There are lots of writings here – on t-shirts, dala dalas, walls, signs and in various other random spots – that just make you chuckle a bit. I saw a dala dala (minibus public transport) drive by with the following on the back window:
Don’t tease me, if you can’t please me
There was a cute little girl standing in the market in her black skirt and a pink t-shirt that said: Tough guys wear pink. That was funny in the moment and became even funnier when we saw a piki piki (motorcycle taxi) driver wearing a pink woman’s jacket and then another young man walking with a pink woman’s purse a few days later. Tough guys use pink purses.
Then, there was a quick flip through a couple of primary school English language texts before delivering them to friends in the village. What I love most about these texts is that they are created here in Tanzania by a big publisher in Dar es Salaam. For this reason, they are culturally appropriate in context, illustration and overall content.
One little sample dialogue was between a fat headmaster who was gobbling down his chicken and a very hungry school boy who had forgotten his lunch at home. The headmaster shooed the boy away with a toss of his chicken juicy hand. The boy walked away with drips of saliva falling from his lips, his shoulders slumped and a hand on his belly. The follow-up exercises focused on reading comprehension and grammar. The content was never addressed – in terms of ‘right or wrong’ or how the headmaster could have shown sympathy – no, that was clearly not the point.
Below are two images that are specific to Tanzania (and probably several other African countries). I remember being traumatized by the films Watership Down and Bambi as a child because I anthropomorphize everything! So, I’m sure the Zebra and Croc cartoon would have been hard for me to swallow. I wonder how the kids here view it … as funny as the Coyote taking a boulder to the head by Roadrunner, I suppose … I never did care much for those violent cartoons.
This mural is from the office building in Mgaraganza – newly built by Lucas’ brother Isaya in the past year. It shows their dedication to preserving the local forests. For this village in particular, this mission is important. The Chief and his son are both very invested in the goal of fighting deforestation, limiting burning and chopping in the area and replanting indigenous seeds. They are both trained on Roots and Shoots programming through the Jane Goodall Institute. Happy to have them so committed as we get ready to initiate this program at Amahoro Secondary School in the coming year!
I thought it was ‘funny’ – not ‘haha’, but ‘bummer’ – when I paid money for a text and found these stamps inside … Donated by Allianz and Jane Goodall Institute. This is the same partnership that added two classrooms to the primary school in the village. I had to wonder if they were meant for that school. The next time I went to buy another text, I asked the shopkeeper about the stamps. He explained that more books had been stamped than were intended for the school, so now they are selling some of those… and he put his shop’s stamp over the top of the NGO stamp. The headmaster of the primary school corroborated the story when I showed him the text that was intended for his school. Hamna shida (no problem) – I hope!
There are lots more images like these that I would like to share, but sometimes you just can’t point and shoot. Here’s one final pic from a menu in Mercury’s Bar in Zanzibar – Freddy Mercury was born there apparently. Can you guess which drink I like? Don’t miss the description!
