Top Reasons to Come to Tanzania

1. Safari
There are few places in the world that are as well known for their scenery and wildlife as Tanzania (except for maybe Kenya but they've got their hands full as of late...). Tanzania is home to the world famous Serengeti and Ngorongoro crater. But beyond those two parks there are numerous other wildlife parks each with it's own unique charm. You will see elephants, zebra, giraffe, hippos, countless varieties of gazelle and antelope. There are also leopards, rhinos, lions, cheetahs, hyena and more bird varieties than you can shake a stick at. There are all levels of accommodation and experiences from ultra fancy to bare bones.


2. Zanzibar
Zanzibar is 20 miles off of the mainland but a world away. Culturally it is a blend of Middle Eastern and African with a little Indian thrown in for good measure. Stone Town is a maze of narrow winding streets with restaurants, hotels, and shops. It is home to two large annual festivals--the Zanzibar International Film Festival (held in June/July) and the Sauti za Busara, a huge music festival in February. Outside of town you can go on a fruit and spice tour, visit the Jozani rainforest, or stay at the beaches. The beaches, in particular, are fantastic. I'm sure there have been many a heated argument about the best beaches in the world--but surely Zanzibar ranks up on the list. The sand is like powdered sugar and the snorkeling and diving are phenomenal.

3. Mount Kilimanjaro
I'll be honest--I have no desire to climb Kilimanjaro. Hiking up and down steep slopes for days at a time just isn't my thing. You're much more likely to find me snorkeling or diving than climbing. However, for those of you that like hiking then no visit to Tanzania would be complete without seeing the peak of the tallest mountain in Africa. I'm told it's not a very difficult climb; if you're looking for more of a challenge you could try Mount Meru which is lower but more technical.

4. Cultural Exchange
Tanzania has a more formalized "cultural tourism" program which takes visitors off the beaten path and to places where you can have more interaction with people. But just visiting here (particularly if it is your first trip to Africa) is an enlightening experience. The people are friendly; the roads are terrible but it's always a good thing to broaden your horizons. Try ugali and mchicha--a local dish similar to grits and spinach. Go shopping for fresh produce in the local market or see traditional music and dance.

5. Free place to stay in Dar es Salaam
It's not a palace and our kids generally get up at 6 AM (forewarned is forearmed) but we've got a guest room, a nice back yard, and all the comforts of home. Plus you can probably sucker us into showing you around town. Dar has a village museum, beaches nearby, plenty of great restaurants, an interesting fish market and lots of places to buy beautiful fabric. The other nice thing about coming to Dar is that you won't feel like a tourist here.


6. Get away from the campaign ads
But if you can't bear the thought of being out of touch with the world you can watch our AFN satellite which has all the major news programs and networks plus the ever popular "Pentagon Channel".


7. See the Tipton family!
Build Legos with Josh, climb trees with Ben, jump on the trampoline with Josie! We love having visitors and Bob makes a mean martini. So mean in fact that I prefer a gin and tonic. We'll take you to the yacht club on Fridays where you can watch the sunset over the ocean and eat fresh grilled calamari.


8. Beat the heat in summer or escape the cold in winter
By American standards, it's hot all the time. But in June and July it cools off some so it is around 80-85 degrees which is nice if you're coming from Atlanta. If you really like hot weather then come in February; you won't be disappointed. If you hate being hot then we'll direct you to the highlands which, at 6000 feet above sea level, are much more temperate.


9. Good shopping for local handicrafts and souvenirs
There's lots of cool stuff to get here as gifts or to remember your trip. If you are feeling extravagant you could get a hand-carved Zanzibari style piece of furniture such as a trunk or bed. If you insist on being practical and getting something that can fit in your bag then you can get beautiful fabric, hand carved wooden bowls and sculptures, paintings, or of course, tanzanite.


Airlines that fly to Dar es Salaam

• KLM
• British Air
• Swiss Air
• Emirates (generally the cheapest and very good)
  
• Qatar Airlines

This one's for you Bubba

The Trip

I've been putting off writing about "The Trip" because I wasn't sure what to say-or what not to say. That's the problem: you don't want to say or do anything that can somehow be misconstrued, will violate some random policy, or just generally piss someone off.

That said, here's the Reader's Digest version with more pictures than words.
1. It was very surreal.
2. Bob had to work A LOT.
3. Tanzanians were very excited; Europeans were not.
4. Yes, that is Josh sitting next to him.

Anniversary

Where has all the time gone? As I write this, on Valentine's Day, I am compelled to think about where I was last year. One year ago, I was in Atlanta with a house full of movers packing up everything we own. It was cold as hell (well, Atlanta cold), my husband had been gone for 3 weeks, and two of my three children were sick with influenza (the real flu--not just the "I feel like crap and so I'm going to call it the flu so everyone will know how miserable I am"). We were getting ready to get on a plane to live in a new country and had no idea what it would be like. Would we have a good house? Would the kids adjust? Would everyone be healthy? Would we be happy? In a nutshell: were we doing the right thing??? Suffice it to say I was stressed out.

Somehow we all survived and now we are approaching our first anniversary of living in Tanzania. And I think if you were to survey each of our family members in turn they would all say that the decision to come here was, in the words of Martha Stewart, a good thing. That's not to say that it has been a cakewalk--far from it. It's hard to be so far away from family and friends. When we left our niece was 3 months old; now she's a walking, talking toddler. It was hard for the kids (OK, all of us) to get used to a different way of doing things here. Everything is different and what isn't different costs more.

It's not easy living in such a poor country. There are parts of Tanzania where 15% of the population has HIV and an unacceptable number of children will not reach their 5th birthday. It's not fair that just because I was born in another country I am fortunate enough to be able to feed, clothe, educate, treat, and take care of my family when so many others cannot. I often spend more money in a short trip to the grocery store than many people make in a month. I don't feel like I deserve the things I have but I am thankful for them. Still it is hard to feel like a walking bank: we've loaned money for driving school, boat repairs, house construction, business supplies, bicycle purchases, and countless other reasons.

But thinking back on it all I wouldn't change a thing. Collectively we've all seen and done so many things that we would not have had the opportunity to do otherwise. I spent Christmas day taking my sons snorkeling in the Indian Ocean and marveling with them as we watched butterfly fish and moorish idols swim across the reef. It was incredible to be able to share that experience with them. I've watched them progress in learning a new language and improved my language skills as well. My children now know that there are Muslim and Hindu as well as Christian holidays. We have a housekeeper, gardener, and cook. Bob has learned a whole new set of skills at his job including many that he never imagined he'd be learning or doing. Right now, he's helping to prepare for the President Bush's visit.

So here, in no particular order, are some things I've learned over the past year:

Personal interactions matter a lot more in Tanzania. Tanzanians are very polite; much more so than Americans. People here spend a lot of time talking to and greeting each other. Americans are much more direct. Think about the last few conversations you've had with people. Chances are, if you're American, you tend to get to the point rather quickly ("I'm calling because..." or "I need this"). Americans are usually in a hurry for something--we hurry to the grocery store or to finish a project. We have rush hour and fast food. Here a driver will stop to let you into traffic and drivers don't usually use their horns (imagine that happening in Atlanta). A while back I was talking to my Swahili teacher. He was telling me about a cross-cultural training he did with a large office here which had many Americans and Tanzanians. One activity was particularly telling. He prepared a group of cards that described different qualities and attributes that influence an organizational setting. Each card had a particular quality written on it (things like: shows initiative, meets deadlines, is respectful, harmonious, etc). The group was divided into Tanzanians and Americans and were told to arrange these from most to least important. The Americans valued the productivity qualities (initiative, etc) most and the Tanzanians valued the relationship qualities. In fact, the results were basically reverse: initiative was at the bottom of the list for the Tanzanians and Americans valued the personal aspects the least.

TIA: This is Africa--Someone told Bob that they just remind themselves of this whenever something goes wrong; takes forever; or just doesn't make sensec. It's also applicable when every single ATM machine is broken, when someone making $65 per month invites you for lunch or when someone makes a khanga (traditional fabric) with a design of George Bush, the flags of Tanzania and the US, and some random safari animals and then makes it into a dress. And wears it. Things are just different here. Some of it is good; some of it is annoying; some of it should get large fines from the fashion police.

I hope there's rum--Before we moved here we were big wine drinkers but when the average daily temperature is above 90 for 9 months of the year the thought of red wine somehow loses its appeal. Plus, there's something about living on the beach near the equator that beckons you to have drinks with rum while listening to Jimmy Buffet or Bob Marley. A little paper umbrella would be a nice touch but I don't think you can get them here.


You really don't need all the junk you think you do--Now before you think we are getting all sanctimonious--fret not. We still have plenty of crap and clutter. Enough to keep my mom busy cleaning every time she comes to visit. But...I am amazed when I think about what I've found I don't need and what I've managed to do without. I don't really miss my Swiffer, rotisserie chicken from the deli or gasp! even Starbucks. We've learned to eat produce when it is season and when it's not in season we eat something else. There's no trucking in peaches in December here. In fact, peaches are available for about 3 weeks a year; plums last about 5 weeks. But during those days you celebrate and eat the hell out of them. Of course we can get fresh pineapple 12 months a year so it's not like we're suffering.

And just to balance the equation...there are plenty of things we do miss: potable water, asphalt, fresh yogurt, things that work, shoe stores, turkey lunch meat, bagels, Target, decent Internet, and being able to call long distance.

We love visitors--One of the good things about not seeing folks very often is that when they do visit you value that time together so much more. If you've been tossing around the idea of visiting Africa let me just say that now is the time to come. Our contract runs through June 2009 but the time between now and then will fly by. June and July are lovely months and we'd love to show you around. (Melissa, they even have a Bata shoe store now).

So happy anniversary ya'll!

Kariakoo

Dar es Salaam, like most other African cities, has a central shopping district. This is the best (and cheapest) place to get stuff. The shopping district here is called Kariakoo and it's one of those places where you can get anything. Need a power cord for your cell phone? Try Kariakoo. Looking for waterproof fabric to make a trampoline pad? Look at Kariakoo. Need a coconut grater, wheel bearings, 800 pounds of dried sardines, a bar of soap, or side mirrors for your car because they got stolen while you were at the movie theater? Yup. It's all there. If you can find it.

Obviously, Kariakoo isn't just a produce market (though they do have that too). It is a huge sprawling district with unmarked streets and tiny shops that are so narrow you can stretch out your arms and span the width. It's the place where everyone goes to get the cheapest price on whatever it is that they are searching for. Kariakoo gets up early and stays up late. I'm told that the actual market is only quiet for a few hours in the very dead of night.

I like going to Kariakoo; it's chaotic and probably not all that safe (but not unsafe just leave your valuables at home). It's one of those places where the experience is worth as much as what you buy. A big part of the challenge in a trip to Kariakoo is getting there. It's not all that far but you really can't drive there because there's no secure place to leave your car--if indeed you can find a place to park which I would venture to guess is about as likely as it snowing here. On the off chance that it is snowing in Dar and you do find a place to park with out hitting a car, cart or pedestrian I'm relatively certain that some part of the car or it's contents would be relieved of its duty by the time you finished shopping. (Of course, you can probably buy the same part back--but who wants to buy what you already own)? So that leaves public transport. I usually take a taxi and have a Tanzanian friend go with me. I'm not concerned about going by myself but it can be a challenge to find stuff unless your Swahili is really good because it is such a large area. It's one thing to ask for bananas, it's another thing to ask for a brake cable for a 2000 Mitsubishi Pajero.

My latest trip to Kariakoo centered on getting a few random items: 30 meters of satin fabric, 10 liters of coconut oil, and a 3/4 inch garden hose. I succeeded for the most part--the fabric was beautiful (and cheap: $1.20/meter). The price of coconut oil had doubled since the last time I was here. Who knows why but we visited enough sellers to determine that this was indeed the correct price. So I only got 5 liters instead of 10. We found the right diameter hose but not the correct legnth. I reckon that means I get to go back.