1.Always appreciate running water, especially if you are lucky enough to have a hot water heater. Along this same line, never underestimate how much a shower taken with frigid cold water can wake you up in the mornings. Also along the same vein, the water is always hotter in the evening after the jua kali (fierce sun) has warmed it up. 2.Sean Connery’s character in the movie “A League of Extraordinary Gentlemen” expressed the sentiment perfectly when he said, “This is Africa, dear boy. Sweating is what we do.”. Sweating is a natural part of African life. Going off this, most Africans do not wear deoderant because it is so expensive, and not a necessary expense. Infer what you will about the conditions in a dala dala on a hot day. 3.There are friendly snakes here. You’re probably thinking that there is no such thing. And my sentiments would have been the same as yours before going to Pugu Hills Nature Preserve where the Dutch lady that owns it with her husband warned us to stay away from the ‘friendly’ snakes. She told us that they would be very friendly and would appear as twigs hanging down from the branches. She also told us that they were one of the deadliest snakes in Africa…right before we went on a nature hike through the woods. 4. Never underestimate the sound of bushbabies, playing monkeys and bullfrogs. Along with the animal theme, mosquitos here are different. As in they are tiny compared to the ones we have in the States. Consequently, they also don’t hurt when they bite you so after spending a night outside eating dinner, it is not uncommon to wake up with at least ten new bites on random parts of your body. 5.The concept of lines is apparently a new thing in Africa. And I’m not even being sarcastic here. Someone read in the guidebook that the formation of lines only happened a couple years ago in areas like the cafeteria. Although knowing this idea does not make me any more amenable to people budding in the long line at the only open cafeteria. 6.Soda is cheaper than purified, safe drinking water. 7.For the first few days of sleeping under a mosquito net at night, I felt like a princess. But after that, tucking in the net under your mattress every night just becomes kind of a pain. But a necessary one that becomes part of the routine. 8.Girls and women seem to have either very short hair (think shorter than a buzz cut) or braids. On this note, I found out that once I had my hair braided in the African style, women and men seemed more receptive to me and did not hesitate to come up and start a conversation. 9.As Caleb expressed, “everything is cheaper here, but nothing is as nice”. 10.No matter how long you sit under the Degree Tree, multiple ants will find their way into your things and onto your body. 11.Greetings and social interactions are taken seriously here, nothing like a quite ‘hi, how are you’ but a long, drawn out process that makes it seem like people truly care what’s going on with your job, family, and life in general. 12.Everything moves at a slower pace and things tend to be very fluid here – like time and deadlines. 13.No one ever eats while walking or eats on the run. Again, the slower pace of life. 14.Birds taking mud baths on the road next to the cafeteria are adorable. 15.Although Tanzania produces coffee, hardly anyone here drinks it. 16.There is a definite ‘chain of command’ concept. For example, when Dana (my roommate) and I needed a screen replaced in our room, I asked Paulina about it before talking to our hall warden Mama Jane, simply because I had seen her before M.J. When I did see Mama Jane, she basically chewed me out for not having come to see her first. 17.Women that have their fingernails manicured usually only have their left hands done. 18.Tanzanians are genuinely great people who are friendly. 19.Food, family, and friends make anything and everything better. These are some of the observations that I’ve made so far, more to come later.
