Dar Days

Note: sorry for the backlog of posts, we didn't have time to sit around and blog much, as we were out having too much fun!

I’m back to my old digs, Dar! (I lived there for about 3 months when I was an undergrad, studying at the University of Dar es Salaam.) A lot has changed since 2003 (movie theaters, shopping malls, pseudo-Target?!), although after a day here, it seems exactly the same. We started our day by attempting to walk to the American Embassy from “Posta” (downtown) where our hotel is. We quickly learned that Tanzanians a) give the worst directions EVER, and b) are seemingly completely inept at map-making. Although the Embassy was off the map that we acquired at the hotel desk, someone had hand drawn directions to the Embassy in the margin, making it look approximately ¼ mile off the edge of the map. Oh how wrong that was. We walked ….and walked….and walked out on the road that went off the edge of the map, looking for the embassy on the right, just off the corner of the main road. After about 2.5 miles, we thought we must have missed it and turned around. After making it back to where the map stopped and not seeing the American Embassy (we passed Iran, Sudan, Poland, Norway, France, Germany, Mozambique, Canada, Egypt…), we stopped and asked directions. After much discussion – some of it even about our problem at hand – they decided it was much too far to walk, and that we had to take a cab. Boy, were they right. At the bargain-basement price of 4,000 Tsh, we hitched a ride to the Embassy. For the distance – about 4 miles – it was a pretty good deal.

Once we arrived at the Embassy, things were good. The Embassy staff were great, and very helpful. We ended up sitting around chatting with them for a couple of hours. It’s a literally a little slice of America, where you can drink out of the drinking fountains, and even their port-a-potties are the fanciest Ryan had ever seen. (This ain’t no RAGBRAI, baby!)

Anyway, we then got yet another completely disproportionate map made by one of the Embassy staff (a Tanzanian) and headed off to COSTECH, the research ethics office. After about 3.5 miles in the mid-day equatorial sun, we made it! ….only to be told to return on Monday. Since both Ryan and I were not about to walk another step, we attempted to get a cab, but failed miserably at getting anything but ‘wazungu’ prices. Luckily, we were on a Dala Dala route, so we hopped on and Ryan got his first taste of true Dar life. Dala Dalas are public mini-busses that shuttle around the city for about 20 cents per ride. They are jam-packed and hot as hell, and definitely not made for people over 5’5”. But they get you where you need to go, and cheaply, plus you get free entertainment from the circus that is the Dala Dala.

-Betsy