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?
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