You Know You Are In Tanzania When… (Vol IV)
30 December 2009 at 21:46 Jennifer Gong 8 comments
By Jennifer Gong, KF9 Tanzania
As my fellowship draws to a close, I would like to contribute my last post to a tradition set by past Tanzanian Kiva Fellows. There is something unique about the country that fellows have been compelled to share. Alec Lovett (a KF4 and my interviewer!) first started the series “You know you are in Tanzania when…” back in 2008 and later added a Vol 2. Jara Small (KF5) brilliantly added her observations and wrote Vol 3. In my 90 days here, I’ve been privy to witness some of the unique characteristics of Tanzania and its inhabitants. So here goes Vol 4… Enjoy!
You know you are in Tanzania when…
- If you are Asian, you’ll either get called “mchina mchina!” or “hua hee hor” + flying kick because everyone assumes you know kung fu.
- You feel so good finding a bajaji (a motor rickshaw) because it’s about a few dollars cheaper than a taxi.
- A normal dish includes 3 pieces of meat, a sprinkle of veggies and rice, bananas, potatoes, ugali (maize flour) and possibly three other types of carbs.
- You get this great pickup line pretty often: “Do you have a guy? Are you married? Want to marry me?”
- No matter how much weight you’ve gained eating fried chicken and fries, you will be told to eat more.
- You will get stuck with a lot of sweaty money because they were just fished out of someone’s undergarments
- You learn to pop a bottle cap using the edge of a table and a swish of your fist
- You know it’s futile to fight your way into a dalla dalla (local bus) and should just wait for the 50 hands in the crowd behind you to push you in
- You start obsessing over good bed nets.
- You realize how fast 90 days can go by and within those 90 days, how many friends you can make, how many wonders you can see and how you can make a lasting connection with a place you once only dreamed about.
p.s. Happy 2010!
Entry filed under: KF9 (Kiva Fellows 9th Class), Tanzania. Tags: Africa, blogsherpa, Jennifer Gong, KF9, Kiva, Tanzania.
1. Final Thoughts as a Kiva Fellow/You Know You’re in Tanzania When… « Sara's Blog | 25 June 2010 at 05:02
[...] tradition set by past Tanzanian Kiva Fellows (see posts by Alec Lovett KF4; Jara Small, KF5; and Jennifer Gong, KF9) and share a few of my observations from this crazy and charming country. Hope you [...]
2. You Know You are in Tanzania When…. (Volume V) « Kiva Stories from the Field | 25 June 2010 at 04:32
[...] tradition set by past Tanzanian Kiva Fellows (see posts by Alec Lovett KF4; Jara Small, KF5; and Jennifer Gong, KF9) and share a few of my observations from this crazy and charming country. Hope you [...]
3. Kemi | 13 June 2010 at 01:22
Hello,
am working on a project Enjoy Tanzania an would like to interview for your Tanzanian experience.Please inform if this is something you would like to contribute on
Thanks
Kemi Bubelwa
4. Sandra Whitfield | 9 February 2010 at 15:41
Jennifer,
I live in Richmond, VA but was in Tanzania last summer so I loved reading your “You Know When You’re in Tanzania When” list. I lived in a village in Central Tanzania and my heart remains with the lovely people I met there. The village is full of bright, smart women who are eager to work but as with some many, have no money and no collateral to get started. I want to help them become involved in microlending but certainly don’t want to reinvent the wheel since there are so many Field Partners with Kiva or some other organization that might be able to work with them. My problem is that I’ve been unable to locate a Field Partner in Central Tanzania. The village I lived in is about one hour from Dodoma, the capital, but I’ve yet to be able to find a Field Partner there. So many seem to be around Dar or in the North. Up until now I’ve just being trying to surf the web for connections but haven’t been successful. My hope is that I can find a field partner in the area, connect the village women with the partner, and then give to the village women through KIVA. There are many people in my church who have traveled to this village and I know would also be willing to lend through Kiva. So are you yet asking why I’m emailing you?? I guess it’s providence that pulled your name up for me. Any connections you might recommend that would help me in my search would be appreicated. Thank you.
5. ALEX | 4 January 2010 at 01:04
Obsessing over bed nets made me laugh out loud in the office. Here in Vietnam I always get asked if I’m married and plenty of giggles follow when I say no. /ALEX, KF9
6. Rebecca Corey | 3 January 2010 at 11:17
Haha this is wonderful, Jen! I laughed out loud at all of these because they are just SO TRUE! It’s been amazing having you as a friend and colleague here in Dar es Salaam. See you soon, dada mchina!
Rebecca
7. Hanna Azemati | 1 January 2010 at 04:27
hilarious and sounds very familiar from my experience in Kenya!
8. Howard Zugman | 31 December 2009 at 04:41
Thanx (didn’t see your name):
Good post. Jeff Foxworthy would be proud.