At long last...transportation...

'Daddy, d'ya wanna go for a ride with me?' Watch out everyone...look at the little hottie on the bike! Shay's already enjoying Daddy's new bike...currently her plan is to jump the fence, go pick up Natalie (cousin) & then go see Grandma Kathy & Grandma Sally (yes, she also said she was going to see both Grandpa's too, lest they feel left out). Sometimes Daddy pushes her around the courtyard on it, but never fear...she won't let Daddy start the engine with her on it. How's that for finally getting my 1st dirtbike...and all I had to do was move to the Motherland! This is the best way to get around (when flying solo or tandem) in Tanzania. Honda 250R...plenty of power and handles the rough roads/speed bumps like butter baby! (Don't worry mom, I never go over 140 km/hr...of course, that's as high as the speedometer goes, so I guess I really wouldn't know if I was going faster than that. But seriously all you who are thinking, 'He'll kill himself.' I usually only cruise around 80-110 km/hr = about 50-70 mph. Hope telling you that didn't just make it worse...) I am diggin' having a bike though (as Cindy says...I get that same goofy grin I got when driving my rig back home)...it's been a sweet gift from God!

Want to know what a piki piki (motorbike) costs in Tanzania? Or better yet, what the cost of it LOOKS like in Tanzanian Schillings? These would be 2 pictures of 1,350,000 tsh...which is what I bought the bike for!! (1.35 mil tsh = appx. $1,050 U.S.)

If you're interested in the full story (with a little philosophical rabbit trail), read on. If not, scroll down to the next entry.


The bike was definitely a gift from God, as I was about to go out and buy a 'Honda' CG 125...that would be a China import with a bootleg Honda logo stamped on it. They're little tiny bikes that are great for getting around town, as long as you stay on the asphalt & go real slow over any bumps...of course, as even the locals say, ya get what ya pay for...they're 800,000 tsh brand new ($650 U.S.), but as they'll tell ya, don't plan on these bad boys lasting all that long...good for a quick, cheap fix. Anyway, secretly I was hoping & holding out for a true Honda dirtbike, as I had been borrowing Peter's (see Yesu Anaweza blog) and loved it. But alas, Honda 250's are a hot commodity here, as the mine guys all want them to travel the 50 km out to the Tanzanite mines...and the mine guys have money to burn. Thus, most Honda 250's here run about 1.8-2.5 mil tsh. I had relegated myself to a China import, but then had the dealer jack the price on me - thanks to the color of my skin...2 prices in TZ...local price & mzungu (white person) price. Even after agreeing on a price the day before, when I came to buy the bike, I was informed it was no 50,000 tsh higher. Of course, that's only $35 U.S., but the principle of it ticked me off, so I walked away. I just started walking towards town, with my friend Bariki following me. As I was walking, a bit miffed & fuming (until you've lived here a while & know the market price for things, us white folk can't go buy anything ourselves, always have to take locals with us...which is yet another thing that makes things take for-EVER here). As I walked by some hardware shops, I saw this bike parked in front of it. I said, 'Bariki, find out who owns that bike & if it's for sale' (if you ask, almost everything's for sale in TZ). Not only did he come back saying 'yes, it's for sale,' but he told me the price was 1.35 mil tsh, which is a GREAT price for a Honda 250! I secretly wondered if he didn't see me sitting on the curb when he quoted the price or if I just met one of the few TZ who charge the same price to locals & mzungu...yes, they're out there & when we find them, we do lots of business with them. Finding people you can TRUST is HUGE here!

Unfortunately, corruption still has its roots here...driven not just from the top, but from the 'everyday Joe' (lest you think it's only mzungu they try to take advantage of, we've even seen them do it to one another). So much for an 'all for 1 and 1 for all' mentality...a 'let's band together and help one another rise above this'...sadly, for many here it's more of an 'every man for himself' type attitude. Of course, that's not to say America's all that different, especially those who live in rougher/tougher situations (relatively speaking...as in my opinion, everyone in the U.S. has it posh compared to the rest of the world). Case in point...New Orleans...definitely didn't come together for the common good...at least not initially. Then again, we have also seen tough times where the nation has come together to fight for the common good...such as the response from the rest of America after the initial madness of New Orleans or 9-11. Maybe I'm just slighted in my view of America because, while there are cases of that, America has a vast unrealized potential to do soooo much more...and it's that unrealized potential, that oftentimes is wasted inwards, that causes me to also see America as an 'every man for himself' country. Maybe America, like people, thrives best in times of crisis...and atrophies in times of peace. Either way, at least the corruption isn't quite so evident/blatant in America...simple things like set/posted prices for a product/service...set prices that EVERYONE pays, eliminates much of the opportunity for corruption/deceit/theft. (On the flip side, we get the upside of the bias when it comes to police, as they pretty much just let us be, while still requiring/taking bribes from the locals...to be fair, the current/new President actually is trying to crack down on corruption, which is why the locals say the police don't harass us mzungu, as they're afraid we might have a bit more 'clout' if we were to report them to the government if they tried to bribe us.)

Well, enough of that rant, back to the story...Instantly I wanted the bike (assuming it ran good...and it did), so I bought it that day...well, sort of. We agreed to a deal, but that was 1 week ago & I still haven't paid him as he hasn't come up with the proper paperwork (title) for it...but he's supposed to get the last couple documents today...we'll see. Either way, it's been a gift from God...at just the right time, when I was ready to give up...throw in the towl on my search...and there He was. His provision and love are unbelievable, sooooo much more than I deserve...as if He hasn't given me enough...what love He pours down on us every day...sometimes it's hard to see through my selfishness & insatiable appetite for more, but when the fog of my greed clears, I am mesmorized by how much He's given me already...how much He gives me every day...it's incredible...leaving me with nothing to say but AHSANTE SANA! (Thank You very much! - for pronunciation, think Lion King & the goofy baboon) God, develop this same love within me, that I might express Your love daily to those around me.