All Kinds of Things

So, I haven't written in a long time, so I will try to give a whole bunch of information today.

We are just waiting around for school to start and our roommates to arrive and nothing is very clear. Apparently classes will begin tomorrow, but we don't know which classes, or exactly how to register. Its crazy how, as the biggest, most prestigious University in the country, they are this unorganized. It also just shows how crazy organized Stanford is. Also, I got clearance to volunteer at a local hospital, so we will see if I can get there sometime this week.

Transportation in Tanzania
I've gotten so used to the transportation here that I almost forgot to write about it. In Dar, and the rest of Tanzania, most people travel via Dala-Dalas. They are small, 16-seater Toyota vans in which all of the original seats have been removed and replaced with more seats (the ultimate goal is to get as many people inside as possible). The ceiling is usually covered in some kind of wildly tacky cloth, and the back is painted with an often religious phrase, sometimes in English and terribly misspelled (example: "Grory to God" since Swahili speakers tend to mix up their Ls and Rs.) If you want to get anywhere in town, you wait at a "bus stop" (a cut out in the road) and a Dala will swing by to pick you up. There is a driver and a conductor ("conda") who shouts at people to get in and collects money. They drive specific routes and when you want to get off, you call "shusha," which means "get off" and the conda will get the driver to stop at the next bus stop. The whole system is really efficient, and besides being periodically sat on by mamas or forced to stand with your butt in someone's face, it's quite easy to use. Plus, each ride is 300 shillings, equivalent to 27 cents. Recently, Tony got a chance to be a conda for a day, and he is now seriously famous. Everywhere we go, people shout, "conda!" at him. Also, there are taxis and mini 3-wheel taxis. When mom and dad come (in less than 2 weeks!) I think we may stick to taxis.

Food
Food is definitely what I miss most about home (after the people of course). Tanzanian food is almost always fried carbs and ridiculously chewy meat. For breakfast, Tanzanians usually eat mandazi (fried pastry), chapati, samosas, or supu, this disgusting meat broth with pieces of literal cow foot. The rest of the food (aka lunch and dinner) is rice, ugali (corn maize mush), cooked bananas with beans, peas, okra, or meat. Also, chipsi (aka french fries) is often served as a main course with meat, or cooked with eggs as an egg-french-fried-omelette. The saving grace is the availability of fresh fruits and veggies, which I can buy at the cafeteria and the guy will cut up for us. Plus, there are some more American and Asian places around that we can get to for special occasion. Oh, what I would do for a turkey sandwich!

Greetings
Greetings here is a huge part of daily life. Every time I enter the dorm I have to greet the guard (who, incidentally is a little old women who frequently loses her voice and sits on a chair all day listening to the radio - good to know we have a fierce attentive guard!) Greetings go something like this:
Me: Shikamoo (repsectfully greeting her)
Guard: Marahaba (I accept your respect). Hujambo? (how are you?)
Me: Sijambo (I am fine), Habari za kazi? (how is your work?)
Guard: nzuri (good) za kwako? (your home?)
Me: Nzuri (good)
Guard: za shule? (school?)
Me: nzuri (good)
Guard: za siku? (the day?)
Me: Nzuri (good)
Guard: nzima? (are you whole?)
Me: nzima. (I am whole.)
...all before I can get into the dorm! Other variations ask about your night, your morning, even the last 5 minutes if I have been up to my room only briefly and heading back down. Oy.

Alright...off to have some amazing Tanzania food....

RQ