First introduction to Tanzania

In October 2018, our family of three set off from Beijing to Dar es Salaam, the economic center of Tanzania. My husband and I went to the Confucius Institute at the University of Dar es Salaam as state-sponsored teachers. The five-and-a-half-year-old son Chen Ge followed him.

When it comes to travel, I can be considered a complete lazy person. My husband is the opposite of me. He will make arrangements for every detail. I am even more confident and go the extra mile. Most of the time, I just do the basics. The state of going out without thinking. Therefore, even though I had to go to Africa thousands of miles away to work and live for two full years, I still didn’t do a lot of homework. When I was preparing my clothes, I casually asked my colleagues who had been to or had already been to Tanzania: What’s the climate like there? ? What do I need to prepare?

Some people say: It is very hot in summer all year round, but it is very cool under the shade of trees.

Some people say: Tanzania is a good country on the African continent.

Some people say: You can buy everything, you don’t need to bring anything special.

I think, let’s prepare for it in the summer, just like a long business trip. I packed up some necessary clothes without any hesitation, brought a set of unused skin care products and a few make-up items, and got ready to set off casually.

When checking in, almost 90% of them were Chinese, which made people wonder: Could this be a domestic flight?

After an 11-hour flight, the plane stopped at Addis Ababa Airport, the capital of Ethiopia. As it passed through the long transfer channel, the almost uniform yellow skin and black hair gradually changed. The skin color and hair color have been replaced, and what is heard in the ears is no longer the familiar mother tongue. I finally realized with great clarity that in the past 10 hours or so, we had indeed been on an international flight. The wooden door of the airport restroom is wobbly, the water pressure of the faucet is weak, large and small plastic buckets used to collect water can be seen everywhere, and the tarmac outside the window is empty and simple. All these remind us very clearly: this is a place similar to the one we have. A completely different continent from the familiar environment.

After another 5 hours of flying, we finally arrived at our destination. The new terminal of Nyerere International Airport has not yet been opened. The old airport looks like a long-distance bus station in remote areas of our country. The facilities and ground staff seem to be old. Fortunately, the air conditioner is dedicated enough. The wind guide blades have turned yellow and the air conditioner is cold. He was so confident that he gave the cramped departure hall a sense of luxury. After getting off the plane, I realized that there were about 20 colleagues on this flight who were going to work in the same batch as us. We didn't know each other before, but they were all gathered here at this moment. After more than ten hours of flight, everyone was a little bit gray, barely able to express a polite smile, and mixed in with the various crowds to go through immigration formalities. In fact, we had submitted an application for a work visa on the official website of the Tanzanian Immigration Bureau as early as two months ago. However, according to the practice of previous years, it usually takes until around November to get it. This time, of course, it is not unexpected. So, although we We have landed, but we are still unable to enter the country. Fortunately, Tanzania can apply for a visa on arrival. After nearly an hour of queuing, filling out forms, and waiting, we finally got a tourist visa. The fee is US$50 per person and it is valid for three months. . But we ran into trouble again when we were checking our luggage at customs. Several packages of metal badges we brought were checked out by security. Although we repeatedly explained that these were not commodities, but for use at work, they were still threatened with confiscation. Finally, I paid a fine of US$100 before giving up.

When we walked out of the airport, we were hit by the long-lost heat wave. We were immediately sweating and the heat was unbearable. It was already autumn in Beijing when we set off. On the day we left, there were snowflakes. Some people were already wearing thin downs on the street, so we were all fully armed according to the rhythm of early autumn in the north. We wore long sleeves, long trousers and jackets. He was still wearing a pair of velvet pants, and now he looked as if he had taken a shower, with beads of sweat hanging precariously on the hair on the back of his head. I immediately took him to the bathroom and changed into short-sleeved shorts.

Hot! Naked, unobstructed heat!

It was at this moment that I realized how unrealistic it was for my colleagues to say “it’s cool under the shade of trees”. The airport was completely empty, with only a few palm trees dotting the green belt. Plant completely out of reach.

Two buses came to pick us up from the airport, one for luggage and one for people. Following the bus to greet us were the dean and several colleagues who were in office. The bus drove all the way, and the surrounding area was still empty. Of course there was vegetation. There were grasslands on both sides of the road. The trees were still just decorations. They stood indifferently and watched the excitement in the distance, allowing the vehicles and pedestrians on the road to be exposed to the sun. under. Palm trees are a standard feature of the tropics, so it’s not surprising. However, some big trees on the roadside caught my attention. The leaves were not dense, but thin and shredded. They were spread out layer by layer. Occasionally, I saw pedestrians walking in twos and threes under the trees. Sit on the ground under the shade and rest in the shade. I asked my colleague what kind of tree it was, and he said it was called "Traveler's Umbrella". The name made me feel good about it, but I never knew its scientific name. There are almost no buildings for a long distance from the airport. Occasionally, I see one or two or a row of low iron houses with a "Wakala" (similar to our telecommunications) sign hanging at the door. You can roughly judge it from the things displayed in the window. Those might be grocery stores. Occasionally, there were a few children standing on the side of the road, curiously watching our car speed by, which made me suddenly feel as if I had returned to a small town in the northwest a long time ago.

Brother Chen was very fond of buses at that time. When he was sitting in the car, he would pay attention to the buses outside the window. Every time one passed by, he would shout excitedly, "Wow, No. 2000! That's No. 2000." ! ""BRT! There's a BRT here too!"

I looked out the window with the windows open, and they were packed with people like sardines, and the conductor was holding his hand. Holding the banknotes in his hands, he hung them on the car door with one hand, his slightly oversized T-shirt floating in the air. I was still in shock when I escaped from the scorching sun into an air-conditioned car. Just imagining the temperature, density and smell inside made me feel dizzy.

It would be a lie to say that I am not disappointed at all. Words such as "poverty" and "backwardness" began to pop up in my mind one by one. I went to South Africa 10 years ago. Although I know that South Africa was the leader in Africa at that time and could not be used as a reference standard for Africa, but at this moment I still can't help but think of the information I got before: If it is called "not bad", then what will a truly poor country look like?

The journey went smoothly, with almost no traffic jams. Later I found out that it was a Saturday, and soon the city of Darshan showed me its "congested city" style.

About an hour later, the car drove into a large courtyard. It was actually a community called "Mlimani City Villas", but because the houses were all bungalows, it looked more like The big courtyard is where we will live, and the volunteer teachers will live in the dormitories provided for them by the school. The houses are arranged side by side and back to back. Each house is separated by a wire fence and has its own lawn and garage. Naturally, a circular main road is divided into the community, which goes around the two rows of houses back to back in the middle and then branches out. Several paths leading to the garages of each home are paved with bricks. There are three types of houses in the first floor, which are distinguished by A, B, and C, which represent one-bedroom, two-bedroom, and three-bedroom units respectively. We rented a two-bedroom unit according to the regulations. There is a road on the right side of the gate leading south to the Mlimani City business district, which is said to be the largest business district in Dalian and even the country. However, there is only one small door, which is only large enough for people to push shopping carts, and cars cannot pass through. So City has two meanings here. One refers to the community where we live, and the other refers to this large business district. People in the circle will know which City you are referring to based on the context.

The road where the City is located is called University Road. Walking about 1 kilometer north is the University of Dar es Salaam and the Land University. The doors of the two universities are open to each other. To the west is Dar es Salaam University. To the east is the University of Es Salaam, and to the east is the Land University. "University Road" ends when it reaches the university. Chinese people in Tanzania are used to calling the University of Dar es Salaam "University of Dar es Salaam", but we prefer to call it "University of Dar es Salaam". The Confucius Institute is co-organized with the University of Dar es Salaam, so the headquarters is located at the University of Dar es Salaam, referred to as "University of Dar es Salaam". "Confucius Institute at University of Technology". At that time, the Confucius Institute at University of Technology had 22 teaching sites across the country, and Land University was one of them.

The University of Dara is one of the three most prestigious universities in East Africa, and is certainly one of the best universities in Tanzania. Before I came here, I heard from my colleagues that this was a forest park. I imagined it to be like the garden in Alice's dream, with big trees that cover the sky and neatly trimmed lawns. The night we landed in Dalian City, we walked across the campus of Dalian University to have dinner at a small hotel called Uphill. The volunteers who were assigned to the same batch as us stayed there temporarily. They had to wait for the pre-job training to be completed before going to various teaching sites across the country. . It was already dark at that time, and after driving for a long time, I didn’t even associate this nearly deserted land with the “university”. There were almost no street lights on the roadside, and the shadows of high and low trees could be seen in the faint night. There was no domestic scene. The neat and uniform appearance of the university is as "original" as the woman next door who breaks into your house wearing home clothes. It was only later that I finally discovered the unmodified, natural beauty of the Darfur University campus.

There is a five-hour time difference between East Africa and China. Seven o'clock in the evening here is equivalent to zero o'clock in Beijing time. After more than ten hours of long-distance flight and alternating between hot and cold, when eating the first meal, I fainted. I was drowsy, and my tongue was also drowsy. The sweetness of pineapples and bananas, and the crispiness of fried chicken and peanuts were all blocked out by my fatigue and sleepiness. On the way back to the car, Brother Chen was already asleep. I carried him to the bed, endured the drowsiness and started to put up the mosquito net. The mosquito net was brought from China. It is a square-top mosquito net with stainless steel pipes inserted into it. I bought it from Taobao after asking about the size of the bed in advance. My husband had never put up a mosquito net before, and he felt guilty that he couldn't help with this matter. I waved my hand to him confidently: "No, I've put up a mosquito net so many times, it's not a big deal! Don't worry, it will be done in half an hour!" So he went to clean it up. luggage.

But this time I stumbled. More than an hour later, I still haven’t set it up. The length and width don’t match up. I put it up and dismantled it, and after two tossings, I still haven’t figured it out yet. , I started to blame the Taobao store: "Did they send the wrong accessories? It's not fun. I have bought four or five mosquito nets from this store, and this time they actually sent me a defective product! Wait until I have it I had to leave a bad review after I got online!" I sat down beside the pile of steel pipes scattered all over the bed in frustration. I was so sleepy that I could hardly open my eyes, but I still didn't dare to sleep. I was born to be a "mosquito snack". .

My husband said: "It shouldn't be possible. Could it be that the size of the bed is wrong?"

I muttered "How is that possible" and took out a measuring tape to measure it. , it’s true! The width of 1.5 meters is correct, but the length is only 1.8 meters. Mosquito nets in China are all customized to a length of 2 meters. It would be weird if I could get it right! I feel a little ashamed. I really shouldn’t blame the online store owner. The mosquito net was finally set up, with 20 centimeters hanging at the end of the bed - later I discovered that most of the mosquito nets sold locally are for yurts and are not restricted by the size of the bed. I'm a little confused: Many Africans are tall and tall, so why are they so miserable in bed?

The jet lag didn’t take much effort to reverse. I slept until 5 a.m. the next day. Brother Chen woke up and we woke up too. Calculating that it was already 10 a.m. in China, we were all Got up. The morning was still cool, the air was fresh, and it was still early, so we went out for a walk around the community. We walked to the innermost part of the community, that is, to the west, and found the swimming pool that our colleagues had told us about before. There were sandpits and lawns next to it. A big baobab tree. Brother Chen was very happy and said he would come and swim every day.

In the next two days, the Confucius Institute arranged pre-job training. We used the breaks at noon and evening to open mobile phone numbers, because there are not many areas with wireless networks, and it is difficult to install wireless at home. It is not cost-effective because we are away from home most of the time, so we basically have to buy a data plan to use the mobile phone network, and there are separate plans for phone calls and text messages. The packages are more aggressive, timed and quantitative, that is to say, the data in the package is fixed, no matter whether you can use it up or not, it will automatically expire when the number of days is up. I first chose the 30-day 15GB package, which cost 30,000 shillings, and then added 10,000 shillings. The phone plan includes 100 minutes of calls and 200 text messages, which is equivalent to 150 yuan per day. Later, I found that this amount of data could not meet all the imaginable and unexpected needs such as WeChat calls and video chats throughout the day, so I chose the 30GB one. 50,000 shillings, the phone plan remains unchanged. The biggest sequela of this consumption model is that I didn’t have the habit of turning on the wireless network for a long time after returning to China, and I always turned on the data to surf the Internet in a dignified manner. Some locals will also choose packages that cost 1,000 or 500 shillings a day. They will not recharge their phone bills when they have no money, so losing contact is common.

Just like in China, there are always people doing business around universities. Although the scale and prosperity are not the same as those in China, they still have everything. There is a micro market on University Road with an intimidating name called Survey. It is just opposite our community. There are shops selling wholesale drinking water and wine, stalls selling various tropical fruits and vegetables, and In the fully air-conditioned butcher shop, you can buy very good beef at an impressively low price like tropical fruits. There are also car dealerships, bars, and clothing stores. Later, a "Best Chapati" shop was opened on the street, which was made and sold freshly. Chapati is a local pancake. We bought it and tasted it. They were not exaggerating. It was really the best we have ever eaten. Chapati.

Although it is too hot during the day and there is nowhere to hide, in the evening the weather becomes more and more comfortable. This is my favorite time of the day. As night falls, the sky is very low, the moon and stars are clearly visible, and sometimes there are piles of cotton-like clouds pressing around. The twilight is getting thicker and thicker, and the air is flowing. The refreshing night wind is like a naughty boy, tearing the huge cotton balls, tearing a bunch here, tearing a bunch there, the tears are uneven, and some are folded too thickly. , swaying, feeling like it will loosen at any time, but some are strands, and the background color of the sky can be seen. The wind happily dragged those large and small piles of cotton forward, causing the stars and the moon to stagger around and stare blankly at these uninvited guests. Huge breadfruit trees and towering palms flapped their leaves, like the mischievous giggling of wind children.

Brother Chen took the lead in adapting to the life here, and there seemed to be exciting new discoveries for him every day. We haven't found a school for him yet, but he has become accustomed to following us to work during the day and going swimming after dinner at night. After swimming, I wrapped him in a big bath towel and walked home. He asked excitedly: "Mom, I like it here so much. Can we stay here for three years?" (We usually have a two-year term, but you can choose Stay for another year or two. )

I interpreted his request as contentment and happiness, but still asked him why. He said: "Because it's always summer here, it's cool at night, you can swim every day, and there's BRT!"

Children's world is very simple, and they don't have so many things to refer to and rely on. , it doesn’t matter if they don’t have the things they are accustomed to, there are new experiences here, which are enough to make them feel satisfied. In contrast, adults have too many things to refer to and rely on, and are accustomed to using experience and habits as the standard for measuring new environments. We simply and crudely divide the surrounding environment into "excellent" and "bad" and follow the rules. Those who want to do what I want are good, and those who go against my will are bad. It is easy to go from frugality to luxury, but it is difficult to go from luxury to frugality. Therefore, many adults do not like it here. Even the "old Tanzanians" who have worked and lived here for many years always shake their heads and curl their lips: "I don't feel that there is anything good about it, nothing!" You ask him " Then why don't you go back?" They will sigh and say, "There is no way!" Life is like this, mixed with disgust and boredom, in a helpless cycle.

It must be said that children are our role models in adapting to the new environment.

We have gradually adapted to living and working here. Although the weather is hot, we are not really exposed to the sun much. There is air conditioning when we enter the door, and it cools down at night. Basic necessities of life can be found in the City business district. The "largest business district" is indeed well-deserved. It not only has the largest cinema in East Africa, but also supermarkets, bookstores, banks, mobile companies, furniture stores, home appliance stores, game arcades, clothing stores, Accessories shops, etc., are all indoors and connected together. You can go shopping, eat and watch movies rain or shine. There are bars, restaurants and the largest conference center in Dalian (Mlimani Conference Center) outside the door. There is a large parking lot in front. . The biggest advantage of living in our community is that you can push shopping carts all the way to your door, and the property management staff will take them away and push them back to the supermarket in the business district. The scope of our lives is basically fixed between the two points and one line between the university and the community, which is relatively safe and convenient. When my colleagues invited us to eat at a Chinese restaurant and taste the familiar Chinese taste again, my happiness reached its peak. After dinner, we stood in the large courtyard of the restaurant and chatted while looking at the moon rising over the treetops.

I said: "Life is so convenient. Why do I feel that what we are exposed to is not the real Africa?"

Panfeng next to me said lightly: "This is also Africa. Part of it."

I suddenly realized. Yes, this is part of Africa too.

A sudden feeling of shame arose in my heart, for my own preconceptions.

For the first time, I realized that stereotyping or expecting a strange place is a very ignorant, disrespectful, and even rude behavior: you have never been somewhere, and you only rely on other people’s experience. "One-sided words" (books, videos, photos, or just descriptions) outline or "make up" an image of it in your mind, and then derive various expectations. Wait until you find out that it is not what you imagined. With that look, you will be disappointed and think: Why does it look like this? However, it must be very innocent: I am like this, you and I have never met, and those expectations are only yours.

Yes, if reality is different from imagination, then it must not be reality that is wrong. Imagination is your own business. Whether you are satisfied or disappointed, you can only pay the bill yourself.

I decided to give up all my previous expectations about Tanzania. I understand that those expectations are just my own wishful thinking. Only by seeing what I see and listening to what I hear can I know a Tanzania that truly belongs to me.