Comments on: The Real Dar >> a letter of hope and a plea for acceptance

By: Michael Leen

Michael Leen — Fri, 04 Apr 2014 19:06:00 +0000

Thanks for the honest reflection, Jessie. My wife and I recently moved from the United States to Tanzania and are going through a similar adjustment process. We are currently studying Kiswahili in the Mara region and will be living in Mwanza. Like you, we keep a blog of our experiences with weekly updates. https://leenhome.blogspot.com/

By: YTSL

YTSL — Sun, 01 Sep 2013 01:04:00 +0000

Hi again Jessie —

Thanks for the updates.

Yes, I’ve heard of mpesa — it’s originally Kenyan, right?

Re the conversion rate: oh my re how things are now… but it figures. The first time I was in Tanzania, in the summer of 1992, it was US$1=380 TSH at the beginning of my trip but had become US$1=420 after six weeks.

Another question: is there still regular electricity rationing in the dry months — because, as I remember it, much of Tanzania’s electricity is via hydroelectricity? Also, is there much talk these days (still) of Zanzibar wanting to break away or not?

By: Jessie

Jessie — Tue, 13 Aug 2013 18:40:00 +0000

Haha, as you know, I lived in Guangzhou for two years, and thus my views of how much a country changes is very skewed. Skyscrapers can be built in a couple months, right…? 😉
Though the skyline in Dar hasn’t exactly gone through the type of change that the Shanghai Bund skyline has gone through, I think that in the past few years alone dramatic changes have taken place. There are plenty of ATMs available, and most people have mobile phones now. Have you heard of mpesa? It’s actually a method to pay via phone, and a lot of urban and rural Africans are using this to pay for their utilities and what not. It’s more reliable, and corruption-free, than going through actual people! And get this- the first KFC opened right before I arrived (still no McDonalds). I’m so curious about this KFC – it’s in Mikocheni, on Old Bagamoyo Road. It’s definitely the new cool place to be for the local Tanzanians… I might try to visit and blog about it!. Definitely plenty of dala dalas making their way around the city still, that hasn’t changed much – it’s still one of the only forms of “public transit”. Potholes, too, though more roads are starting to get paved, I’ve heard that after every rainy season they’re still plagued with potholes.
And, regarding the conversion rate, I’m not quite sure what to think! These days $1USD is 1621 TSH.

By: YTSL

YTSL — Sun, 11 Aug 2013 15:06:00 +0000

Hi again Jessie —

Am not sure where to begin to talk about my experiences in Dar. I have blogged a bit (but just a bit, mind) about my time in Tanzania.

I get the feeling that things have changed in Tanzania since I was last there — but maybe not as much as in other parts of the world since that time?

But to give you an idea of what Dar was like in 1992 and 1995-1996: we’re talking about a place without ATMs and US fast food outlets (like McDonald’s) but a few people with mobile phones along with regular electricity rationing and lots of potholes as well as dala dalas on the streets and roads. Oh, and the Tanzanian shilling was around 650 shillings to US$1 when I left (in July 1996).

So… has much changed since then… or not?

By: Jessie

Jessie — Sat, 03 Aug 2013 07:32:00 +0000

btw Natasha, you look like a busy girl these days!!

By: Jessie

Jessie — Sat, 03 Aug 2013 07:30:00 +0000

Hi! I would love to hear more about your experience. From what I’ve heard, though a lot of the city looks the same, people have said there’s been huge changes in the last couple of years alone. Last weekend I heard they’re building a port in Bagamoyo, with the intent to unload some of the congestion at the Dar ports. We’ll see!

You know, the hardest thing here has been taking photos – a lot of the photos were taken from the car, or hopping out of the car for a sec, or by discreetly wielding my camera on my hip. I am used to the constant clicking of nice cameras in asia, where people don’t seem to mind as much. They might glare, but they don’t do a thing. I definitely hear what you’re saying about people being anti-photo. I was shocked the first couple of times, too, when the subjects I was shooting on the street demanded a payment, or for me to buy something from them. I mean, I get it, I’m totally the voyeur….but still….

Thanks for dropping a comment. Keep on stopping by!!! I see you’re in HK now. Amazing!

By: YTSL

YTSL — Sat, 03 Aug 2013 06:29:00 +0000

Hi Jessie —

I lived in Dar es Salaam for 6 weeks in 1992 and then again for much of 1995 and 1996. Your writings and photos take me back…

It’s amazing to see the photos and see how much Dar es Salaam today looks like it was when I was there. The economic disparity (between the majority of expats and locals) was there too — but I do feel that connections can be made across that huge gap.

Re the photos: did you take them from a car? When I lived in Tanzania, people were really anti-photo taking of them if you weren’t friends of theirs. I remember people saying things like “I’m not an animal” — because they equate strangers taking photos of them to tourists taking photos of animals on safari.

BTW, I’m originally from Malaysia. And I think you’ll appreciate that in Dar es Salaam, people use to call me “mtoto China” — even though I was an adult already when I lived there.

webs-of-significance.blogspot.com

By: Jessie

Jessie — Thu, 01 Aug 2013 08:35:42 +0000

Yes, it is those experiences that make traveling, and living abroad, worthwhile!