Archive for the 'Tanzania' Category

Update: First VSAT set-up

Jeff November 5th, 2007

Well things are rolling along here. We set up our first VSAT at the Africa directors conference at White Sands resort in Dar es Salaam. It was good practice in getting everything set up properly and the resort is also very nice. I definitely didn’t think I would be setting up a VSAT at a 4-5 star resort looking out at the Indian Ocean when I first left for Tanzania! :) (Still haven’t gone for a swim yet but that should be coming soon; although I have heard that the Indian ocean is ridiculously full of sharks.)

The project is moving along a bit slower than expected do to some unforeseen delays with the equipment getting out of the ports etc. I am not sure when I will be heading to the field for installs; it may be as early as next week.  It has still been very educational working with Greg in going to the meetings with the vendor who will do the VSAT installs, meeting with the logistics (trucking) company, and helping to plan/write the documentation for the installs. It has really shown how important communication is and yet it is the hardest thing to do because of accents, languages, and even simply different names for things. (For instance, Tanzanian’s call a surge protector an extension cord and Australians call it a power strip. We went round and round on that one for about 15 minutes before we figured it out.) There is also a tendency when you are working with some people to have them say yes I can do that tomorrow, even when they may not be able to do it. (I had a friend tell me that in some African countries it is rude to say no).

Being here is still a bit crazy. Hard to imagine I have been here for almost 2 weeks already. I think I am also really adjusting to life here because even if something ‘different’ does happen, I may not notice until later. Here are some random things to entertain/inform you about this place:

* I still have not seen a speed limit sign.
* It is a surreal feeling to hear the Muslim call to prayer. (It is a very upsetting feeling when it wakes you up at 5am)
* Life here is really slow. Things that would take you an hour back home (such as ordering lunch) take 2 hours here. People are definitely not in a rush.
* There isn’t any social program for people who are handicap so they stand in the median between the streets and beg.
* When we were unloading the 5 semi truck loads of equipment, we hired ‘laborers’. These are people that hang out near the warehouse, waiting for work as they know that trucks show up every now and again and they can be paid. When they aren’t working, they are sitting around waiting for work. I still have not really seen a ‘residential area’ yet.
* I have been brushing up on the Swahili; I can say hello, how are you doing, ask for things and I know when people are talking about me as they say (Mu-zuung-gu); it means: white dude.
* There are many unpaved roads in Dar (read: dirt with hug dips and trenches in them that would excite even the most experienced 4×4 enthusiast). We took one home from White Sands the other night and hadn’t taken that route home before. The combination of it being late at night, the lack of street lights and the condition of the road suggested that the taxi driver was taking me out to the middle of no where to kill me until I saw some kids running around the road and figured it was ok.

As far as the weather is concerned, it is hot and humid. It was pretty lame at first but you just kind of get used to sweating and it isn’t too bad. ;) At least I am still in a hotel so I get AC and a shower every night. Although if I am here for too much longer, the locals tell me that it is only going to get hotter so I am hoping to move out of here and to a higher altitude soon. Getting a nice tan though!

I have been posting pics to my site but I have not taken a whole lot of photos as I still don’t know if it is really safe to be walking around with a camera. I have taken quite a few from the taxi rides I go on as you see the strangest things on the road. Even if I had taken lots of photos at this point I don’t think I can take enough pictures of this place to show people what it is really like.

Before I left I had intended on writing more but I have been working really long days and combined with the heat/humidity it really takes it out of a person. I just want to go to bed when I get home in the evening.

“Haalo, Taxi?”

Jeff November 5th, 2007

This becomes a real common phrase to hear any time you exit a building in Dar.  Thus begins the ‘decision’ on what an appropriate fare is for where we want to go.   The decision involves a back and forth discussion on how much you should pay; usually you can get a ride for about 80% of the initial ‘quote’.  I actually prefer this method as opposed to other countries where you get in and then get a big surprise as to what the cost is upon arriving at the destination.  There isnt any ‘meter’ so if you need to go to the ATM or anything the driver just waits for you.

Most taxis that I have been in are compact cars (except for one ride in a Rav4) and generally are in need of a brake job as they scream in protest any time we need to make a stop.  The actual ride in the taxi is where the real fun begins…

But first to describe the road conditions: I still have not seen any speed limit signs, potholes are a common occurrence, and it seems that the only rule in driving is that there are no rules.  People are constantly crossing in the middle of busy streets, bikes (both motorized and not) whiz in and out between cars, and horns are used more than turn signals.  The best way to describe what it is like is to describe a few situations:

  1. The other lane isn’t necessarily for oncoming traffic. We were once stopped behind a car and waiting to turn. Instead of waiting for that car to move, then pulling up and making the turn, our driver jumped into the other lane (forcing a car that was going to be turning down that road to stop) and then careened off into traffic.
  2. If there is an accident, drive around it… at full speed.  We passed one accident at a really busy intersection that we have been through a few times. There was a tbone accident in the middle of the intersection (two lane street) and cars just flew around the accident whilst the police officers were off to the side discussing what happened as opposed to moving the cars and then having the discussion.
  3. When turning, ease into traffic instead of waiting.  So many times I have been on a street with a bunch of cars driving past.  Instead of waiting for them, drivers just ease into traffic until if the other driver didn’t stop, there would be an accident.  This goes the same for any sort of merging, turning, etc…  you just stick the nose of your car out there until people can no longer squeeze around past you (which they do).

Now that I have taken quite a few rides in taxis, I am a bit more used to it and notice that while there aren’t really any defined ‘rules’, everyone seems to play by the same lack of them, and things generally appear to work well in their own chaotic sort of way.  I love it but cant say that I will be renting a car here anytime soon.

the Fast Ferry

Jeff October 31st, 2007

Due to not being able to get the shipment out of customs last weekend, we found ourselves with some free time and decided to go over to Zanzibar to check it out. We missed the first ‘Fast Ferry’ (it is actually called Fast Ferry and is in fact quite fast; it takes 2 hours vs some ferries that take 3-8) due to our mis calculation that checking out of the hotel wouldnt take too long (45 minutes) so we jumped in a taxi and headed down to the port to see what we could find.

Getting out of the taxi, we immediately had about 15 guys rush over, imploring us to go to their ferry’s booth for the trip over.  We fought our way to the fast ferry counter to see when the next one left and it wasn’t until about one so we listened to a couple guys that said they had a fast ferry that was leaving at 11 (it was 10:55) but we had to go now. So we rushed over to their booth, paid, and then heeding their yells to run faster, hustled through a couple security checkpoints and past some really dodgy looking buildings to end up at the port.

The boat they were running towards certainly did not look fast; it was essentially a barge that had an area for passengers and the end which was crammed full of people. Me, being the rookie to Africa and not being used to being taken advantage of, saw the plank that was extended towards the boat, estimated that it was about a three foot jump from the plank up onto the boat and started to run for it.

I don’t know what stopped me. Maybe it was my conscience, maybe it was me being out of shape or maybe it finally registered that this may not be the fast ferry after all. So I came to a screeching halt on the plank and had a look around. Noticing that Greg and Liz, the experienced traveler’s, were not on the plank but were in fact gazing at the boat with a ‘we’ve been had’ expression on their face, I exited the plank amidst lots of shouting in Swahili to watch the barge eeeaaassseee away from the dock. After watching it for 30 seconds it became painfully obvoious that yes we were in fact given the run around.

Liz is an absolute lifesaver as she can speak Swahili and was able to tell the guys that sold us the ticket to give us tickets to the proper ferry. So after a short jog, some excitement by the pier, and a little cajoling with the local ticket salesmen, we found ourself on the Flying Horse heading across to Zanzibar. (Dont let the name kid you; it wasn’t too fast either.) ;)

Pictures up

Jeff October 30th, 2007

The new pics are in the gallery. I havent taken as many as I would like yet but wanted to post a few so you can see some of the places over here. For some reason, when I upload the pictures I tell it to resize them to 1024×768 but they are getting resized to less than that. Sorry!

If you want to be notified when pics are uploaded, you can subscribe to the rss feed of the pictures by clicking the little orange icon in the address bar above just like you can the posts on this blog. That is, if you have Firefox ;) …

Business Class

Jeff October 25th, 2007

Getting up on the morning of the 23rd was a bit strange as I had been up late the night before packing. It didnt really seem real that the time had finally come and I was actually going to Africa. I have to hand it to my mom, she wasnt even upset when she dropped me off at the airport. Good work ma! ;)

For the first part of the plane ride from Seattle to Amsterdam, I sat next to a Canadian with dreadlocks. He was a really nice guy and we had a great conversation; he informed me of all sorts of interesting facts, the most notable being:

  1. We (Americans) dont actually have to pay income taxes. To think that all these years I have just been donating to the cause! I wonder what GW will do when I ask for a refund? ;)

About a half hour into the flight, it felt like the plane hit something and the safety video that was playing shut off. Then the captain came on and said that we were going to have to turn around and land in Seattle as we were having some electrical problems and ‘not to worry’. I wasn’t too excited about this as I only had 3 hours to catch my flight from AMS to Tanzania but what could i do? Then the little screen came on in front of me, started showing some DOS commands and the safety video came back up. The captain came back on and said that everything was sweet so we were turning back around to carry on with the flight.

The best part of this first flight was when Nancy (Jeff’s Mom’s friend) came back and got me to take me up to Business Class. It was so great to grab my stuff and walk past the aisles and aisles of envious faces up to the front of the plane. Not only did I get to sit in business class that has a chair which adjusts pretty much anyway you want it to, but there wasnt anyone sitting next to or behind me. I could recline all the way, bring the chair back up, and generally just do anything that I wanted to! :) The food was amazing and someone came by about every 15 minutes to ensure that I had everything that my little heart desired. When you asked for water, they gave you a whole bottle. (Not just the little half glass that is prone to spilling). I was able to watch about 3 movies on the way over with time for a few short naps and some reading. Towards the end of the flight, they came out with a hot towel and I had to surreptitiously glance at what my other friends in business class were doing as I had no idea what to do. Apparently it is to wipe your face with… Maybe from all that sweat you build up by flying? :P

The airport in Amsterdam is pretty cool. Almost more of a mall than an airport. They had a museum that was kinda fun to visit. It made me really wish that I could get out and have a look around. Maybe on the way back…

For the second leg of the journey, I was relegated back to coach. I wanted to cry at the injustice of it! This plane (MD-11?) didnt even have a screen for each person to control like the last one did; there was just one screen for every ten rows that happened to play the same movies i watched on the first flight. Bad luck. I may have to ask for my flights back as to how much it costs to upgrade to business class. I am spoiled now. :)

After many half naps and terrible airline meals later, we finally touched down in Dar es Salaam. The jetway was having difficulty so we had to deplane from the back which was almost more fitting. The temp was quite a bit different than when I got off the plane in AMS as it was very warm and humid for that late at night. As soon as I got off the plane I had those famous words go through my head, ‘We’re not in Kansas anymore…’.

I was so thankful that I already had my VISA as I was able to walk right up to the immigration person and after a quick chat with her supervisor (I think she was wondering what I was going to be doing for 56 days in the country) I was through and getting my bags. Jovine was there at the airport to take me to the hotel.  I haven’t been out of the hotel yet really as yesterday I got up late, then met with Greg to discuss some details of this project.  Today we are actually heading out to check on the equipment and meet with Simbanet so it will be good to see some of the city.

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