Shopping

This morning I have been to town to pay the bond and first month's rent on my apartment. I had another look it.  I think it will suit me nzuri sana! 

I did some shopping.  I came home with a mobile hot-spot modem, an electric kettle and three bananas.  The bananas have been my lunch along with a pot of coffee I can make for myself now I have a kettle.  The coffee is Kilimanjaro arabica and very nice.  the modem is 4G - a luxury that will allow me to see short videos of my grand-daughter Sophie as she develops rapidly towards walking!

The bus I took from town decided to terminate at Tengeru, a settlement about 5 km short of Usa River.  My conductor delivered me to another bus to continue my journey.  This second bus took the scenic route through the busy Tengeru market. This was the market where we had done our sokoni practice on Wednesday as part of our studies.

Tengeru market is the biggest second-hand clothes and shoes market in Arusha district.  On Wednesday I'm sure I saw enough goods to clothe and shoe all of Africa!  There was bale upon bale of t-shirts, jumpers, dresses and jeans!  They were mostly of the kind that the opportunity shops in Australia reject. It made me a bit ashamed of our throw away society and our patronising attitude to the African people. These and the shoes would come mainly from Europe and North America though I think there are Australian goods too - I saw a road worker wearing a Kangaroos beanie!

The clothes and shoes are laid out on low tables and tarpaulins for the customers to pick over. There is so much that some is left in plastic rubbish bags.  These goods would all have been donations to charity in their country of origin and now are being used by entrepreneurs to turn a profit but also provide cheap goods for the customers.  Win-win you might think but these secondhand goods have just about destroyed the local textile industry and have made making a living problematic for small business tailors and dressmakers.

Some of the merchants are mobile. In the picture below plastic thongs - thousands of pairs! - are being sold out of the back of a ute.

My kiswahili classes are going well though Friday afternoon Mwalimu Fidelis said my sentence construction was doing his head in!  I think we were all a bit tired.  I have homework for the weekend which I should get on to so I can have a day off tomorrow.
Next Saturday I will move into my apartment so my next post should be from Sunpark Apartments.