Finally, a full night of sleep. I think I have reached an equilibrium with my jetlag. This morning is so realaxing with the sun lazily falling on the banana trees that shade us as we eat our breakfast. We get to stay at the hotel for much of the day today, so our leisurely breakfast slowly sauntered into our Business Swahili class. 
The people here are so friendly...their children run up to the bus.....
They know we are giving candy away so they love to see the white faces in the bus.
This language is so hard because there are not cognates like Spanish or French. We're learning how to negotiate in Swahili which will hopefully really help our prices. This culture is very assertive and opportunistic. If you want to take a picture with a group of Masai in tradtional clothing you have to negotiate a price, but BEWARE...the price is for only one of the guys, so you will have to pay that to all of his friends too.
Now we have a lecture from a woman from a local bank about microfinance and co-ops for the agricultural sector here in the Kilimanjaro region. Amazingly, their banks here make 15% markup on loans. What a business, or course the default rate is about 50%.
Something I have notice today is the influx of amazing birds around the hotel's compound. Their songs and cheery chirps can go unnoticed, but when I slow down and just be still, their sounds really can make you smile. We loaded in the bus for an hour's ride to Arusha to a rose farm. This was such an interesting new indutry that I knew nothing about. There ia such a delicate balance of everything involving planting, harvesting, and shipping. My favorite we of course the jacquemenot dark red ones, but their multicolor varieties were gorgeous too. From here it is free time, pool, and Hotel Rawanda. Until tomorrow.
Remember to check ILA's blog at UGAinTZ2008.blogspot.com
They know we are giving candy away so they love to see the white faces in the bus.This language is so hard because there are not cognates like Spanish or French. We're learning how to negotiate in Swahili which will hopefully really help our prices. This culture is very assertive and opportunistic. If you want to take a picture with a group of Masai in tradtional clothing you have to negotiate a price, but BEWARE...the price is for only one of the guys, so you will have to pay that to all of his friends too.Now we have a lecture from a woman from a local bank about microfinance and co-ops for the agricultural sector here in the Kilimanjaro region. Amazingly, their banks here make 15% markup on loans. What a business, or course the default rate is about 50%.
Something I have notice today is the influx of amazing birds around the hotel's compound. Their songs and cheery chirps can go unnoticed, but when I slow down and just be still, their sounds really can make you smile. We loaded in the bus for an hour's ride to Arusha to a rose farm. This was such an interesting new indutry that I knew nothing about. There ia such a delicate balance of everything involving planting, harvesting, and shipping. My favorite we of course the jacquemenot dark red ones, but their multicolor varieties were gorgeous too. From here it is free time, pool, and Hotel Rawanda. Until tomorrow.Remember to check ILA's blog at UGAinTZ2008.blogspot.com
No comments:
Post a Comment