It's only been a month?!

Dar is a city of many perspectives. There is a sort of bittersweet beauty in how poverty and opulence can co-exist under the same identity of what it means to be Tanzanian. Here is a picture of the street that I live on. Whereas 70% of Dar is comprised of informal settlements, I am fortunate to live on one of the few neighbourhoods that are planned. Despite the number of compounds (and perhaps because of) there is garbage everywhere on the streets. This past weekend, the Tanzanian government destroyed all the illegal stalls that were set up on the side of the main roads. These informal stalls are, or were, sell everything from clothes to vegetables to cell phone top up cards, and it is a shame to see peoples’ livelihoods literally turn into rubble on the side of the roads. These stalls existed all over the city, generating thousands of dollars for the informal economy. Unfortunately, they usually inhabit land that is reserved for future road allowances. They contribute to the traffic congestion and, as one Tanzanian observed, “are eyesores.” I doubt these local stalls will go away, as people still have to earn a living somehow. We shall see what happens as the months progress.

On Saturday, we took the walking tour of downtown suggested by the Lonely Planet, which was actually rather boring. The most interesting part of the tour was our visit to the fish market, the smell of which assaults your nose. Dozens of vendors are deep frying their catch and selling them to the public. I will have to return to the fish market for pictures and a taste of the catch. We also visited the Botanical Gardens, where we saw monkeys with bright turquoise blue testicles! I was unfortunately unable to get a good shot of said image, but I did catch a shot of the family of monkeys before they scooted off J My roommates and I visited Karembezi Café, a beautiful terraced restaurant perched next to the Indian Ocean. As I sipped my coffee and enjoyed the ocean view, I can hardly believe that just a few minutes ago I was walking through Dar’s dirty and rather languishing city centre.

I must admit, this electricity crisis in Dar is becoming a rather severe issue. As it is Ramadan, we are now without power 7 days a week between 6am and 6pm, though the availability of electricity at night continues to be unpredictable. I am lucky enough that if I cannot cook at home on the weekends, I can still spend a bit more to eat out.


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