preparation of rice. I was quite pleased when one of my friends wanted to come over to show us how to make a local dish though she was disappointed when we didn't have a mbuzi ya nazi. Literally the "goat of coconut", mbuzi ya nazi is a simple tool used to simultaneously remove and grate the coconut from its shell. After breaking open the coconut (in a method which I refer to as "monkey style" aka smashing it on a rock) you simply sit on the stool and scrape the coconut over the sharp metal piece attached to the stool. Women sit sideways while men can straddle the stool (though you won't see many men rushing to grate coconut).

A plate catches the grated coconut. 

I had seen this style of bench before in Nigeria (see picture below) which is a simple design and folds up quite nicely to save space.

A Nigerian Chief relaxes on his chair and enjoys a cigeratte. 

After some initial adjustments and the natural resistance one has when trying a new technique for something in which one is already proficient with a different methodology, I began to fall in love with the mbuzi ya nazi. It was so easy to use and saved so much time and labor. And best of all, it is simple and combined with another functional tool (a stool)!

Bus trip from Moshi, Tanzania to Nairobi, Kenya

There are a few options for getting to Nairobi from Moshi, including flying though it's quite expensive. In fact, a private taxi to the airport in Moshi is as much as a bus to Nairobi! A plane ticket costs about $300 dollars and the bus about $20, so even though my organization was paying, it would feel a bit irresponsible to fly. It was also my first time to Nairobi and I always enjoy seeing the change of landscape when I go somewhere new.

One of my co-workers is Kenyan and she recommended taking the Impala Shuttle. She said it takes a little longer but is much safer and they won't, "leave you at the border". While I've never actually been left at the border, I have felt the frantic and chaotic nature of some border crossings and I've definitely seen people get left behind by their bus. This can be particularly difficult as your luggage typically remains on the bus through the border checkpoint.

View in the bus, pre-Arusha switch. 

The bus was scheduled to leave at 6:30 but didn't get on the road until 6:45. It was a mini bus, what they call a coaster in Jamaica. I like these buses because they are a bit bigger than a regular mini-bus but they still have enough power to pass slow moving trucks. I was really excited because the bus wasn't full and I had plenty of room to stretch my legs. I also got a spot on the west side of the bus to avoid the sun. This is a big time travel tip when traveling by bus in the tropics, especially if there are no curtains. Thus, I was disappointed when we pulled into Arusha an hour and a half later to switch buses. The bus I entered was already fully loaded and I had to settle for sitting in one of the fold down seats in the middle.

Mt. Longido from the north look south. 

The group was a mix of what I deduced were Kenyans and Tanzanians, with a few other East Africans mixed in. The bus trip to the border was entirely uneventful; the only thing to note was the passing of Mt. Longido, a small mountain close to the road that wasn't nearly as imposing as Kilimanjaro or Meru, but a nice contrast to the flat Savannah surrounding it.

Mt. Longido looking from the west to east. 

When we got to the border we were quickly hustled to the departure desk. The line went quickly and afterwards I was unsure where to go. I wanted to use the restroom but our driver quickly found me wandering around and shouted for me to proceed to the Kenyan immigration. He seemed to have experience corralling and moving passengers through the border and his pointed commands stopped me from explaining that I simply wanted to use the toilet.

Crossing over to Kenya.

I followed some other passengers across the road. At this point it was very unclear where to go as the road wound around to the right but we walked over a small hill to the left. The Kenyan immigration point wasn't really well marked from the road so I was happy my other passengers knew where we were going. The border could certainly be described as porous as we didn't pass through any closed area or checkpoint anywhere along the process.

The Kenyan side had a money changing bureau, small shops with phone credit, and a small visa office. It was easy enough to buy the tourist visa for $50 and before I was finished, the bus was waiting. I was most surprised by the large amount of Masaai women that were selling handicrafts to passengers waiting for their bus. The border wasn't a busy border by any stretch of the imagination and there seemed to be a wealth of sellers.

Waiting for the weigh station. 

The journey from the border to Nairobi was very straightforward until we reached closer to Nairobi. There were suddenly huge modern industrial complexes by the highway. Some of these were cement factories, warehouses, and cryptically named "logistic centers". It was a stark contrast to the small scale mostly natural resource exploitation that I see in Tanzania and certainly supported the argument that Kenya is the most industrialized country of East Africa.

The highway opened up to four lanes on each side but we suddenly saw a massive traffic jam of semi-trucks. Without hesitation our driver pulled across the median and drove into oncoming traffic. We were quickly followed by other cars and we proceeded slowly flashing our lights and honking as we went. The traffic jam was massive with semi-trucks lined up for literally miles (or kilometers, whichever you prefer). Although our driver's maneuver was dodgy, it's absolutely within the confines of developing country driving and I was happy when we cut back across the median in front of the trucks.

I arrived safely downtown at around 2:00pm. The trip was quick, comfortable, and best of all, absent of traffic!

EDIT: On the way back the journey was equally as easy. The only additional thing that occurred was the presence of two hustlers at the border who claimed to need to inspect your exit stamp and collect some money. They were two grimy looking guys, easily identified as scammers, though they spoke confidently and with authority. It took me a second to realize what was going on before I hurled a Swahili insult (wapumbavu/idiots) and moved across the border.