M & M & M & M

Dear all, I just returned from Mwanza, Tanzania's second largest city, in its most extreme West, on the shores of Lake Victoria, from doing my third cycle of action research.

The lovely Mwanza, a transport and business hub of west Tanzania, 450,000 people

Mwanza is also called the Rock City, because of weird rock formations in the lake Victoria. This one is named the Bismark Rock.

Up to know I have been to four small Tanzanian cities - Mbeya & Moshi & Morogoro & Mwanza, and I just can't help but wonder...

When I walk the streets of these cities, people don't mind me. Some greet respectfully, most just continue on their way. It almost makes me feel like just another normal person again.  In Dar, on the other side, I get called after non-stop, with all kinds of nonsense, such as 'Hey, Chinese girl!', 'Hey, pretty baby', 'Come to me, sweetie', 'I love you so much, white girl', 'Why are you not talking to me whitie', 'I need your money, rich girl' etc.

In M & M & M & M I walk to the fruit sellers and am told the correct price for my fruit immediately. In Dar, I get overcharged by 200% on a daily basis, even by the sellers with whome I buy regularly.

In Ms I can have a pleasant and interesting chat with friendly taxi drivers and they will even show me around the town for free. In Dar, taxi drivers are constantly in a sullen mood, will bargain with you until you drop dead or until you begin to wonder whether they want to do business at all and once on the road, they refuse to listen to you and bark back at you if you ask them to close the window or try not to hit people on the road.

In Ms the buses will drive a leisurely 40 km/h and will actually stop for you if you want to board or exit the bus. In Dar, buses speed around the corners, throwing you back and forth, and some will actually expect you to hop on or off while moving.

So what the hell is wrong with Dar?!