The first thing you will notice about people in Tanzania is
that they will neither avoid you nor appear shy, and this is from the moment you
first cross paths with them. It seems people are friendly and hospitable almost
to a fault.
How cultures can vary. I remember one of the cardinal rules in New York is never,
EVER, to stare at people, not for a New York minute, not even for a New York
second, if you can help it. In New York, I’ve always noticed it’s about fleeting
glances. A fleeting glance, after all, should be enough to confirm whether or
not you know or recognize the person. If that won’t do it, it’s best to be on
your way. In New York, you just never know who might be sharing that double
seater on the bus with you. And if it’s a serial killer, you’ll be sorry you
stared.
Here in Dar, it’s quite different. Pass a person on the
street and (s)he will check out everything about you, from your hair color to
your shoe size. This also has very little to do with me being a mzungu, or a white man. People will take
the time to size you up, no matter where you’re from. This is in strong
contrast to other countries and cultures I have visited. In the Middle East or
where we were in South America, for example, people will have their eyes gouged
out before getting into a staring match with a stranger. In Dar, people looking
at you has little to do with harassment, but an overall confidence coupled with
curiosity. What do you do? Return their gaze. Don’t be caught with your head
down, give as well as you take, show that you are a person who knows what
you’re doing, that you can handle yourself, and where you’re going. When in Rome,
do as the Romans. When in Dar, do as the Darees.
Walking down the streets here, you can be meeting anybody.
It can be a white foreigner, a barefooted local wearing a single colorful toga like
wrap around him (called a shuka), a
lady balancing a twenty kilo sack of rice on her head, a person in a suit
(which is rare, people sweat buckets in those things here), anybody. As in most
countries, a smile goes a long way. Perfect strangers on the street will greet
you. ‘Mambo’ (hello), they will say. The reply to this is ‘Poa’. Other people
will greet you with Haribu (depending on the time of day, this can mean good
morning, afternoon, or evening). There’s also the word ‘karibu’, meaning
welcome. That’s one of my favorites, since people really seem to mean it, for
the most part. Good language will only get you more good will from people in the long run.
In all, I believe there are over 100 different African
ethnic groups in Tanzania, none of which exceed ten percent of the population.
Luckily, this hasn’t led to as much strife and conflict as one would expect.
What do they have in common? Swahili, besides speaking their own native tongue.
I will delve more into the names of the tribes and their specific characteristics
in a later post. For now, I am merely grazing the subject. The main ethnic
group I have noticed outside of native Tanzanians are Indians. They seem to be everywhere. If it’s a school, a
supermarket, or a hotel, it is very likely that there’s an Indian in charge of
it. Not a bad thing, necessarily. They are very friendly and extremely
knowledgeable, qualities I never take for granted anywhere in the world.
Speaking of people and expats, there is a huge British
presence here, but that should go without saying. The vehicles have right hand
drive, cricket is quite popular, and the wall sockets are 100% UK, as are most
imports at local supermarkets. A lot of British football clubs are supported
here.
The British are not shy about their presence here, and neither should you be. As a visitor, come here with bells on, literally. People
will sniff you out anyway, so be out and explore.
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