Hapana!

TESS: Our first full day in Tanzania!! It rained pretty much all night and most of the day and ended late afternoon, but by no means interrupted any of our plans. We started out with a wonderful breakfast. Everyone was joking about how they thought they would come to Africa and lose weight, guess again. No one expected such a spread (cereal, fruit, sausage, bacon, made to order omelets...). We don't even get to eat like this back in Athens. After a little bit of free time, we had our official orientation for headquarters and our classes. We elected a president just to keep track of a few things over the course of the trip and I'm the only girl so that singles me out? Thanks guys. We didn't cover much Swahili, but we did learn the most important word of our entire stay here - "Hapana" - which means "No." When it comes to the markets, all of sudden everyone is your friend and repeating this word might be your only escape. We also looked over the schedule. It is being adjusted a little bit as expected, but that only adds to the adventure. Our schedule is packed and everyone is very excited. After lunch, another filling meal, we headed out to town for the afternoon. We stopped to exchange money and immediately upon stepping out the door we were bombarded. "Hapana. Hapana." and back on the bus. All of the vendors are very nice; however, I just never expected them to be so persistent ( i.e., knocking on the windows of our bus). We went to a small market for our first real dose of the culture. The market was filled with beautiful fabrics, carvings, paintings, spears, you name it. Bargaining is the name of the game. The trick is apparently to start 400% lower than their first offer and meet in the middle. Some people tried their hand at it and bought a few items. I decided to sit this one out and just observe til the next round later this week. From the market, we made a brief stop with destination of your choice to either a coffee shop or a small restaurant for some pop. We took a short tour of the city via the bus and headed back to headquarters. There was an optional nature walk upon our return. Some opted for the chance to see monkeys and some opted for the sacred nap. Following suit with breakfast and lunch, dinner did not disappoint. For the last program of the day, Mr. Stephen Ndosi spoke about Tanzanian history and allowed us to ask questions to direct his discussion. Tanzania is very different than many of the other countries in Africa. One of the things I found most interesting is despite hosting 125 tribes, Tanzanians view each other as just one big family. This is a very significant aspect of its development and still great potential. And the first full day is over!! Somehow I think this is going to pass by all too quickly...