First Impressions

Dirty, dusty, muggy. Jostling, crowded, vibrant, active... But not nearly as chaotic as I was expecting. Much like cycling in Amsterdam, once you're actually in the messy matrix, it seems to make more sense. Sort of. I've had one taxi ride and three trips in various bajajis... all in equal parts, terrifying and entertaining.

We took a less stressful stroll to the shops down the road, stopping for breakfast at one of the many expat hang-outs, where we attempted to eat our food before the flies dominated the plates (major fail). I've already been relegated from money duties as I keep trying to pay small bills (e.g 1500 Tanzanian shillings) with multiple 5,000 Tsh bank notes. All those zeroes look the same to me. Gimme a break, it's only been a few hours! 

It took me longer than it probably should've to realise that Tsh represents the currency here. I just thought that all the ads were onomatopoeic translations for the customer service you can expect to receive: the noise a call centre rep is likely to make, like "hau" in SA or "pfft" in France... "tsh" in Tanzania. 

Speaking of ads, from my brief research last night and this morning, 80% of the outdoor marketing has been telecom/cell phone providers, 10% beer or alcohol and the remainder is dominated by products using Didier Drogba's name and face (this is not a short list).

I also absent-mindedly brushed my teeth with tap water both last night and this morning... so we'll find out soon enough whether the Travel Clinic's terror tactics regarding the state of water sanitation were unfounded, or not.

Tutaonana baadaye!