Market Day

Sunday is the big market day in our small town.  We went early, to see the sights and to buy some things for our house.  The weekly market is held in a large open area that looked to me to be about 4 acres in size.  Entering the area, we passed a small herd of patient tethered donkeys.  They carried the goods in, and will carry the unsold items back home when the day ends.   

At one end were the produce sellers, women dressed in colorful kangas and head wraps, who displayed their wares spread on tarps on the ground:  potatoes, onions, garlic, ginger, carrots, cabbage, tomatoes, and more.  We greeted Vicky, a vender whom we had met the day before at the regular city market.  Sellers of beans and grains are in another area.  I bought what was probably about a kilo of red beans for the equivalent of about 65 cents.  The vender didn't have a scale, but scooped my purchase from a large pile with a can the size of a coffee can.  Later today we sat on our porch and sorted them, removing the sticks, rocks, and nasty shriveled beans.  What have remaining will make several meals for the two of us.   

Other vendors sold household goods, spices, clothing, shoes, and Masai "mashuka", or blankets.  This is a Masai area, and they are a stately and colorful people, very interesting to our Western eyes.  They wrap plaid blankets of red or blue around their shoulders and let them hang to below knee level.  They generally carry long walking sticks which double as cattle prods when they are out on the range, and often have foot-long knives hanging from their belts.  I have seen some of the men with earlobes pierced with holes the size of a nickel, wearing elaborate earrings.

But we are always aware that we are the strange-looking people here.  In the three days we have been in this town, we have only seen one other white person, glimpsed briefly at the market.  We are a source of interest and amusement to the populace.  They often smile and laugh when we speak Swahili to them--I haven't decided if it is in surprise and delight, or if it is because our accents and grammar are just dreadful.

Travel

Most Tanzanians take a bus when they travel, especially between cities.  There are different kinds, and the best choice depends on distance and cost.

Dala-dalas are vans that are used primarily for short distances, often within cities.  There is a saying here, "There's always room for one more in a dala-dala."  They are usually crammed full, to the point of discomfort.  When the seats are full, people stand, cheek to cheek, so to speak.  The conductor often hangs out the sliding door of the van as it moves down the road, so that he can spot even more potential passengers waiting for a ride.  They are cheap, though.  The standard fare within Morogoro is 300 shillingi, about 20 cents.

Coasters are small buses.  They are often somewhat overcrowded, but not to the same extent as dala-dalas.  They can travel between cities, but aren't the travel mode of choice for really long trips.

Full-size express buses come in come in a number of grades of quality.  "Luxury" is far better than "semi-luxury" in terms of comfort and roominess.  They also make fewer stops to pick up passengers.  They may cost a few shillingi more, but I think they are worth it, for those who can afford the expense.

What coasters and buses have in common is that they are surrounded by venders whenever they stop, even for a few moments.  At the bus stations, people carry trays of items in strange assortment:  sunglasses, socks, nail clippers, and chewing gum may be on display from one vendor, while another may have wallets, jewelry, and lollypops. When riders are sitting on the bus, people appear at the windows, hawking their wares.  I find that it's best not to even look at them, or they will continue to insist for several minutes that I really do need something from the tray. 

When the bus is on the road, the vendors are usually of a different sort.  At any stop, road construction, or police checkpoint, young men run up to the bus holding such things as bags of oranges, loaves of bread, roasted corn on the cob, or grilled meat on a stick.  There are also people with the ubiquitous trays offering sodas, water, candy, dry and tasteless baked goods, or bags of nuts.    Sometimes, and this surprised me, the tray people are allowed on the bus, and walk up and down the aisles, offering their snacks.  If the bus starts up before they get off, they simply ride to the next stop, where they (presumably) get off and catch another bus back to where they started.  I think the bus driver must get a percentage of all of this commerce.

The most unusual offering I observed in my recent travels was when a man thrust a live chicken, held by the feet, in the door of the coaster I was on.  I guess he thought one of us might want a chicken dinner that night.  Much to my relief, he got no takers on my bus.

Site visit

Last week, the Peace Corps trainees were sent out into the field on "site visits".  Mark and I spent a few days shadowing a volunteer whose site is on the slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro.  We stayed in her house and shadowed her as she interacted with the community and taught at her school.  Her site is 2+ hours from the city of Moshi, and up a winding road on the mountain.  She doesn't have electricity, but uses solar lamps, flashlights, and a kerosene cooker.  She lives surrounded by lush vegetation--banana and avocado trees, and coffee plantations.

After a few days, our hostess escorted us to the city of Arusha, where we met the headmistress of our own school.  (Yes, we've received our assignments!)    She greeted us warmly and took us to our school in a small town near Arusha.  The school is large, with many boarding students.  We will be living in a two bedroom house on the campus--a mixed blessing.  It's a safe and convenient location, but we will be surrounded by students ALL THE TIME.  Nevertheless, it has electricity (when the power is on) and water (which wasn't on when we were there) and an inside bathroom.  The kitchen is currently bare, but our headmistress told us she will have a sink and gas cooker installed, and provide us with a tank of propane.  A carpenter is making furniture for us, and we are thinking of buying a fridge.  So, we will be living in relative luxury!      

 Now, we go back to training for several days.  We will be "sworn in" as official Peace Corps Volunteers on August 15th, and then go to our sites for the next 2 years.  I'm glad we got a good one!