June 26, Some Fun Facts

So, last night a cockroach came up onto my bed through my mosquito net before I had tucked it in. I flicked it off and killed it with a sandal. I’m not sure when that kind of thing will stop grossing me out. I’m unbothered by the ants and the flies, but roaches and spiders still bother me.

Also, I almost dropped my key down the choo. (PRN: ch-oh not chew) I usually keep my key in my bra, and when I bent over to get water to flush, the key almost made its way into the pit of no return. Fortunately I caught it! That would have been awkward to explain!

So, some fun facts about TZ:

--There are a lot of Muslims who live in TZ, in addition to a big percentage of Christians (of various sects). There are also some people who still practice traditional medicine. Apparently chicken oracles are a real practice in some tribes, which excites my inner-anthropologist.

--Many women wear different kinds of hijabs/head-scarves here. Women should cover their shoulders and knees, but it’s perfectly okay to pull out your breast in order to breastfeed. Shoulders should still be covered while you do it, though.

--Polygamy is practiced among some Muslim families here.

--Tanzanians tend to be super opposed to war, but also avoid daily conflict. If someone has an issue with you, they will leave subtle clues or tell others so that it’s passed down the grapevine to you.

--When eating oranges, they do not eat the white part of the orange or any of the skin. They just suck out the juice and leave the rest behind.

--Oranges are also not orange, but they call the color orange “the color of oranges.”

--PDA is not accepted among men and women, but friends can hold hands (man-man and woman-woman).

--Clothes hangers are shaped to make skirt/dress hips look big. Curvy is good here, and the hangers literally bow out.

--The cellular system is similar to that in Italy. You can buy vouchers pretty much everywhere, and that adds credit to your phone. I will also be on a Peace Corps plan with Airtel that costs 5,000 shilingi a month for unlimited calls between PCV’s + 100 free text-messages (SMS).

--Tipping is not practiced here.

--The left hand is the “wiping hand”, so you better not eat or shake hands with it.

--Shaking hands when greeting lasts a lot longer. They switch hand positions as they do it. Greetings are a much bigger deal here, so you say many of them when stopping to talk.

--Most people have their hair braided/cut-off. This makes a lot of sense to me because washing mine is a hassle here.

--A lot of TV advertisements are broadcasted in English.

--Cell phone chargers are sold with European plugs. My host sister showed me you just jam a pen in the top part of the UK outlets, and stick the plug in. Safety first.

--Separate shoes are worn in the bathroom. No one seems to wear shoes in the house, but the one time I tried to leave my house flip-flops outside, I woke up with them sitting by my door. Unsure what to do about the foot situation, but they seem to be cool with me wearing shoes inside.

There’s more I always mean to write, but I can never think of things once I’m blogging. I need to start jotting reminders down I guess!