One of the first things I noticed after arriving in August was the omnipresent goliath that is the Coca-Cola Company. I had heard a lot about this before my trip, especially because my friend Jason has made multiple trips to Guatemala to investigate the impact of such companies in developing settings. If you remember from my very first post, I was struck early on by how about 90% of the signage in Moshi (everything from bars to schools and corner stores) was sponsored by Coke. Apparently, the deal is that the company will give you a sign for your shop as long as you agree to sell Coke products. This doesn't really explain how they end up in front of schools, or that a model will forever be enjoying a cold beverage above the shop's name, but it seems to be a system that has worked out for both sides. The company's influence doesn't stop there. On top of the fact that many Tanzanians will choose a Coke or Red Bull over water if they can afford it. Even the bottled water company is owned by the Coca-Cola Company, and right on the bottle it states plainly that "Kilimanjaro is a registered trademark of the Coca-Cola Company." Here are the other places I have noticed this branding blitzkrieg in East Africa:
- Tablecloths
- Chairs
- Wall clocks
- Clock towers
- Buses
- Billboards (Official Sponsor of 2010 World Cup)
- Buckets
- Highway mile markers
- Roundabout decorations
- Menu boards in restaurants
- Hats
- Shirts
- Calendars
- Giant inexplicable bottles
- Kiosks (in the shape of giant bottles)
- Playing cards
- Hand-washing basins
As diabetes, heart disease, and other chronic conditions continue to emerge in countries like Tanzania, one has to wonder if this influx of sponsorship money will eventually end up a one-sided victory. I've also noticed that Coke delivery trucks easily cover more ground in a more organized fashion than the postal service or Ministry of Health and Social Welfare. This could already be informally in practice, but why not use the trucks to deliver medical supplies and educational materials to the rural dispensaries they no doubt pass on their way to virtually every Mom and Pop store in the country? That way, at least some kind of positive visible contribution could be made where millions of people are becoming more vulnerable to the problems that have been fattening people in the West for decades now.
All rants aside, I've also noticed that Tanzania is chronically underrepresented at the Olympics. Seeing the head of the Tanzanian Olympic Committee at the marathon last month inspired me to think beyond the traditional running prowess displayed at the Games. I'd like to propose that the IOC introduce a few new sports to open up opportunities for athletes from this great country:
1) Throwing trash out of buses
While there are many other gripes I have with bus transportation in this country, one of the most consistent and predictable aspects of riding on them is that people chuck their trash out the window. Stopped or at top speed, banana peel or water bottle...the easiest solution is to just send it out to the side of the road and move on. The real strategy comes in reaching over a sleeping neighbor, forcing open a stuck window, actually getting all the trash off the bus, and not hitting any pedestrians in the process.
2) Goat racing
The Maasai would have a distinct advantage here, but herding goats is almost like a national pastime. Although they may seem stupid, goats are much more responsive than cows when it comes to listening to directions when avoiding cars. The Olympics would be the culmination of 4 years of the annual goat races held for charity in Dar Es Salaam, which I will hopefully attend next month.
3) Defensive walking
This seems to follow me wherever I go, but folks here seem to be great at cutting me off and walking excruciatingly slowly in front of me. The average walking pace in this country is barely faster than your typical zombie, and I tend to get caught behind a road block when walking on a narrow sidewalk or between two hedges. The Tanzanian tradition of holding hands while walking and talking would give the athletes an added advantage in the pairs competition.
4) Casual mountain climbing
Having been on a handful of hikes so far, I've definitely noticed that foreigners tend to be much less at home on hills. Whether it's loose dirt, mud, rocks, or an ancient bridge, many Tanzanians have no trouble keeping pace while others stumble or tread lightly. Variants could include walking backwards down hills, talking casually while scaling a hill without using any hands, or hiking in dress shoes.
5) Talking softly
This is a talent that may be more suitable for a spelling bee-type format, but that's not to say it requires hard work and determination. While many Tanzanian people speak at or above normal volumes in typical conversations, this becomes barely audible in the classroom setting. Whether it's because of anxiety about speaking English or just plain shyness, students 3 or 30 feet away from an instructor will respond to a question in a voice that must hit the same tones as a dog whistle. Sophisticated equipment would be required to decide who can answer a question verbally while using the fewest decibels.
6) Extreme banana transport
Every day, without fail, a constant stream of ladies walks down the hill from the not-so-nearby mountain village of Kibosho to sell their bananas in town. I haven't tried it, but I'd imagine balancing 50 pounds of bananas on one's head for about 5 miles is slightly challenging. Think World's Strongest Man without the sweat or steroids. Add in skateboards and you have yourself an X-Games event as well.
For my own personal casual mountain climbing training, I've taken a few weekend trips to walk up and down things. First, I decided at the last minute to go on a predominantly German trip to Lushoto, a town in the Western Usambara Mountains. I almost immediately regretted this decision when our bus hit the customary snags associated with any kind of travel in Tanzania. First, the bus was an hour and a half late. Then, we found out it was outrageously overbooked. Then, the meanest policewoman in the country found out that it was outrageously overbooked and that everyone standing in the aisles was breaking the law. Then the operators wouldn't give any money back to those who were kicked off. Then a seat "magically" appeared. Then we rode 300 feet to the police station to "straighten everything out." Then on the way out of town we picked up the group that had previously been kicked off the bus. A series of dozens of police checkpoints, bribes, and inexplicable random stops turned our 5 hour trip into an 8-plus hour headache.
Anyway, we made it to Lushoto in one piece to find that it's actually a beautiful place. There's no wonder it became the German summer headquarters during colonial times -- it's pretty much an alpine getaway in rural Tanzania. With only one and a half days to spend there, our original plans included one and a half days of hiking. Our late afternoon arrival gave us just enough time to get lost on our way, then eventually make it to Irente Viewpoint.
This windy outcropping gave us a sweeping view of the flat savannah a thousand feet below, along with the surrounding hills. Arriving with time to spare, we placed our dinner orders at the conveniently located fancy hotel/restaurant before heading out to the point to enjoy the sunset.
Sunday would be entirely dedicated to a longer hike, complete with a guide. This time we decided to take a 4-5 hour hike to the nearby Magamba Rainforest and back. The trip was full of mangoes, kids way too excited to see white people, and some cool information on the local flora. Yamas, our guide (and Nic Riley's doppelgänger), worked for an organization called Friends of Lushoto. This is a group that works in the business of eco-tourism for the wide benefit of the local community. A portion of our fees went to support a dairy co-op, some plant nurseries, and the preservation of forests, among other things. While we didn't get to see any monkeys in the forest, we did learn a lot about traditional herbal medicines, banana farming, and Yamas's real opinion of the street merchants. Other highlights from this trip included some epic haggling battles for fruit and kangas, TV in the hotel room, and numerous lighthearted misunderstandings between us and the hostess about what constitutes cold water.
Speaking of cold, I also decided to climb a 15,000 foot mountain. No, not that one...Mount Meru. No, not that Meru, this one. According to hearsay, I knew going in that Mount Meru is a very difficult climb often used to train and acclimate for Kili. I had heard that it is more technical, whereas Kili is more of a never-ending hike. A bunch of us decided to find out for ourselves, so Malavika, six friends from Dar, and I put our fates in the hands of a man named Aggrey and set out for a three day climb. Aggrey met us the night before our departure in town to sort out the details (what size shoe would people need, how much water should we take along, where should we meet) and did an impressive job running around at the last minute to smooth things over. Aggrey had also been communicating with his buddies in Arusha about the weather patterns. In the back of our minds for two weeks had been the fact that the rainy season was in full swing. The off-again, on-again heavy downpours could make the trip miserable, or even threaten to keep us from the summit if icy conditions prevailed.
The first morning was a whirlwind. A very boring whirlwind. We waited for at least an hour at the main gate to get our papers and payment sorted out before heading to the gate that would serve as our starting point. Then, some slow gathering of additional guides and porters preceded the traditional laying out of old used clothing and equipment for us to borrow. Equipped with full winter gear and a pair of walking sticks, I was ready to go. The first hike turned out to be pleasant. We first walked through a huge field with giraffes and buffalo in the distance to our left, our ranger guide Cha Cha leading the way with a rifle over his shoulder. He was quick to point out that this is only for scaring a charging buffalo or elephant, as he turned out to be one of those park workers who is totally enthused by animals. The trail eventually took us on the first ascent up some relatively gradual hills, and we gained about 1,000 meters in three and a half hours. Just before we reached the first hut, however, the weather forced us to break out the rain gear. Regardless of how well we covered up, all of us ended up soaked when we reached camp (Miriakamba Hut) a half hour later. It was nice consolation, however, to see that we'd be sleeping in rooms with decent bunk beds and eating dinner in a lodge with a view.
Day two was also not so bad in terms of the hike itself. There were steps constructed on the switchbacks for the first kilometer or two, and it only drizzled off and on throughout the day. This section was really spooky visually, as we were in a dense forest with thick fog and moss hanging off most of the trees. After another kilometer in elevation gained, we dropped off our gear at the slightly less luxurious Saddle Hut and relaxed for one of the many chai (tea) breaks. Recharged, we set off to the nearby Little Meru peak for an extra afternoon stroll. The remaining group of six conquered it with little problem, except some apprehension that would cause the next day's summit group to dwindle to four.
Going into the final day, we all knew it would be slightly different from the previous two. Starting with a midnight wake-up call, we suited up for cold weather and escaped just after a heavy downpour. Even though it was tough to see beyond the boots of the person in front of you through the dark and mist, we followed our guides gradually uphill for about an hour and reached Rhino Point. This is usually a viewpoint during the day, but at 2am it only serves as one of the few stopping points for rest and water. It wasn't freezing quite yet, but we still weren't supposed to stop for too long because it would only make us cold.
The next four and a half hours were a dark, cold, dizzy blur. We had to shuffle sideways around a few rough rockfaces, climb a steep trail of loose volcanic ash, and traverse the numerous crags on the dragon's tail ridge leading to the summit. Just as we thought we were on the final approach, we'd turn a corner to see another formation to go over or around. The last 200 meters of the climb, it was pretty clear that everyone was struggling. The guides telling me I was "strong like a buffalo" helped mentally, but not physically. It wasn't entirely a headache, but at the same time it wasn't the typical spinning dizziness. Whatever the combination was, it made me thankful that we took more frequent breaks as everyone crawled up the rough side of the peak without complaint. The Tanzanian flag at the summit wasn't waving in the breeze -- instead the painted metal sheet was frozen still just like the flag on the moon. At the top, we of course took the obligatory sunrise over Kili pictures (thanks to the clear weather) before signing one of the trip's numerous record books and beginning the tricky climb down.
None of this was the climbing that involves helmets and ropes and carabiners, but it was probably about as close as you can get in some places. On the way back, we had a chance to really take in all the views we had missed on the way up. We saw the huge ridge we had climbed, the amazing ash cone in the mountain's inner crater, the forests below, Little Meru and Kili in the distance, and a lot of the steep and menacing drop-offs we were glad we hadn't noticed before. Aside from some knee and foot pains associated with rental boots a size too small, the descent went smoothly. We collected our things from Saddle Hut and said goodbye to the peak we had somehow "killed," with the help of Aggrey, Cha Cha, Francis, and Everest. If Meru really is a piece of chocolate cheesecake, as Cha Cha wanted us to believe, I have never worked so hard for a dessert in my life.
That's enough mountain talk for now. The evening we returned to Moshi, Duke was to play in the national championship game. And by "evening" I mean 4:30 in the morning. Even though I was sleep deprived and sore, I was determined to find a way to watch the game. Here was the rundown of the plans heading into the weekend:
A) Go to Berny's house to watch on satellite TV (he's not a basketball fan, but he stayed up for the Baylor game)
B) Ask one of several others with TV to record it so I could watch it at a convenient time
C) Buy internet credit and watch online as I did with olympic hockey
D) Crash at Donato's house and wake up to watch
As it turned out, people were out of town (business and pleasure), the Vodacom shop was closed Friday and Monday for Easter, recording proved to be too much of a challenge, the specific cable package didn't carry the right channel, and the power company happened to schedule a major repair-related outage for the afternoon when the game would be re-broadcast. Long story short, I didn't get to watch the classic game...but I am hopeful that it will happen at some point, at least after I'm back in the US. This is just further evidence that Murphy's Law originated in Tanzania and should instead be called Kessy's Law.
Well, that's enough for now. Enjoy some completely unrelated graphs and figures I've come across on other blogs recently, along with the routine music, dala dala, and team updates...
This week's soundtrack:
Nada Surf -- Fruit Fly
Coldplay -- Cemeteries of London
The Beatles -- Let It Be
Beck -- Where It's At
Flogging Molly -- Whistles the Wind
David Bowie -- Rebel Rebel
Bright Eyes -- We Are Nowhere and It's Now
Tapes 'n Tapes -- Insistor
Modest Mouse -- Satellite Skin
AC/DC -- Girl's Got Rhythm
Eagles of Death Metal -- Speaking in Tongues
Old Crow Medicine Show -- Wagon Wheel
The White Stripes -- Little Cream Soda
Spoon -- Me and the Bean
Brand New -- Guernica
The Strokes -- What Ever Happened
Modest Mouse -- Diggin' Holes in Water
Pet Shop Boys -- West End Girls
The Strange Boys -- Be Brave
Vadoinmessico -- In Spain
Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros -- Home
Ryan Adams -- To Be Young
Eric Clapton -- After Midnight
Sly and the Family Stone -- I Want to Take You Higher
David Bowie -- Life on Mars
Dala dala themes:
Sun City Express
Osaka Executive
Shabco Express
Maximum Respect
3K Investment
Picnic Class
Burning Spear
Additional team attire spotted:
Seattle Sonics
Los Angeles Kings
Washington Redskins
Next time:
Avoiding mud, a hopefully dry safari, wrapping up at work, goat races, etc.
A map of some of the locations of people who have visited this blog...including Mali, China, Singapore, Iran, Australia, Norway, and MinnesotaPS: At no extra charge, you can see the full albums from Lushoto and Mt. Meru by clicking on the bold links provided in those paragraphs.
