westerners and I have to admit that I have not figured it out.
Tanzanians seem happy to hold your hand indefinitely, sometimes even
transferring it to their left hand, and I have found it common to see
two men walking down the street holding hands. There also seems to be
some thing they want to do with changing the grip three or more times
during the shake, but I can't figure that out either. I definitely
like the sentiment.
Construction. Everywhere we have been in Tanzania we have seen lots of
half-built houses. There are no mortgages here, even for people with
means, but why don't they save up the money and then build the house
all at once? As it turns out, partial construction is a better place
to hold the savings. Because banks make so few loans, they make their
money largely off fees, so ones savings erodes significantly while
deposited in the bank.
Children and Responsibility. It is shocking and I guess a bit
impressive how much responsibility children have in Tanzania. We have
seen very small children tending live stock, walking all by themselves
along the road, and getting each other to school. They are also very
respectful to adults. Makes me think we will do things a little
differently when we ge home.
Taking Pictures. Without question the most interesting thing to look
at here is the people. From the beautiful, multi-colored kanga and
head scarves that the women wear, to the Maasai and others wearing
traditional clothing, to people simply going about their daily
activities so different than ours. And of course the beautiful,
smiling children. There is, however, always that sense that to look at
them through the camera lens you are intruding or exploiting, and more
times than not we have chosen not to get the camera out. We won't have
all the grea shots, but hopefully will have connected better with the
people and their daily lives.
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