Tanzania, Day 14

July 30, 2010

Today I woke up promptly at 7 am, long enough to remember that this was a day off but that I might as well get up anyway since I was wide awake. The next thing I knew it was 9:30. So I ended up getting a wonderful sleep & I sure feel better for it.

We took our time over breakfast & then decided to explore a bit. The Botanical Gardens border on our hotel; the staff only have to unlock a gate behind the swimming pool & you are in the gardens. We were on the other side of the gate for barely a minute when we were intercepted by a young man. He introduced himself, explained that he was a student from the horticultural college in Morogoro, & proceeded to show us around. He showed us the huge cashew tree, over 150 years old & planted by the Germans when they were running the country. He pointed out the peacocks & the spider monkeys. And he showed us the mahogany tree & the cement enclosure where in previous days people were kept just before getting shipped to the Middle East to be sold as slaves. He explained that he was a Burundian, a refugee, who had witnessed the massacre of his father during the terrible genocide there. His mother, he said, hadn't been the same since & one of his brothers disappeared at that time & hasn't been seen to this day. He explained how he had malaria & had to rush to the hospital only 2 nights ago for emergency IV treatment but that he lacked the money to pay for essential follow-up medication. Could we help him with a donation?... Ah yes, the ask. At this point, I confess, the impact of his entire story vanished like a puff of smoke; I wasn't even sure if the cashew & mahogany trees were real (probably they were). We told him that we weren't carrying any money & in fact had to return to the hotel to meet some friends.

Poverty & desperation change peoples' behaviour; there's no doubt about that. As mzugus (white foreigners) we stand out vividly & are immediately subjected to racial profiling, as being immeasurably rich & either stingy or gullible. It is disappointing to feel used but it's just the way things are & the way things are likely to be for the immediate future, anyway.

The peacocks & the monkeys are real, however. The peacocks fly over the fence from the botanical gardens onto the patio of the hotel where people are drinking beer. The waiters serve nice little bowls of curry-roasted cashews with the drinks & no doubt the peacocks have figured this out. They strut around very boldly & I don't doubt they'd eat cashews right from your hand but I never saw anybody try it. Their beaks are intimidating. And the monkeys are also quite aggressive. We were warned to keep our windows closed at the hotel because if you leave them open the monkeys may come in & apparently they can make quite a mess.

Later, we took a taxi to the Misutu market to buy some spices. We had been told that that's where the spice market was (Zanzibar -- spice capital of the world -- is so close) but it seems we were misinformed or at least misunderstood. The Misutu market did have quite a variety of food items, especially vegetables, fruits, rice, beans, & chickens. We looked & looked, up & down every little nook & cranny & we did see plenty of stuff, including a woman who was busy at the back beheading the chickens. But we only saw a few people selling spices in pre-packaged plastic bags at set prices. Not quite what we were hoping for but we bought some anyway.

Visiting the market is a high-adrenaline experience. Misutu market is so noisy & crowded that it makes the market at Dodoma look like a Japanese garden in comparison. Everybody is hungry for business & as a mzugu you are a prey species. Your only option is to walk around presenting a composure of confidence & serenity (the last 2 things you feel). Otherwise, you WILL be vulnerable.

The rest of the day was pretty laid back. We ate, we drank, we walked along the beach beside Ocean Street, we waited for Greg & Brian to finish work & then we ate & drank some more. Tomorrow we are heading for the little island & (maybe!) a chance to swim in the Indian Ocean.