10 Interesting Tanzania Facts
Originally Published On June 11, 2022.
- The form of payment is shillings rather than dollars. One Tanzanian shilling is .00043 of an American dollar. One dollar is 2346.70 shillings so as you can imagine, prices are very high numbers and you have to carry a lot more bills than you would in American money.
- Witchcraft is prevalent everywhere you go. Witch doctors are trained in one spot and sent all over the country. People go to them rather than to medical doctors. The missionaries shared that people in the village are uneducated about more simple medical issues such as infections. One time, a boy had a poor circumcision and it became infected. The parents went and paid for treatment from a witch doctor who gave them a thread to tie around the boy’s wrist to heal him. This is baffling to the American mind. The missionaries taught the parents how to keep the infected area clean so that the boy healed, as the thread would have done nothing.
- Swahili has fewer words than the English language. “Nzuri” covers nice, good, and all other synonyms. Native Swahili speakers find English excessive as there are so many words to describe one emotion or thing. English speakers may find Swahili limited. (However, this makes learning Swahili much easier than English!)
- Tanzanians trust very few people, including their friends. The missionaries explained that people aren’t taught morals or ethics, so people are only looking out for themselves at the expense of others. People will work their friends for money. This is shocking, but on the other hand, people are selfish everywhere; it shouldn’t be that surprising or different.
- Dogs are guards, not pets like they are in the States. Sometimes they are not treated well or are abused. As a result, Tanzanians are taught to fear dogs. When we were walking with the missionaries’ dog, a native would make a wide path around us. They do make good guard dogs because of this as well!
- Most people have phones, even in remote villages! This is weird to me simply because, with limited power or any other technology in remote areas, I would expect people not to have cell phones either, but some do! And even a few people living in extreme poverty manage to have a phone.
- At the market, sellers jack up the prices when they see a “mzungu” (white person). Culturally, people believe all white people are rich because most come from first-world countries and are wealthier ex-pats. In Arusha, most white people are part of a family working for the UN or running expensive safaris. Due to this, it is hard to get decent prices as a mzungu. When I went to the Arusha market with Emmanuel today, I would wait outside while he went in to get items so that they wouldn’t see me and raise the prices.
- People stare at Mzungu constantly. This isn’t that surprising, but I dislike it. Even as a child, I didn’t like people looking at me. I actually talk so fast that people are looking at me for less time. I had to retake speech class in high school because I dropped out the first time because I couldn’t handle the anxiety. So in this environment where white people are rare, I have to work hard not to be self-conscious and rely on God constantly. In remote areas, people may have never seen a mzungu before. The children in the village come up to you and just say over and over “Mzungu, mzungu!”
- The climate is the best thing ever. Even in the dry season, it is warm and beautiful. In the rainy season, it will be hot and green and gorgeous. I wish I could see it then. I’ve seen much of the countryside, and everywhere I go I am blown away by Tanzania’s beauty.
- The workers are few, but the harvest is plenty! People are ready for you to come alongside them and have a relationship with them. They are open to the gospel only after that relationship, but they are ready for it! It is a ripe harvest. I’m always blown away by the amount of love God gives me for people around the world (even bad drivers in America, haha). He has given me such a love for Tanzanians. I’ve enjoyed learning the language and the culture that is so different from mine. There has been so much that I’ve seen and experienced that I can’t put it all into words for you all. I wish I could. But I guess some of you will just have to come to see for yourselves! After all, we need more workers over here and the Lord does tell us to GO! Maybe some of you, maybe I will GO and make disciples here. Who knows? Only God!