Peace of Mind with a Piece of Crap

FREEDOM AT LAST. I bought a bike. The guy with the 100 dollar wheeler did actually replace the chainrings and cog set. The other repairs were minor and he didn't do them, so I argued for another 5% discount. Actually, since I paid in Shilling, the bike ended up at just above 80 dollars, a hundred dollars less than all the other quotes.... Off I went. IT FELT SO GOOD.

I was chasing cars, passing them, blending into traffic and taxi drivers made no fools of themselves by asking "Taxi? Taxi?" I saw a lot of people staring at me - I think even more than when I walk. After all they do see a fair amount of Mzungus - but not usually on bicycles. And now, after already practising vehicular walking I can start vehicular cycling (I will explain a little further down).

The first guy who found out that Bjorn the biker had arrived in town was a driver of one of the larger buses. He made a right turn (remember, driving is on the left) in front of me. I forced him to stop anyway. Dude, even in Tanzania there is a thing called right of way. This is the part of vehicular cycling that is called assertive riding. Bicyclists and sometimes even car drivers, often make the mistake of hesitating, thereby causing confusion for other traffic participants. I have seen many bicyclists in the US and Europe stop pedalling and slow down when entering intersections. This leads other drivers thinking they are stopping. So they may make their turn manoeuvres in spite of the cyclist. It's a catch-22, as those bicyclists are often a bit afraid and insecure in traffic, but through their riding invite drivers to do exactly what the bicyclists are afraid of.

To make one thing clear. Assertive does not mean offensive or aggressive. Make sure your brakes work well, as some car drivers honestly don't see you. For that the 'B' in the ABC Quick Check is important. I always make sure that when the driver doesn't see me when I am riding assertively I can still stop (assertiveness also doesn't mean you have to ride at Lance Armstrong speed - You can do it at 5mph, if you just use a low gear and do at least an imitation of Armstrong's cadence.)

Vehicular cycling is centred around the phrase "Cyclists fare best when they act and are treated as drivers of vehicles." With the same rights also come the same responsibilities for cyclists. If vehicular cycling, ABC Quick Check etc don't mean anything to you you should (if you are based in the US) take a class with a League of American Bicyclists' certified person. If you are in Roseville I can put you in touch with the BikingRoseville folks. Btw, even if you don't ride the class may be valuable. I have gotten feedback from class participants that it has improved their car driving skills. Honestly, did you know that in California sometimes bicyclists can legally ride all the way on the left? No, that's no typo. I am not talking about Tanzania....

Similarly I had already practised vehicular walking. It really bothers me that car drivers honk here and cyclists, peds and the guys who drag those big, heavy wood trailers around (by themselves, w/o horses etc!) jump for safety. This thinking that peds and bicyclists are second class citizens has to stop rather quickly!

Anyway, enough of that – although that was the biggest excitement of the day. After spending all morning in the bank and walking to work I quit early and then bought the bike in the afternoon. There will be an afternoon field trip tomorrow, and even though it is not directly related to my work I may accompany Vicky and check it out.

Speaking of spending a lot of time in the bank. Was it worth it? I paid 50 cents in fees. At the exchange bureau I would have paid roughly 19 dollars. Judge for yourself...

And of course then it's weekend. No blog entries then. Have a good one. Already December by then. I can't believe it.

The non-entry

Well, this mornign there was no internet connection atwork, then we were on the road for several hours. So more details on Monday, hopefully (if internet has beenn fixed...)

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Illiterate Moskitos

Ok, well, it doesn't strictly say on my moskito net for them to not sit there. But all I read beforehand was wear white as mosquitoes don't tend to go there and use a net that is treated with a repellent. So for two days in a row I saw mosquitoes sitting on my white net with the recommended repellent. Huh? Don't those damn insects read up on that stuff? Which part of "White is not good for me?" did they not get?

My hopes for looking at a bike were dashed today as the head of the UNEP from Dar es Salaam (the capital) was here. Things kept getting postponed and it wasn't until 5pm when they were looking at the showroom that my colleagues and I had prepared by 9:30am... Just before the one bike store closed I managed to stop by and of course the bike wasn't ready yet. So now I doubt the guy wants to actually do the changes. Tomorrow I'll see if I can get it cheaper w/o the changes, as long as it rides well.

Not that I would have had the money anyway. Cashing the traveler' check has been interesting. On Saturday they told me they couldn't do it because it's Saturday (somehow it needed the main office and they were not working on Saturdays). On Monday I came back and not only did they need a passport, but also the receipt from when I bought them. Great - couldn't they have told me on Saturday??? Tu and We I just didn't get their early enough (they close at 3).

Ok, now this part of the blog comes live from the bank. I am now sitting here and I was told that it can take up to an hour to get confirmation from the main office. I guess they don't really like cashing Traveler's checks (saturday they tried sending me to the Bureau de Change, but their fees are much higher). Anyway, before she could even process my TC she said she had to finish her current task, which seemed to be crossing out dates on application forms. I said "No problem" and waited a couple of minutes. After that I was wondering if there is any way I could speed up the process and thought if I start reading something it would make her move. But of course I didn't have a book with me. The next best thing was the laptop. Hey, as soon as I had it booting she got up and took the traveler's checks and passport and proceeded....

So now I am sitting in an A/C-d bank, waiting for the things to come. I guess I don't want to have to go through this process very often, though. Maybe next time I'll try a different bank. This one is the closest to home and was mentioned in my travel guide as having a low fee. They didn't mention customer service....

This morning I went running and there were a few people stretching. Later most of them had left, but two guys continued and I later talked to them. They turned out to be police officers and stay in shape by exercising every morning.

--ok, wait, my "line" is moving. I am now asked to fill out a form. Seems like the laptop trick worked and seeing that she couldn't annoy me did the transaction fairly quickly... So will continue the blog entry later.--

We chatted a little bit and I asked them where I can find out about traffic laws. So they directed me to the main police office and its traffic officer. I did however ask them how the right-of-way works on non-signalised intersections. They said the main road has the right of way. This is similar what I believed is the case in California until I started reading up on the actual law... But it seems like nobody cares in the Golden State about not following the law properly, including the police that is supposed to be looking out for you. Of course pretty soon there won't be any problems anymore as the goal seems to be to

-- Darn, now she makes me stand in line. So I guess I will really have to call it quits for now...--

Ok, the total time spent was still about an hour in the bank. I can't complain about having to wait in line to get the cash as everyone else had to wait, too. But if the approval had taken an hour instead of two minutes it could have been potentially annoying...

Born to Bike?

I talked to a guy today who rides his bike to work (only one km, but he rides to school sometimes, which is more like five km). Later talked to one of Dora's co-workers. Out of the two conversations I could get a very interesting picture:

People earn more in Moshi than other areas (Tanga was given as an example - Tanga is a port town in the northeast of the country). Mostly b/c people in Moshi have regular jobs but get extra income by farming on the side. So in Moshi people dream of having a car. People are rather lazy and avoid walking or biking. Biking in Moshi is considered (mostly) for poor people. There are tons of bicyclists in Tanga. One reason is that Tanga is flat, whereas Moshi is hilly. However, from my place to work is pretty much flat and there are at least half a dozen co-workers who seem to be living just as close as I and they don't ride. Of course another reason given is that drivers are bad and cycling is dangerous. It always puzzles me that the same people who say the drivers are dangerous have no problems squeezing into a bus, handing themselves to the mercy of the (reportedly bad) driver and other drivers, w/o any ability to react...With a bike in most cases you can avoid the dangers as you are much more agile than a ton of steel.

In Tanga many women ride bikes, sometimes travelling 10-15km with 80 liters (20 gallons) of water on the back of the bicycle. Women in Moshi don't ride their bikes. They are looked at funny if they do. The one guy I talked to said he commuted 30km round trip to work where he used to live (need to double check where that was). He said he got lazy when he moved to Moshi. He also said that other sports are not popular in Moshi (running, soccer) as people generally are lazy.

I thought that was highly interesting. So the higher the income the lazier people tend to get b/c they can then afford all the stuff that prevents them from getting a natural workout! Sounds very similar to Europe/US. I will look at two more bikes tomorrow. After what I heard today I think it is actually really important to get a bike. If a white guy rides to work everyday, maybe it makes an impression? I will have some money available as I am now thinking of not climbing Kili. It just is so expensive. I got one quote for $1,000. I think there maybe a chance to get it cheaper with a reputable company, but still probably around 800-900. Plus I'd have to rent a jacket and possibly a sleeping bag... I think getting the bike is more important in the grand scheme of things.

Yesterday and today we had a grand total of three power outages at KIDT. While people around me are not bothered (it doesn't prevent them fro reading the paper :) I can also continue to work on the battery. Today a consultant was here, trying to find the problem with the biogas system. He did pretty much the same test I had suggested last week, but the technician didn't want to do. This proved that the gas was produced fine and there was a leak somewhere. I wanted to systematically go down the pipe and check at every joint to see if the gas is still coming out (testing it by attaching a cooker). Well, the technician didn't want do it, but the consultant has now found the leak and fixed it (note added this morning: No, not fixed yet...)

I also suggested a change in the gas storage tank, which the consultant liked (it will add slightly more cost, but with the current design there is a cement part that can easily break off during servicing, thereby increasing the cost down the road). He has his own company and a few systems spread out in the country (a couple near Lake Victoria) and I hope I can visit some of those sometime soon ( he is using a different system than the one COMPACT has and it'd be interesting to check the differerencs).

Today there was a whole section (not sure what you call this in English?) of bananas in the driveway. I helped the maid carry it in. Damn, that thing was HEAVY. A hundred bananas? I don't know, and I don't know how the banana trees can deal with that weight...But anyway, the good fruit is now in the storage room!



I came across a nice feature of Word yesterday. It is called the eternal correction feature. Or maybe the eternal incorrection feature. Or maybe just THE feature. Anyway, take the following sentence (oh, here is a sneak preview to my thesis...):

For this to be possible soil erosion has to be kept at a minimum.

So soil is underlined in green and when clicked Word suggests:

For this to be possible soil, erosion has to be kept at a minimum.

Let alone that this sentence reads rather funny, the word soil is now underlined and when you click on it Word suggests:

For this to be possible soil erosion has to be kept at a minimum.

Do you want me to continue? This would be one heck of a blog entry :)
Maybe a comma before soil would have confused it a little less?

Show (little) and tell (much)

Did I mention the showroom? Vicky wants some drawings for a variety of cookers. She never told me that it had to be done anytime soon (I think she first brought it up Friday). Only to tell me today (Monday) that it had to be done Wednesday. Of course I haven't broken the news to her yet that my art teachers rather committed suicide than having to deal with my 'art'. Most of the times they were just resigned to giving me a C just so they wouldn't have to grade my stuff. Anyway, apparently a group of visitors is coming Wednesday and Vicky needs to have something to show in the showroom, even if it's just drawings. But I guess it'll be more like a show and tell – with little show and lots to tell.

Speaking of art. The job market here is rather small. Either you are in some way connected to Safaris or a Kili climb or you are "teksi" driver or you are an artist. A couple of times I talked to a guy who saw me running and said he used to run marathons and is now trying to get back into shape (but in the mean time I should check out his art store, of course). He asked me to run with him, but of course if his claims are correct (i.e. he was part of the Tanza national team and his PB is a 2h18) he'd be getting bored with my slow running after half a mile.

Sunday evening I heard a chicken in the kitchen, stuck in a plastic bag and trying to get away. An hour later it was dead, lying in the food storage room (but still complete). The next morning I noticed some cooked chicken in the fridge. Well, food is certainly fresh here. Hopes that it may have been in a rooster instead (and with that I mean the alarm clock next door) were dashed.

As for my thesis, I have formatted the questionnaires nicely (but lazy as I am I used a template from another student which saved some work figuring out the tables in Word. He did a nice job!) I am not a big friend of Word. But what really makes me cringe is Works. Because the full program name comes out to "Microsoft Works." Whatever.

Today I finally got behind the secrets of the phone card system here. You can buy a phone card of 1,000, 2,000, 5,000 or 10,000 shilling (there may be others available). But don't try to use them at the phone booth. You first have to buy a different, permanent card that has a card number and a PIN. Then you dial 800400 and follow the instructions. If you are lucky, some prompts are repeated in English, but not all. Anyway, when I entered the card number and PIN it always went back to the same prompt, asking for the card# again...

So two nice ladies from the phone company (TTCL) helped me. They got passed that point to enter the PIN (successfully) and then dialled 11# (this was not anywhere in the instructions btw.) With that you can add the credit from the card you just bought (in my case a 2,000 card) by entering its 12-digit#. Have I lost you yet? Sorry, I wish there'd be an easier way to explain it. Basically you fill the permanent card with the cards you buy and then can use the permanent card at the phone booth. Also, you can buy a card and use it at home, but the entire credit (like the whole 2,000) are transferred to the phone. So you can't just use the card one time at the home phone and later at the phone booth. I realized that the system is really complicated after even a few TTCL employees couldn't quite get it right...

Which is why everyone has a cell phone. But I still haven't found it to be necessary. And the one time I needed to call someone (remember, our land line is broken...) Dora gave me her cell phone, but there was practically no reception, so it was useless anyway.

I am glad for the internet connection at KIDT, though. I have been writing in the evening (like right now) and then posted it in the office. SO far have been going there Mo-Fr, but it may change a bit in December, as more field trips may be coming up. At least I hope so – a few promised visits have been postponed several times, which is a bit frustrating. But all you can say is "Hakuna matata". No worries, mate.

Daktari

I have vague memories that there was a TV show called Daktari ("Doctor") in the 70's. Friday I had my first visit with one, but don't worry – nothing wrong with me. For the second time I ran into the guy with the cast on his hand, who of course (again) wanted money for the doctor. He said he needed X-rays taken that cost 10,000 shilling, but he had only 3,000. If I could give him 3,000?

Ah, OK, so to speak. I had no idea how that was gonna help pay for the X-rays, which would still have been 4,000 out of his reach. So I said "Let's go to the hospital." I wanted to see first hand (no pun intended). He got questioned by a nurse for a couple of minutes, then came the daktari. He seemed to know the guy and immediately said "Three more weeks." All of the conversation with the nurse and part of the conversation with the daktari was in Swahili, so I have no idea what they were talking about. "Three more weeks" is all the daktari kept saying to me. End of visit.

I also came by a different shop that sold bicycles. I saw one that could be decent after a few changes. He wanted 100,000 and said changes would be made by tomorrow, same time. Much better and cheaper than going through middle man Rasta John.

Saturday I went for a run. So far I had only been going out for 20-45 minutes, so I could be home before the Malaria flies would wake up (they are night active only). But Saturday morning I had of course more time, so I ended up going out a different way and ran for about 1h15. It was a nice area. Quiet and peaceful and good to know that I can come back here and relax.

There was also a Golf course. I don't know much about Golf – not even the difference between a Birdie and a Tweedy. But I know enough to say that the green looked a little rough. Not as rough as the adjacent "roughby" field, though. That was a real meadow and made sure that the tough rugby players stayed just that – tough.

I later went to town and made a call to my parents (the home phone here is still broken and my guess of shower or phone being fixed by Christmas may have been overly optimistic) and checked on the bicycle. Nothing had been fixed of course...

I started laying out my thesis and wrote a few pages already. The prof will likely get back to me by tomorrow (Monday) with his suggestions for the summary. Things are shaping up.

The picture is from the tropical rain storm on Friday...

Ah-OK

Yesterday I went running on the track (hopefully I can provide some pix at some point of this Olympic style venue). After a few laps a guy gave his thumbs up and asked if he could join. Sure. I asked if he ran competitively. "Ah, OK," was the answer. I tried to inquire if he ran maybe 5,000 metres. "Ah, OK. Tomorrow?" No, I meant if you ran competitions in the past? "Ah, OK." Have you done races before. "Huh?" Did you ever run on the track. "Ah, OK." Ok, maybe this: Did you ever run 5,000 or 10,000 metres? "Ah, OK. Tomorrow?"

Language barriers can be something wonderful. He spoke a lot more English than I do Swahili, but we definitely had some funny parts in the conversation. When I left he started speaking Swahili to me and all I could figure out that he wanted me to come back to run tomorrow and then go to his place (he is a student at the local college and lives on campus). But then he seemed to change his mind and wanted to invite me right away. So I explained to him that I am going home now (it was getting dark). He said "Ah, OK" and then seemed confused as I left, expecting me to go with him.

As for the thesis, my prof is busy and I won't get the summary back until after the weekend. I also drew up questionnaires to ask people who used the biogas system so far, as well as one for potential solar cooker users and one dealing with soil erosion prevention measures (and why people don't use them).

Next week I also hope that our test system is working again (not much gas coming out right now and it's possible that because manure was not added frequently enough it has hardened and prevents gas to rise to the top. So the current contents has to be squeezed out and new manure to be added. I hope this can be done by Monday or so. Then it'll still take a few days before enough gas is produced.

I want to then test the different types of cookers they have for efficiency. Vicky from COMPACT wants to have a little display area with multiple different models so I want to see which ones we should pursue.

Today it was raining hard several times since lunch break. Figures, instead of wearing my boots I opted for my sports shoes today. Should be a muddy walk home...

Have a nice weekend everyone