i have until now avoided taking a bus anywhere in East Africa. it's the most common although time consuming way to get around. for this trip to Dar i'm traveling with a new sales rep for training and although a flight from Moshi to Dar is about the same cost the new managing director doesn't want to seem like he's giving special considerations to the marketing team and tells us to take the bus. i'm actually okay with this since my forward travel after Dar is to one of the islands for a one week holiday and i won't be returning via bus.
i appreciate the opportunity to see via the ground a lot of what i've been flying over. the 10 hour bus ride turns into a 14 hour trip but at least it does not break down which is not only common but is expected anywhere in Africa. indeed, a western couple approaches me on the halfway break and says every bus trip they've been on has broken down. i use the chance to learn some more about the sales rep that we hired to expand the business and i'm disappointed but not surprised that she's really not interested in what we are doing. she just needed a job since the organization she was working for was defunded. i'm not saying that's a direct reflection of her sales skills but i hired her reluctantly at the request of the managing director knowing she'd need lots of training.
turns out i'm not missing much between Moshi and Dar and i'm glad i'm not returning via bus.
she's well educated by Tanzanian standards but perhaps too much so as she aspires to become the next discovered 'african model' and work at the UN. i'm all about empowering women to reach their goals but in this case i'm thinking it's not going to happen. [spoiler alert: this 24 year old, who is unmarried, ends up pregnant and supporting the baby daddy in a continued cycle of poverty that could be avoided with some education about and use of birth control. yeah, i saw that one coming. it's time to give these women some power over their own lives and control over their future.]
getting accommodations in Dar is difficult because the company allowance is not generous and i usually stay someplace nicer but this time not willing to pick up the cost for an extra employee. my new sales rep [a tanzanian who speaks the language] is absolutely worthless in helping with this. let's say i slept with the lights on.
i appreciate the opportunity to see via the ground a lot of what i've been flying over. the 10 hour bus ride turns into a 14 hour trip but at least it does not break down which is not only common but is expected anywhere in Africa. indeed, a western couple approaches me on the halfway break and says every bus trip they've been on has broken down. i use the chance to learn some more about the sales rep that we hired to expand the business and i'm disappointed but not surprised that she's really not interested in what we are doing. she just needed a job since the organization she was working for was defunded. i'm not saying that's a direct reflection of her sales skills but i hired her reluctantly at the request of the managing director knowing she'd need lots of training.
turns out i'm not missing much between Moshi and Dar and i'm glad i'm not returning via bus.
she's well educated by Tanzanian standards but perhaps too much so as she aspires to become the next discovered 'african model' and work at the UN. i'm all about empowering women to reach their goals but in this case i'm thinking it's not going to happen. [spoiler alert: this 24 year old, who is unmarried, ends up pregnant and supporting the baby daddy in a continued cycle of poverty that could be avoided with some education about and use of birth control. yeah, i saw that one coming. it's time to give these women some power over their own lives and control over their future.]
getting accommodations in Dar is difficult because the company allowance is not generous and i usually stay someplace nicer but this time not willing to pick up the cost for an extra employee. my new sales rep [a tanzanian who speaks the language] is absolutely worthless in helping with this. let's say i slept with the lights on.
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