Chicken Run

Ladies and gentlemen, I got 'em.
It was a bit of effort but I got them. Their names are Fruhstuck(white hen) and Abendessen(brown hen).

I walked to Usalama market on Sunday morning in the hunt for chickens. My idea was to buy tiny little chickens. Usalama market only sell grown up hens that are meant for dinner that evening, so my hunt continued.

I walked home and saw some very small chickens following a hen near Elaine's place.
I asked Elaine to come with me to translate if they were for sale. She decided to ask the shoe shine guy outside briefly if he knew where to get some. A guy helping someone with a broken down car overheard and said his relation up the road will sell some. It was the same hens and chickens I saw earlier. I asked about the chickens and was told that they are difficult to raise and would probably die very soon. So I bought 2 young hens for 10,000tsh (€6).

On Saturday, I had bought some chicken wire and put it on the bottom of the big gate. I made it big enough to keep small chickens in. I also cut my fingers to bits while putting up the chicken wire. I also had about 6 young children sitting at the other side of the gate talking to me while I did it.

The hens were brought back to the yard and were exploring the yard. They climbed on a flower pot and made a jump for the small gate and climbed out. There were people outside still at the broken car. Billy and some others went after Abendessen, who ran left and a boy of about 10 and I went after Fruhstuck, who ran right. Fruhstuck ran into the site next door where a mosque is being built. By the time we chased him out of the site, Abendessen had been caught and was back in the yard and Fruhstuck was running across the road to his old home. At this stage there were about 5 guys following her trying to herd her into a corner. Eventually Fruhstuck was caught.
We used a long shoelace to tie Fruhstuck in the yard, to a car wheel without a tyre.

Abendessen was still running free around the yard. Along the side of the house is a path where the clothes are hung out. Abendessen was down there. I tried to grab her but she flew over me. Billy was at the other end and forced her back down and again she ran past me and through the gate at the end of the path into the neighbours. Billy and I went around with a towel. There was a woman sitting down doing something with a basket of rice. So, Billy and I caught Abendessen while this woman was calmly amused. When we were walking back around, all the guys around the broken down car were laughing because they saw the hen had escaped again.

So eventually, the hens are mine, they are tied up until they know where home is and Sarah and Billy got their taxi to the airport.

I thought this would be the end of the post so I went out to check on them. Abendessen, the cunning little sandwich filler, had got out of his knot and was roaming free around the yard. I tried cornering him down the side path again but he kept getting past me. Clearly the farmer within is coming out. Again she climbed through the back gate, so again, I went around the back and our neighbour helped me grab him while his son sat on a potty saying hello to me.

So, I finally have my chickens...... and I have no idea what to do with them now !!!!
They have 5 weeks until they are shipped out again to a new home.

All very exciting on my 4th weekend in Tanzania.

Monday morning, their first night is over. AND ABENDESSEN IS NOT TIED UP AGAIN !!! She's a clever one. I will leave her untied since she is still in the yard and chasing her will probably lead to another escape and I hope she will stay and be her sister's companion.

Now, That's Using Your Head

The posture of Tanzanian people is something to be admired. It's a common thing to carry things on the head instead of hands. There is no limit of what someone can put on their head. The most common example is the woman walking down the road with a bucket or basin of water on her head.

Around the house, there is a man who sells sweeping brushes. His stock is kept in a sack which he keeps on his head while walking around, shouting that he is selling sweeping brushes.
Also around the house, but I've only seen this man once, is a man who sells rat poison packets, and again, walks around with them on his head.

Some of the stranger items I've seen on a person's head (starting with the smallest):

• A girl in a school uniform walking with one small copy book on her head.
• A man walking with a perfectly folded shirt on his head


• The brooms and rat poison have already been mentioned


• And to show how technology is advancing all across the world, I saw a woman with........a desktop computer on her head (excluding the monitor)
  

Their balance is quite amazing. It was only today when I was cycling to work, a woman with a bucket of water crossed my path without looking, I skidded, she jumped and the water barely rippled.

I still don't see the point in walking with something on your head that is so small or light that it would be easier to hold it in your hand rather than walking around like you have a spoon up your bum.

Anyway, that's life, or as they say in France.... zat is laf !!

I'm the Only Mzungu in the Village

If I'm walking, cycling or in a dala dala, it is as common as a cold for me to hear someone say or shout "Mzungu" at me or about me. Usually it's kids using it when I pass by as they greet me but alot of adults use it too. It basically means white man.

The Wikipedia definition of "Mzungu"

I love the way that beside the singular and plural version of the term it has the possessive word. "My white man". Like a pet or something.
Yesterday, I was walking to a shop to get a drink and I passed 3 women, one of which said "Oooh, mzungu !" I'm guessing she didn't know I knew the word because when I looked back for a second, she awkwardly said mambo (hello) and the other 2 started laughing.
It's not a word that is meant to be an insult or anything like that, but to me it just sounds a bit weird. Imagine walking down Grafton Street and saying out loud, "Oooh, a black man !" Hopefully it's a word I can bring back to Dublin and find some use for it.

A Bright Idea

To continue my year of doing something different, as maybe the whole living in Tanzania thing is getting a bit stale for everyone (except me of course) so I thought to myself,
"Damian, what do the people want?"

"Well Damian, alot of people have been talking about owning an elephant, seeing "your" elephant etc, so why don't you get an elephant?" I replied.

To which I replied, "C'mon now Damian, you are not suggesting we buy or steal an elephant, you can't exactly slip it into your bag !!"

"Hmmm, very true", I agreed. "But it would be cool to own some sort of pet here. Something that wouldn't need all of my time and something I could give away at the end of this trip."

"Wow Damian, what are you thinking??", I thought.

"Well Damian, that is a stupid question to ask yourself", I replied.

"Hmmm, philosophical." I said while stroking the hairs on my chinny chin chin.

"Drifting off the point here Damian, what about a chicken?" I suggested.

"Haha, that would be funny, but how much are they? I'm not willing to spend too much on a stupid chicken. And we would have to get 2, to keep each other company."

"Well, we can ask around for a price, and sure, why not get 2", I concluded.

And that is what I thought to myself. So far, my research into the matter has come up with, a chicken would cost about 3000-4000 (€1.20-€1.80) and a hen would maybe be double. The shop across the road sells grain and all of that kind of stuff. I would need a small pen to prevent them getting out as usually hens are crawling through the fence anyway. And I'm sure there are plenty of people who would take 2 free hens at the end of it all. Give them a nice home in their garden or oven or whatever.
Ooh, just thought, Elaine and Tende's permission might be required too. I'd say they won't be too bothered as long as it doesn't affect their lives.

Give me a week or 2 and I'll update the blog on this topic.

Afri Roots Safari

Day 1: Monday 16th July

We left the house at 8.30am and got to our 1st destination at about 5pm with the careful driving of our driver, John Bosco. Our camp was called Ndovu Camp. This translates to Elephant camp. It was located about 500 metres outside the Selous Game Park. All the brochures boast that this park is bigger than Switzerland. About 5 minutes before we got there, we saw our first elephant. This was just outside the camp. We also saw some baboons. Our first night there, we just settled in, had dinner and went to bed. While eating, we could hear baboons in the distance and when we were about to go to bed, we heard an elephant make a loud noise that didn't sound too far away. Our tents were like army tents with a roof made of coconut leaves. The nearest one was mine, next door was Tende and Elaine and down the end was Billy and Sarah.

(By the way, Sarah and Billy - my sister and her boyfriend, came to Tanzania for a 2 week holiday)

About 12am, I heard an elephant pulling leaves off a tree about 10 metres away on the side opposite to everyone else. After a few hours of sleep, I woke up to a loud banging noise. I soon realised that an elephant was right outside my window. I could see the silhouette of his legs with the lantern outside Tende and Elaine's door. Behind that elephant, I could see another elephant walking between our 2 tents. His walking was like slow motion and he didn't make a single sound, not a sound of a dry leaf being stepped on, nothing. They spent about 15 minutes outside my tent. My adrenaline glands were knackered after they left. I slept like a baby after that, apparently sleeping through another group of elephants walking through.

Day 2: Tuesday 17th July

The next morning, we left for Selous Game park. While we were driving on the road, someone spotted an elephant on the side of the road, John Bosco jammed on the brakes, startling the elephant to say the least. He was about to charge at us but Tende told John Bosco to drive on. In the game park, the hunters clearly don't care too much to hunt giraffe. They were everywhere. We saw alot of impala and wildebeest too. We drove around some big lakes, full of hippos and the crocodiles would quickly go into the water whenever we came. One group of hippos we saw were surrounding a baby hippo, protecting it from the crocs.

Highlight of the day was when we spotted a hyena lying down in the shade. We drove over near him, he got up a walked away. Then Tende saw a leopard, which are quite rare to see. We drove over to him and he ran to the back of a bush. When we were driving to turn around, there was a impala that had all its organs eaten out but still had the meat on his bones. After we looked at that and drove a bit away, the hyena was quick to try and take the leopard's kill. The leopard then had a go at the hyena and chased him away. We were hoping he would start eating the meat and waited around for a while but he looked too tired after getting his kill and scoffing down the insides to finish his meal or even pull it up a tree.

After spending some looking for lions, we met another tourist jeep who told us where some were. So we drover to the location and there was another jeep there in the long grass looking at the 2 lions lying down. It started to rain so we had to get out of this area so not to get stuck in the mud. We mostly stuck to the lake and then went back to the camp for dinner, beer and bed. This night, I didn't sleep too well, the elephants were very loud eating. One group of them were outside Billy and Sarah's tent. One elephant pulled down some leaves off their roof. Some really stupid people in the tent next to them obviously got scared so started making noise and even came out with their lantern. Then the elephants left.

Day 3: Wednesday 18th July

Our second day on safari, which was Tende's birthday, ended with a walking safari, but not before another elephant decided to charge at us. We got too close and stuck in a small dip in the road. When the elephant started going mad, John Bosco tried to reverse but we couldn't get out of the big hole. Tende told him to rev the engine and when he did, the elephant stopped, looked confused and agitated and walked off in a hurry.

We ate lunch overlooking a dry river bed where 2 elephants were digging to find water and drinking. After lunch, we were driving to our campsite when we saw alot of vultures circling an area in the distance. We thought it was a kill but when we got there, we were told we couldn't go closer by park rangers. Poachers had killed an elephant and took it's tusks. They got 3 that day. It was terrible.

We drove to our camp, set up the tents and got ready for the walking safari. Thankfully, on the walking safari, we didn't cross paths with any lions, leopards etc. We came across warthogs, zebra, wildebeest, impala and giraffes. We walked beside the lake with the crocs and hippos. We also walked over a murder scene (A big patch of blood on the ground). We ended up at a hot spring where we went swimming.
Due to the lack of facilities in our campsite, this would be our wash for the day. When we got back to the camp, we set up a fire and we made dinner. We sang Happy Birthday to Tende and ate a cake Elaine had made for him.

After dinner I used the pit toilet. It was absolutely horrible. Tende informed me that if someone fell in, they would have to be treated for burns. After I was done, treatment for burns would be required if someone simply looked in it. When we were getting ready to go to sleep, Sarah spotted green dots when she shined the torch at the bushes. They were hyena's eyes. It was creepy. There were 2 of them. We could also hear hippos. The camp was set up on a hippo path. They come out of the water at night and this is one of the paths they use. While lying in my tent and the camp fire on my view, I was dying to see hyenas around the fire or a hippo. I was paranoid that every noise I heard, I thought was right beside my tent. Maybe it was but I doubt it. Due to several beers in my belly, I had to pee really bad. I decided I was not going to risk walking to the pit and just opened the tent, stood up and aimed to the side. I shined the torch around to see if any hyenas were about. There was only one but even one set of green eyes was creepy enough. I must have been nervous or something, as I had to pee 3 times in the middle of the night. At one stage in the night, I saw a hyena checking out the campfire and around it but that was it for the night.

Day 4: Thursday 19th July

Plans for the next were to drive out of the game park and drive to Mikumi to our final accommodation. Basically it was a B&B. This drive was about 10 hours of very bumpy dirt road. It was tough going. When we got there, we were so exhausted we just ate and went to bed.

Day 5: Friday 20th July

The final excursion was a hike up to Sanji Falls in Udzungwa. The views were incredible. When we were walking down, we came across about a thousand termites attempting to fly for the first time. 20 seconds later, an army of ants came in, in 2's and 3's and absolutely massacred the termites. It was my first viewing of a safari kill.
To be honest, it was cool the way they kicked ass. When we got the bottom, we went swimming in a cold spring and it was very cold. I would even go as far to call it nippy !!!!!

Day 6: Saturday 21th July

Our final day was just a 7 hour drive back to Dar. We drove on this main road which was through a game park. Imagine driving on the M50 (motorway in Ireland) and looking left and seeing 4 elephants, a few 100 yards down the road are a few giraffes but you can't keep your eyes off the road for too long as you might hit a baboon or an impala that was crossing.
Finally we arrived back in Dar, absolutely wrecked, so what do we do? Go out to an Ethiopian Restaurant and out to a club where the live band was so cheesy it was like a wedding. Fantastic !! Some drunk was trying to tell me he was Jesus which was...... amusing. Then back to bed to recover.

My Pre-Safari Thoughts & Opinions

I was asking Tende about this little excursion we (Tende, Elaine, Sarah[another sister], Billy[Sarah's boyfriend] and yours truly) are going on next Tuesday, the hiking, safari etc. We will be in the game park in a jeep and also walking around with the animals. We will also be camping in the game park. From some of the stories about camping in the game park, I'm a bit nervous but he assured me, the animals do not disturb us.

1. Apparently hyenas eat anything they can, trying to get food. He told me he woke up to a loud clunking noise an the next morning the gas cylinder of the cooker was about 70 metres from the camp. There was also another story about a hyena trying to rip off the grid at the front of the jeep to get a bottle of water that was quickly stored behind it.


2. He has woken up to elephant footprints between the ropes of the tent. The elephants pass through the camp but don't make a sound and treat the tents just like any other obstacle and don't stand on the ropes. Hippos have been known to do the same.


3. One of the places they camp at is beside a river full of crocodiles and hippos and one night, they set up camp and a fire. Apparently they were beside a path that hippos take to get back to the lake and one hippo stood watching them for 25 minutes wondering how to get back to the river, until everyone stood up and let him pass.

I would love for just one exceptional story like these but I'm guessing they do not happen very often. So, my pre-safari thoughts about this safari are nerving but exciting at the same time and I've no idea what to expect. Tune in for an update on the 23rd July, same elephant place, same elephant time, same elephant channel. If there is no update by Wednesday, I have been eaten by a lion.
Stay in school folks.

Show Me the Money $$$$$

At this stage, I have all my favourite local shops for all the common day to day items I need. Most of the items I need are in a shop that is about a 3 minutes walk. There are nearer shops but I enjoy the short walk on the main road and the shop is just in on a small quiet street. The day to day items, in the different shops are:

My Favourite Shop:-

• Bottles of Coke - tsh300 (18cent)


• Phone Credit - tsh5000 (€3) / tsh1000 (60cent)

My Banana Shop:-

• Bananas - tsh100(6cent) each

The Chip Stall:-

• Portion of Chips - tsh500 (30cent)

Another Drink Shop:-

• Glass of Passion Juice - tsh100 (6cent)

Requirements for Certain Purchases:

• Coke: I have to bring an empty glass coke bottle as the shop get money back for the empty bottles. If I don't have one, I have to drink it at the stall.


• Chips: Because I don't want my chips served in a small plastic bag, I bring a saucepan. Whenever the guy sees me now, he automatically reaches for the pan from me and knows I like tomato sauce on it. (The tomato sauce here is pink and doesn't taste as good but as the title of the blog says, TIA !)


• Passion Juice: 1 glass of passion juice isn't really enough, plus since it's their glass, I would have to drink it there,
  so I bring a flask which takes about 5 glasses.


• Phone Credit: Not requirements but FYIs. Sending a text message to another country on a Tanzanian network is cheaper than sending a local text between 2 Irish phones in Ireland.
  Ringing internationally is not the best quality. On a call to Kristin, for example, the lines were crossed and she could hear a Tanzanian woman more clearly than she could ever hear me. There is a small delay too but nothing too major. I think ringing Switzerland is cheaper than Switzerland ringing here which is also handy.

My daily lunch at work takes place at 1 of 2 restaurants, I can either choose lazy service or stupid service. Everyday so far, I've eaten chicken & chips (Cucu na chip). This costs about tsh2000 (€1.20) and a Coke is tsh400 (24cent) in the restaurants.

Dala dalas cost tsh250(15cent) during peak hours or tsh200(12cent) when the money man is feeling nice. And that's to go anywhere on the dala dala route.

So basically, most Tanzanian goods (and Coke) that can be bought from the small shops are dirt cheap but if you want the comforts you are used to, that'll cost probably more than at home.

Doing an internship in a tropical country while most of my friends are slaving away at work - priceless.

Cycling to Work

Each day, Monday to Friday, Elaine shouts in my door at, I'm guessing 6.30am to get up.
I pull on a pair of shorts and t-shirt and pack my bag, laptop, working clothes, a face cloth (explained later) and shower gel.
We leave whenever we are ready. We cycle a different way going to work than coming home, each with their own advantages & disadvantages.

Our morning journey is along more main roads and we cycle on the footpath. It is usually quite busy with people going to work and selling some stuff. People still shout at us when we cycle by which I've figured out it isn't always because they want to sell us stuff. A few times when I've heard someone shout at me, I've turned around and they just wave or ask "how are you?", seemingly proud that they can speak a bit of English. The cycle is about 8km. There is one part which I have learned to absolutely love. At a place where all the dala dalas stop, we have to abandon the path as it's too crowded and we have to cycle on the road. I love the insanity of it.
I usually keep behind one vehicle and follow it's path if I'm fast enough. Plenty of dust and exhaust in the face but there is something really fun about it all.

The main thing I hate about cycling to work is, at the entrance to the University, there is a monster of a hill to get to the building we work in. Sweat is dripping off me by the time I reach the top.
In work I take a shower. They installed a shower-head in a cubicle that contains a hole in the ground toilet, so naturally I keep my sandals on in the shower. I use the face cloth (or small towel, as I requested) to dry myself and I put on my work clothes and my cycle clothes in a plastic bag in my gear bag and go up to the office. I'm still sweating when I'm up there but as the days go on, the length it takes to cool down is reducing.

After work, I put on my cycling clothes again which is definitely not the most pleasant experience. Cycling down the hill is. I love that, which is immediately followed by on-road cycling but the other way which is on an even dustier road but still it has a fun element which I don't know why I love. We partly cycle home on smaller roads, which means more bumps, which means sitting down on the saddle of my bike is not recommended. After this, we cycle the rest of the way on the road again. There is no path and the edge of the road can sometimes be defined by a daunting 3 or 4 inch drop.

When I get home, I have a well earned shower.

I'm sure there will be alot more tales to tell but so far I've almost cycled over a stupid hen that, while dodging Elaine's bike almost ran under my wheel. (My silky cycling skills on a bumpy road saved him, although by now I'd say his head has been butchered off and his ass has been grilled)
And more recently, in a lapse of concentration, I cycled over quite a big stone which made me skid sideways and almost into the back of an old woman. I doubt she would have appreciated me knocking her over and leaving tire tracks up her back, so I'm also glad I avoided that accident.

My helmet has saved my head from 2 major bumps. Both of which occurred while I was standing beside my bike. First one, when I was unlocking my bike in the University I cracked into a ledge above me.
The 2ND was coming into Elaine's gate, I smacked my head quite hard against the wall above the gate. Maybe I just wear it all day long for safety.

Learning Swahili

Learning the language is a strange thing indeed. I read on the Internet that it is the easiest language in the world to learn. Grammatically, that seems true.
Unlike German, there is no gender in words, in fact the there is no gender differentiation at all. He and she is the same word. Changing tenses in verbs is simply changing one letter in the verb. That all seems encouraging but the difficult thing for me is the lack of similarity with English. German, for example, has alot of similarity with English.
Numbers sound similar, nouns sound similar, eg. sieben - seven. Wasser - water, but Swahili has nothing. 1 is moja, 2 is mbili, water is maji, no is hapana. In one week, I have learned numbers, up to 3 and some day to day words. It's a very slow process but it's mostly vocab, which isn't exactly my forte but I'm trying. Sadly, some of the Swahili I know is from the Lion King but people don't really use this unless they see a tourist.

The Weekend (7th & 8th July)

Saturday finally came, I needed it. I was feeling exhausted, long work days, cycling on average 16km, 20+ insect bites (which does tire you), different diet - African diet consists mostly of rice, potato, bananas and chicken but Elaine is a vegetarian, so chicken's gone.
On Saturday, after sleeping in, I was on the laptop when I heard what sounded like a chicken fighting with a cat, so I looked out the window and saw an old man holding down 4 hens by standing on a wing. Me being quite the innocent, still wasn't sure what he had planned. He then took out a knife and proceeded to butcher their heads off. The worst part was actually the fact he had to keep the bodies pinned down until they stopped moving.
We later got a dala dala to Mwenge to go to a market which had all the crafts etc, mostly for tourists. I love these type of crafts etc but the people running the stalls can be annoying when trying to get the attention and the people into their stall. Haggling down prices is normal but also a bit annoying.

After the market we went to a big shopping centre that clearly wasn't for the regular Tanzanian. Prices for all imported stuff, like Pringles for example, are more expensive than they are regularly in Europe. A simple box of crappy frozen burgers is equivalent to €6.
Most of the shops that weren't Tanzanian, were South African.

I've discovered that taking pictures is tougher than expected. I stood outside the house door and took some pictures of stuff and was getting some strange looks off people. I would love to take pictures of a dala dala full of people or a main road with the crazy traffic but if I do, alot of people would be looking with strange/confused/angry looks on their face. I hope by the end, I will somehow, get all the pictures I want. So, whatever few pictures I do take, they will be up on my Tanzania webshots account.

Cycling in Dar

The next big step in living in Tanzania was the cycling. On my 1st day cycling, the plan was that Elaine and I would go to a HIV clinic that she was doing a project for. This was located at the south of the city. Elaine's place is located near the north and work, on the west of the city (about 8 km from the house). We left at 7am after my usual cold shower. After getting a puncture fixed on a bike wheel by a fundi (Tanzania's handymen) we cycled about 7km to the HIV Clinic. Some strange sights in the HIV clinic but honestly, I was expecting worse. We then cycled about 12km to work, which 500 metres from the office has an unbelievable hill to climb.

I actually quite like cycling around Dar, it's interesting to say the least. The locals try and get my attention by shouting (only thing I recognise is "Rafiki" which means friend. I know it from the baboon in the Lion King), probably because I'm white and they don't realise how broke I really am. Even the boys collecting plastic bottles from the ground are earning more than me right now. I also enjoy the cycling because it's crazy. Such an adrenaline rush. Cycling across the road isn't as mental as walking but the danger is still there. I have to be careful where I'm cycling, especially if I'm right behind Elaine as there are pot-holes the size of those blow-up exercise balls (I went crashing into one about the size of a basketball, on the 12km cycle) and what look like metal bollards (to stop cars driving on footpaths), which have been brutally cut with a miniature hack-saw leaving very pointy bits sticking up. They look lethal.

After work, when I thought the cycle home would be easy compared to what I already had done, but when I sat on the bicycle seat, I was in agony, and because we left the office later than usual, we had to cycle in the dark which is very tough, especially because the footpaths are full of stalls late in the evening as police forbid them during the day and the pot-holes/craters/bumps are even harder to see, but eventually we made it home.

Next Morning Analysis: My arse is killing me !!!!!!

Oh, and for dinner, Elaine asked me if I wanted to go out and get omelet and chips. Last thing I expected the guy to give me was a plate with a chip omelet in it. Straaaaange !!!

Lord of the Flies

Just a quick rant about the mosquitoes. While I'm typing this rant, I have been in Tanzania for approximately 29 hours. I have managed to acquire 14 mosquito bites. Well, actually its 11 mosquito bites. The other 3 bites were from a bigger fly, who, of the 3 bites, I've seen him commit 2 of them. He is now dead. I don't know what he was but I have never seen insect bites develop so fast. They rapidly grew within 5 minutes of the bite and now, as I speak, 2 of them look like white water blisters about the size of a 5 cent coin, surrounded by red. The 3rd is a bit smaller than a 1 cent.... thankfully I guess. Why do they like me so much? I now stink like funky nail varnish due to the fly repellent. Just another 1525 hours for them to get me. So, if I keep up my average, only another 736 insect bites to go. By the time you read this, it will be much lower!!

Thankfully Elaine has a zapper. It looks like a tennis racket and sparks fly when I hit a mosquito. It's actually quite fun. But there are too many flies against just little old me. It's like crime. A never-ending fight.
(In this picture, there are 18 bites on my left foot alone - Enjoy!!!)

First Impressions

THIS MAY SOUND LIKE COMPLAINING BUT I AM JUST POINTING OUT CULTURE DIFFERENCES. I REALLY LIKE IT HERE.

My first day of work was a tiring one. Not that I did too much (or too little) work in the office but it was a long 8am-5pm work day. Truthfully, I started drifting off around 4.30pm. It started at 6.30am when I crawled from under my mosquito net and had a very cold shower.
Elaine had left her bike at work when she was going to airport to collect me so we got 2 dala dalas. To explain these, I must separate them into their own paragraph as they are such an experience.

DALA DALAS:
(or another name for them, which is quite questionable is the city bus !)
These are small mini-buses, which look older than anybody who's alive today, with about 14 seats. On our 2ND dala dala to work, I counted 21 people and it was more "roomy" than usual, no kidding. When its packed, I have no idea how many people are in there. Getting one to the Irish Pub on my 1st night, I took an elbow to the jaw. No biggie!!!!
And going to work on my first day, Elaine and I were sitting in the back and black smoke started coming up from my feet. Elaine said something in Swahili,
to which the money collector man looked over, saw the smoke and smiled. They cost on average 200 schillings which I think is about €0.30 which you pay whenever the man is good and ready to take it. He will gently shake a fist full of coins to make the "pay the fare" noise. When a relatively empty dala dala pulls up to the stop, it is "literally" mental!!!! Everybody, old and young, male and female all rush and try squeeze in the small door at once. I have yet the courage to try it but if I do, I will purposely scream like a woman to see if there is a reaction. I doubt there will be.

On my trip home from work today, Elaine had kindly given me my 1st independent living in Tanzania test by cycling home and writing down how to get home by dala dala.Calling it an experience is quite the under-statement. I had to wait for the 3rd possible dala dala to come as I wasn't too enthusiastic about jumping into a crowd of insanity with a laptop in my bag but eventually I got in one and had a "seat" which was with my back to the driver, facing the rest of the people and having my poor bumi being burnt on God knows what part of the engine. Traffic (which apparently is normal) was total deadlock. I opened up my little scrap of paper with instructions home and asked the girl facing me where Ubungo was. She pointed in a direction so I got out and walked. I almost shat myself trying to cross this very busy road, which would have been terrible since my arse was already BBQed in the dala dala. Apparently green men mean as much to Tanzanians as rain jackets do.
There's one policeman standing in the middle of a major junction directing traffic and pedestrians have to make a judgement call on when to cross the road. As an Irishman, I wouldn't have thought I'd be too bad, I can't imagine how long an Austrian would be standing there. Finally I got to the big dala dala centre, after been offered 4 taxis in between, which, I will admit were tempting but in this traffic, would cost a fortune.

All in all, in took me just over an hour and a half to get home. Elaine cycled it in about a half hour.

The mosquitoes here must have some bite because all the bites on my arms and legs which I have accumulated in less than 24 hours are all bigger than ones received in Ireland and Austria. I think they have nicely contributed to my 1st day fatigue, along with lack of recovery time from travel, the long work day (because of Linz, I haven't worked since last summer) and of course, believe it or not but those dala dalas can exhaust a child with ADD and a packet of skittles.

Some "different" things I've seen:

1. Most barbers have a black celebrities name in the name of the building or a painting of their face, for example, I've seen the Queen Latifa's Hair Salon, barbers with 2pac, Biggy and Ronaldinho painted on the building. Shops do something similar, have words that Tanzanians might know. Ive seen the Manchester clothes shop with "MANCHESTER" painted in red or "The Chelsea Blues Auto Repair Shop".


2. Everything outside is very dusty but in 2 butcher shops with big windows, across the road from each other are so clean looking, if someone licked the wall, their tongue would be cleaner from it.


3. Waiting for my 2ND dala dala to leave Ubungo, I saw a man sit on the ground and somehow, almost touch his face off the ground in order to swing his head under his dala dala so he could fix something. His tools were a jack and some sort of blunt instrument.


4. People carry ridiculous amounts of stuff on the back of 3 wheeled bicycles. Most ridiculous I've seen was about 20 bed mattresses all at once. Quite amazing actually.

The Mansion

OBSERVATIONS OF THE ROOF ABOVE MY HEAD

Elaine and Tende's house is located in Magomeni Makuti. It is technically the 1st floor of an apartment block

but, IMHO, is big enough to be classified as a house. When I walked in the door, the 1st thing I noticed was the wall, which is bright blue and yellow. Its quite dark, so this brightens it up a bit. Across from the door is kind of a chill out area, with cushions, etc. My bedroom is a simple room, also quite dark. It has a green mosquito net over the bed which is in no way weird, while sleeping under it. As usual, I'm too big for the bed. My window (which has no glass of course but only
bars and a net to keep the people and flies out) is about 2 metres away from a small area containing about 4 turkeys
who make delightful noises, very early in the morning. I thank God that the mosque next door is temporarily demolished,
in order for a "super-mosque" to be built.

Elaine and Tende have their own bathroom with a regular toilet. In my bathroom, there is a hole on the ground with a flush.
Its different from anything I've used. Only downside I can tell from it, is that there's no point in bringing a book to the
bathroom anymore. The shower has only cold water and is not very strong. The cold encourages a very fast shower which
prevents wasting water. Aren't they so clever in Tanzania. I do the best I can but I dare someone to smell me before my
1st shower back in Ireland.

Getting There

Sunday 2ND July

The day started off with me waking up at 7am and feeling the sudden effects of having a few Guinness and beer from the night before. I was sleeping on the floor and Shane on a mattress beside me in the TV room as some of Ruth's engagement party guests had also stayed over.

After finishing packing and playing Madden etc, (a very close game, Bengals vs Giants, which Shane (Giants) sadly won by 6 points and I was in his red-zone when the clock ran out) we went to the airport. After a very long process of checking in my bag (where a child was so close in getting my fist in his face) and getting through all the security, there wasn't alot of time around the terminal, which suited me fine. Slept most of the way to Heathrow.

Arrived in Terminal 1 and knew my next departure was from Terminal 3. This was quite a walk with a heavy rucksack on my back and hand-luggage which also wasn't exactly feather weight.
Having about 4 hours in Heathrow, I found some Internet and then devoured a burger in TGI Fridays which was probably 80% of a whole cow.

It was in London when I definitely realised, travelling with long stops can be very boring, especially on my own..... with no Ipod.

The London - Doha flight was fantastic. Qatar Airlines all the way. Quite a good selection of movies/TV shows to watch and alot of good music to listen to. Rodrigo y Gabriela being the surprise album in the collection. I watched a bit of "Children of Men" but fell asleep, then some Scrubs and then Mr. & Mrs. Smith.

Doha airport is quite nice. Much nicer than Abu Dhabi airport in the UAE. Walking from the plane to inside was like a hot sticky slap to the face but inside was perfect. The plane going from Doha to Dar es Salaam must have had the AC on some special mode because it looked like dry ice was pouring from the ceiling. This flight wasn't as enjoyable but beats Ryanair any day.

Got a taxi with Elaine back to her house and used her hole in the ground toilet. Guarantee, I will have the leg muscles of an ox when I leave this place!