Thursday, September 6, 2007

some Tanzanian humour...

Things are going well here. There have been lots of good times already, including a good dose of humour. A few weeks ago when I was in town with Ron, one of the directors, trying to get internet from Africa online, I heard some funny things. First, he told me on the way in that he calls Africa Online “Africa Offline” because they are more ‘off’ than ‘on’. Then, when we got in, he informed the employee who came to help us that he wanted internet service for me, but that he had heard from many people that AO was unreliable and too expensive. The man looked at him in shock… but then they were both laughing. To top it off, Ron told the man that he had to tell us the real price, not the white person price, when the man told us how expensive it would be. Another time we were getting ready to leave a restaurant and the waitress asked Ron if he needed anything else- he told her he really didn’t need anything else- not even the bill. She laughed. So anyways, I’m having lots of fun here. The people are easy-going and like to laugh about things, and I’m starting to learn their (and Ron’s) sense of humour. Maybe one day I’ll even learn my first Kiswahili joke.

8 comments:

Unknown said...

Hey Steve
Great to hear you are having so much fun, what's this I hear about you having dial up internet at home?? man you must have some friends in high places!! but if it helps you stay in touch then I guess its ok in my books.
Take care Steve
Joyce

Unknown said...

Haha, I'm looking forward to seeing you come back as an easy-going African full of Ron's wisecrack humour!!
Rebecca

Anonymous said...

Hello Steve, its good to hear a bit about what you are doing. I can picture you laughing with and at these Tanzanian jokes.

Katie

Joramee said...

Hey Steve, good to hear you are having a great time in Africa. We've gone on some mini-adventures here ourselves, but nothing near what you're experiencing of course. It's funny they have different prices for white people, must be a different world over there for sure.

Kevin James Field said...

Yeah, over here it's the purple people for whom they up the prices.

Shannon said...

Hi Steve - just found this (I don't check the email addy you sent the info to - try me at shannon.blake@utoronto.ca) - very cool. I hope you're having the time of your life. Would love to read more detailed accounts (ahem, ahem).
:)
Shannon

Tricia said...

Steve,

I am very excited to have come across your blog... I will soon begin the process of applying to the Jesuit Volunteers International (JVI) program with the hope of a placement in Tanzania in 2008. I know JVI is selective and has limited placements, and my desire to go is so strong that I am even applying to the U.S. Peace Corps as a back-up. I would much rather go with a faith-based organization. How did you get to Tanzania? What is the time commitment of your program? What kind of work do you do there? I know you are busy, but I would be extremely grateful if you could share some of that with me. I do hope all is going well for you. Please feel free to email me at fantine396@gmail.com.

God bless,
Tricia

CTenorman said...

Hey Steve!!

I hope you're having a great time down there! Life up here in Canada is starting to get a bit colder, but perhaps you'd welcome some of that cooler weather down there! For whatever reason I decided to get an English degree before heading off to teacher's college (well, there is a reason: hopefully about 4x more jobs). In any case, I hope you're having a great time, you're in my prayers! God bless,

Scott