Martin finally left for Dar es Salaam. He is spending the afternoon in a meeting in Dar, and then heading back for Austria on Monday. Said then took me on a mini-tour of Stone Town - the University, many schools, including a Madrassa which is just another school (how hung-up about these things we get), and the local branch of Barclays (just in case). Read more…
Not a good start: sitting on Air Egypt aeroplane for 2 hours without explanation (except in Arabic and inaudible English) as to what was going on. Made up time, and they held back the connection for us; we were corralled into a holding pen, and then sent dashing off to the Dar es Salaam plane, with minutes to spare. Minutes gave way to 10s of minutes as the luggage made its way at a more leisurely pace. A gentle start to not being a European in an Anglo-European context where you’re a not-quite-fitting-in person in a radically different culture. Refreshing. Read more…