My first thought in Tanzania: Wow, this place is humid!
My second thought in Tanzania: I need to race ahead of the other 250 people in my plane so I'm not sitting in the visa line all night.
I rushed to fill in the arrival documents and got into line behind the "visa" window. Seemed logical enough, right?
5 minutes later, I discovered that I was standing with people who had already submitted their applications. I apparently needed to be in the other line at the unmarked window. <<Palm to face>>
After waiting some more, I got to the front of the line and submitted my application, along with US$100 cash for the visa. It's a good thing I did research beforehand because of course there is no currency exchange place in immigration.
What about the people who didn't have US dollars? They had to walk through passport control to withdraw Tanzanian Shillings from the ATM, then exchange the shillings for US dollars at the adjacent bank. Keep in mind, these people are already through passport control but they don't actually have a visa. Am I the only one who sees multiple problems with this set-up??
Anyhow, back to the visa. After you submit your documents at the first window, you wait with the group in front of the "visa" window. Eventually, a person at the window calls your name (obviously pronouncing it wrong) and you approach the window to scan your fingerprints. Then, you wait some more. Finally, a third person emerges from behind the window and calls out the names of the people who can collect their passports.
As I was waiting, I noticed a sign on the wall that said: "If someone requests a bribe to enter Tanzania, call _____". I started laughing to myself. Why would anyone need to bribe an immigration officer when you can just walk right through passport control simply by pretending you need cash?
Maybe it's the MBA in me, but I just wanted to redesign the country's entire immigration process.
On the way to the hotel, I asked the driver how far it is from the airport. He told me it was 12 kilometers. In the US, this means 10-15 minutes. In Tanzania, this means 1 hour. I literally could have jogged to the hotel faster. At least I had fun things to look at because the city comes alive at night.
By the time I arrived at the hotel, I didn't even want dinner. I just wanted a dehumidifier and the Ritter chocolate bar with marzipan that was enticing me from the minibar. While I was at it, the Toblerone bar looked good too. Geez, I'm such a healthy eater.
The next morning, I looked out the window - wow, I'm definitely in a developing country. Some people were walking on the street with things balanced on their heads, others are pushing carts filled with who-knows-what, and some cars were mixed in for good measure.
Then, I looked down. Two people were watering the roof.
I needed to restore a sense of normalcy to my life, so I went to breakfast and feasted on an egg-white omelette with smoked salmon and a berry fruit salad. Without even trying, I was eating a red, white, and blue breakfast for 4th of July. Of all the places I could be for Independence day, it's not bad to be spending it in a country that requires US dollars for visas and in a hotel that had hosted President Obama and former president Bush just a few days prior. Happy Birthday, America!
My second thought in Tanzania: I need to race ahead of the other 250 people in my plane so I'm not sitting in the visa line all night.
I rushed to fill in the arrival documents and got into line behind the "visa" window. Seemed logical enough, right?
5 minutes later, I discovered that I was standing with people who had already submitted their applications. I apparently needed to be in the other line at the unmarked window. <<Palm to face>>
After waiting some more, I got to the front of the line and submitted my application, along with US$100 cash for the visa. It's a good thing I did research beforehand because of course there is no currency exchange place in immigration.
What about the people who didn't have US dollars? They had to walk through passport control to withdraw Tanzanian Shillings from the ATM, then exchange the shillings for US dollars at the adjacent bank. Keep in mind, these people are already through passport control but they don't actually have a visa. Am I the only one who sees multiple problems with this set-up??
Anyhow, back to the visa. After you submit your documents at the first window, you wait with the group in front of the "visa" window. Eventually, a person at the window calls your name (obviously pronouncing it wrong) and you approach the window to scan your fingerprints. Then, you wait some more. Finally, a third person emerges from behind the window and calls out the names of the people who can collect their passports.
As I was waiting, I noticed a sign on the wall that said: "If someone requests a bribe to enter Tanzania, call _____". I started laughing to myself. Why would anyone need to bribe an immigration officer when you can just walk right through passport control simply by pretending you need cash?
Maybe it's the MBA in me, but I just wanted to redesign the country's entire immigration process.
On the way to the hotel, I asked the driver how far it is from the airport. He told me it was 12 kilometers. In the US, this means 10-15 minutes. In Tanzania, this means 1 hour. I literally could have jogged to the hotel faster. At least I had fun things to look at because the city comes alive at night.
By the time I arrived at the hotel, I didn't even want dinner. I just wanted a dehumidifier and the Ritter chocolate bar with marzipan that was enticing me from the minibar. While I was at it, the Toblerone bar looked good too. Geez, I'm such a healthy eater.
The next morning, I looked out the window - wow, I'm definitely in a developing country. Some people were walking on the street with things balanced on their heads, others are pushing carts filled with who-knows-what, and some cars were mixed in for good measure.
 |
| Here's the view from my room. Pretty nice, right? |
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| Here's a more "zoomed-in" version of the street. What are they pushing?? |
Then, I looked down. Two people were watering the roof.
 |
| Gotta make sure the roof stays green! |
I needed to restore a sense of normalcy to my life, so I went to breakfast and feasted on an egg-white omelette with smoked salmon and a berry fruit salad. Without even trying, I was eating a red, white, and blue breakfast for 4th of July. Of all the places I could be for Independence day, it's not bad to be spending it in a country that requires US dollars for visas and in a hotel that had hosted President Obama and former president Bush just a few days prior. Happy Birthday, America!
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