not that they have starbucks in Tanzania, but if they did, a large coffee would be approx 4300 shillings

TFT - Tanzanian flexible time. It means no one really pays attention to what time it is here. If you say you'll be somewhere at 6:00, you can show up at 8:00. Doesn't really matter. If someone tells you they'll stop by tuesday and they don't make it until wednesday, TFT. Locals joke that we are always on time - they call it mzungu time. I actually like TFT. With no rush to get anything done, life is pretty stress-free here. On the other hand, this explains why almost nothing gets done in Tanzania....not good in a lot of ways.

This is not to say that people don't work hard here. They do. For example, a few days ago I saw a seven-year-old boy with a garden hoe that probably weighs more than him plowing the soil. I've seen men pulling large wheel barrels loaded down with lumber or pineapples - and not just a few pineapples but hundreds. And today I saw a woman carrying a bucket of water on her head with a baby strapped on her back. And she was walking uphill. Actually a pretty common site. I have no idea how they balance large, unwieldy, heavy objects on their head as they walk - but they do. Pretty sure that's a skill I won't be able to pick up while I'm here.

I had another lazy day of wandering around Bagamoyo. I did a bit of shopping here today. I went to the seamstress to have a skirt and bag made. I bartered with local artists for wood carvings and handmade jewelry. Everyone barters here. I found myself, caught in an intense barter, arguing over 500 shillings. Then I stopped, realizing that I'm arguing over 35 cents. If a $4 cup of starbucks coffee didn't seem ridiculous before, it's bound to now. To put it in perspective - the average monthly income, for those lucky enough to be employed is $50. When you factor in the unemployed, the average annual salary for working-age Tanzanians is $250.

Tomorrow, December 1st, is World AIDS day and I'm headed to Chalinze - a town about 100 kilometers away for the day. Everyone from the area will be gathered to observe the holiday. I'll, of course, fill you in on how the day went tomorrow.

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Part of trip: Tanzania 2008

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