Archive for October, 2009
And for everything else, there’s $10
The prices of food and other commodities in Tanzania continues to astound me. The other day I bought five tomatoes, two cucumbers and an eggplant for 38¢. On top of that, the quality of the vegetables is much better and fresher than any you would find in the states. Sending a text message will cost […]
A lesson for Kermit the frog
This year I will dare to be green. I vow to reduce my energy consumption, conserve water and eat locally. A year ago, I had to drive twenty minutes to get to school and back home, at least five times a week. Now because I have vowed to go green, I will walk. It takes […]
Partly Cloudy With a Chance of Rain
The weather here is annoyingly unpredictable. The mornings when you wake up to a clear blue sky always seem to be the ones that end in a shower, and the days that start off gloomy, end up cheerfully sunny. Yesterday, I awoke to a clear sky. By nine, it was dark and dreary. It cleared […]
Can you hear me now?
One thing I’ve noticed here is the surprising regularity of cell phones. In a developing nation one thing you would not expect to see is phones. But they are everywhere here. At the college most people seem to have them as do many in the city. And, as I’ve been told, the coverage is very […]
Close Enough
Tanzania is the land of approximation. The lifestyles, products and mindsets of Tanzania are all very approximate. What I mean is Tanzania proscribes a different set of ideals and protocol to its people and products. For example, if you happen down to the lumber store in Tanzania you’re bound to find irregular boards and sheets […]
Big Ben, Freeze, Camden Market and sushi
So London, it’s amazing. We left here around ten thirty or so and got on our flight and arrived at our hotel around five, starving. Where upon we were all hungry which caused a mass exodus from the hotel towards anything that sold food. A few of my friends convinced me Indian food was a […]
Happy Diwali!
Hey folks! For most of us, last weekend was a relaxed one filled mostly with leisurly reading and exchanging stories from our field visits. We have been making our own dinner on the Sundays that we are here in Bangalore in order to give Clara, the fabulous Visthar head cook, a break. It had been […]
Computer Science 101
While in Tanzania, I had a plan of volunteering. I thought I might be able to do some promotional photography for the college and volunteer at a local school. So last week I got started on finding where I could volunteer. Starting to volunteer is not as easy a project as I had imagined. I […]
Hello! Hello!
Brendan Wilkes here! Sorry about this post being a bit late, the internet wasn’t being nice before departing for our week long stay, but now it’s ready to go! It’s hard to believe we’ve been in beautiful India for an entire month now. This week we put the cap stone on our first course titled […]
Rain and Rugby
This past weekend we went to a Rugby game in Moshi. Football (soccer) is the true game of Tanzania – and the world – but Rugby is gaining popularity. Introduced in Kenya during the colonial period it has since spread south and is becoming common in Tanzania. So down the hill we went to Moshi. […]