Random observations

Now that I've left Zimbabwe and Zambia and almost through with Tanzania...I should probably sum up some of my thoughts.

- People here make do with very little.

- In the cities/towns, products (esp. eletronic appliances) are so overpriced it's unbelievable. I saw a little two burner piece of junk stove for nearly $400. In the villages, people mostly function on subsistence farming and selling lifestock. I was fortunate enough to visit a local village called Makunduchi located on the tip of Zanzibar island. Even though it's located in "paradise" the people live in mud huts and sleep on recycled sacks. And this I'm sure is the Hyatt compared to some of the other villages I saw from the bus window.

- Little kids play with trash to entertain themselves. One toddler was happy picking up a scrap of paper and let it go and trying to catch it. I also saw a pair of kids make "kites" out of discarded plastic bags and twine. It's both sad and comforting to see. At least despite their lack of material possessions, they still rely on their imagination.

- The mosquitos here are tiny but their bites are SO itchy.

- Everyone seems to have perfected the art of carrying things on their heads.

- People are very entrepreneurial - on a small scale. They'll run alongside buses with a bucket of tomatoes or a little basket of snacks.


I'm out of internet minutes again...more to come later.