Tanzanian "things"

There are a few interesting "things", shall I say, that I discovered about Tanzanians....

*Cell phones - many, many people have them and in fact the funny thing is that they often have TWO of them!  Usually they are from two different providers so that depending on where they are, they have the best reception.  Cell phone minute cards are sold in some stores, but also along the roadside, right out of a little black plastic bag...which is where Peter (one of our Tanzanian teammates) helped me buy mine! They don't seem to have monthly plans.  Yes...I had a cell phone that I had brought with me from home, specifically for my travel alone and it was fantastic to have it!  They sell the minute cards anywhere from 1000 TZ shilling (equivalent to about 80 cents Canadian), up to 100,000 TZ shillings.  For many people, they can only afford 1000 TZ shilling worth and so that's why the option is there!

*The ritual of hand washing before a meal...a good ritual to have!

In the one restaurant we had a chance to visit, there was a sink in the restaurant area.  If there is not a sink, there will always be a pitcher of water and basin to wash with before taking part in a meal.

*The shade of the Mango tree...wonderful refuge from the hot sun.

*Lengthy greetings, unique to age, including a curtsy to your elders.

*Bicycles with heavy, heavy loads...from mattresses to mounds of sugar cane, to more people!

*LOUD music!!  All of the radios play loud, loud.  Loud speakers.  Loud TV's. Just simply loud, loud, LOUD!

*The classic, "Hello, how are you? I am fine" - all the english many people know.

*Toothpicks!  Toothpicks are huge in Tanzania and people will sit around for a long time after a meal, chewing on a toothpick...perhaps this is how their teeth stay in decent shape!

*Jam packed buses!  The little mini buses that travel within the city or district are piled with people and even the long-distance buses are packed with people (as I was soon to discover!)

*The "running sign" (as we Canadians called it).  Instead of a cross walk sign, they have a sign with an adult and child running across the street on it...pretty classic and speaks to the crazy driving everywhere!