Five Stars

Some of the most surprising differences in life here versus in the States are from the more common things that you normally don’t think about.  One example would be movies.  Acquiring and watching movies in Tanzania is quite different than in the States. 

Movies can be bought in small electronic shops or just off the street.  Unlike in the States, where movies come in fancy plastic cases, DVDs here come in plastic sleeves inside a flat folder of thick paper.  And unlike in the States, movies here are sold in bunches.  When you buy a DVD you get anywhere from ten to thirty movies.  What I find most surprising is that they somehow fit twenty-odd movies on one DVD.  The grouping of the movies has little reason to it.  They could claim to be grouped by comedies, action or other criterion but in actuality tend to be mixed.  A DVD of comedy movies might contain ten comedies, two dramas and an action movie. Once you have made your selection, you don’t have to worry about breaking the bank to pay for the movies.  Buying one DVD with perhaps twenty movies costs only about $2.30.  Yes, with two dollars and thirty cents you can buy more than twenty movies.  How is this possible, you ask?  Let me illuminate…

Think back to the last movie you watched.  What was the first thing that came up on the screen?  Piracy warnings.  What was the last thing?  Credits.  Both of these things are removed from the movies here.  All of the movies are clearly pirated and many appear to have been recorded in a movie theater as you can hear the audience’s laughter in the background.  I can now understand why writers, producers and other are so concerned about the copyrights of their films. 

Though the majority of films are of good quality, some of them are less adequate.  As I said previously, some have been recorded and the sound tracks have external noises in them.  Many of the films are accompanied with subtitles, though not always accurate ones.  For example, the subtitles in the Disney children’s film Up contain quite a few swear words that are definitely not in the movie.  Other movies have subtitles that convey the same meaning as what is said but in very different words.  One movie I watched was originally in English but had been dubbed in some East European language and had subtitles that were terribly confusing and clearly had little to do with what was happening on screen.  Despite these viewing difficulties, the overall watching experience has been positive.

Ingenuity

If you were to ask someone of the street what words they would use to describe Americans, chances are the word ‘ingenious’ would be among the resulting list.  From founding fathers like Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson to Thomas Edison and Bill Gates, we believe we hold a strong lineage of ingenious minds.  But I believe this is not due to an inherent ‘American nature’ but results from chance.  The real inventors are those in developing nations.

Inspired by the local atmosphere, we have done some of our own improvising.  When you can’t rely on a Target or Wal-mart to provide little necessities, you have to find other ways of making due.  We’ve created candle holders and a rolling pin out of old bottles,  a Tanzania version of Monopoly out of old cereal boxes and bottle caps, and house decorations of seed pods found in our backyard.  The cupboard in our hallway has been dedicated to raw materials and all scraps are deposited there until they are needed.

Ingenuity springs from making due with what you have.  In third world countries, resources are limited, creating an ideal playground for an ingenious mind. Here, children create play toys from discarded water jugs and old bicycle rims, women make handicrafts out of plant materials and men rig bicycles with grindstones to sharpen blades.  The creativity exhibited by the children in developing countries is precisely what the world needs when trying to tackle the problems like energy shortage and climate change. 

Unfortunately, the education to improve this creativity is not what it should be.  If you were born in Tanzania, you may not have had the opportunity to attend school as is granted in the States.  Success lies in opportunity.  These children have been given the priming for creativity and ingenuity but they lack education.  If given the education and opportunities, the children of developing nations could easily become the world leaders, inventors and scientists that will drive our world forward in the years to come. 

The Ascent

I have climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro.  I did it.  Well, I didn’t climb to the top, but I’ve climbed a little.  The college at Mweka is just a few kilometers downhill from the park gate.  We’ve walked up to the gate a few times just for the fun of it.

Setting off under marshmallow clouds, we turn left onto the paved road which turns to gravel meters past the college.  The village of Mweka lies just uphill from the college and consists of a few shops and a scattering of houses.  The shops are all small, but packed with items.  As you walk along Main Street, you can see a pharmacy, tailors at antique Singer sewing machines, and the butcher shop (a small white tiled building with carcasses hanging from hooks in the ceiling). The areas between houses are filled with banana plants and maize. 

We follow the rocky volcanic road as it winds up the mountain, past two primary schools and through a second village.  This village has many restaurant/bars filled with more white plastic chairs than the village probably has people.  These ‘bars’ that line either side of the road, are short, open structures with a barred counter in the back.  White and red plastic chairs crowd around wobbly plastic tables on the packed dirt floor. As you pass through the town, old men offer a local brew from large, brightly coloured plastic cups. 

As we continue on the road inclines sharply but we are rewarded at the top of the rise with spectacular views of golden plains and blue mountains under pillow clouds.  Up here, the view puts into perspective how far up the mountain we actually are.  As we reach the gate, banana trees give way to forest and tree ferns. 

All along the way, children run out to greet us with “Jambo!” or “Good morning” (even when it is the afternoon).  Some are quieter and shadow us a few paces back.  Often, they ask for money or chocolate, which of course, everyone carries when they go on a walk, right?  Older folk are amused by our limited knowledge of Swahili greetings.  They enthusiastically greet us and laugh good naturedly when we get the response wrong.