Arusha

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11TH

Having been here for a week, I wanted to give a brief description of Arusha. Unfortunately, even after giving it much thought, I have found it difficult to think of a good basis for comparison. While I get the impression from guidebooks and other travelers that this is somewhat standard for a mid-size African town, I find it distinctly unique from anywhere else I've personally seen or read about. One reason I have so much trouble describing the city is because of the size. I would definitely call Arusha a town, as opposed to a city, but I've read from various sources that the population is roughly 300,000. I assume this figure includes many of those living on the outskirts of town, most likely living in neighborhoods far off the major roads, because the downtown area doesn't seem near big enough to house that many people. The other reason it's so difficult to describe Arusha is because there is such a strange mixture of elements that are usually distinctly separate in American, depending on whether you are in the country, a town, or a city. To better illustrate, I will just list out some bullet points of some general observations I have made:

- The main streets in the town are well paved and maintained. There is also other infrastructure, such as the drainage system, that are very well constructed (and getting a lot of use now, as it's rainy season). However, non-najor roads, even in the downtown area, are often nothing more than heavily trodden down dirt with the occasional rock sticking up from underneath.
- While there are several modern supermarkets, both large and small, the main place for locals to purchase goods is still the open market in the center of the city, where local farmers come to sell there goods and local buyers haggle them for prices
- The streets are always full of automobiles, although rarely full enough to cause heavy traffic jams like those in large American cities (and large Indian cities, from what I am told)
- Although my hostel is only a 10-15 minute walk from the main road, it's not uncommon to see a few cows or donkeys grazing on the side of the road. Similarly, its not uncommon to see people carrying live chickens to be bought and sold at the open market
- It's very easy to see the presence of western corporations, both in the form of advertising and physical products. By far the most prevalent is Coca Cola, but other popular brands I have seen include Pepsi, BP, and nearly all of the automobile manufactures (with Japanese brands being the most popular)
- Cell phones are very popular here (again, you can see advertising for these companies everywhere) and are used by much of the population within the city
- Within minutes of the downtown area you can find people tending crops on small plots of land
- The town is the capital of the region, and in being so has many modern government buildings, including a revenue department, a regional branch of the central bank, regional police headquarters, a city hall, and an international center that houses certain UN activities
- It is not uncommon to see people washing clothes or themselves (still clothed)in the local rivers
-There are several large 10-15 story buildings in the area, with more in the process of being constructed, but the vast majority of the town is comprised of small one and two story buildings and shacks

While I feel I have learned a lot about the city and way of life here in Arusha thus far, I still have many unanswered questions? Specifically, I am curious to know in what ways the city has changed in the past ten years and how quickly it is developing into a more modern city. I'm also curious as to the local citizens attitude toward this change, and whether they have the goal of becoming more like a western city, or whether they are against it and would rather preserve much of their traditional way of life. I will be sure to ask around.