Dar Aspects
Upon moving to Tanzania in 2005, I was asked to take over a monthly column for the magazine Dar Guide. The column focused on aspects of life in and around Dar es Salaam, Tanzania’s biggest city, and it turned out to be a gift in disguise. Living on a quiet peninsula a stone’s throw from Msasani Bay, I was eager to explore the city and meet people from all walks of life. The column gave me that opportunity and helped me find my place in a foreign setting.
It took only a few weeks for me to feel at home in Dar, unlike the many months it had taken to adjust to life in Abidjan a decade before. The gig also allowed me to poke around places that few visitors saw and make friends in unexpected venues. Included here are a few articles that provide glimpses of life in Dar es Salaam.
Photo of Sunset on Msasani Bay by Terry A. Repak
Anchored in Paradise
I met a woman who lived on a sailboat moored off the Yacht Club beach in Dar es Salaam, and it sounded so romantic to me; to live on a boat in a palm-fringed bay and watch the sun set over the sea at the end of each day.
Keep Tanzania Beautiful
If anything could rouse me to road rage, it was the sight of someone tossing an empty food container or bottle out of a bus or car. We saw it all the time in Tanzania, and sometimes our car had to swerve to miss trash that bounced onto the road.
Kids on the Pitch
Soon after we moved to Dar es Salaam, I was looking for volunteer opportunities when I happened to meet a Tanzanian woman who’d started a group called Kids on the Pitch. Gizelle’s mission was to engage local youths in sports and other activities that would keep them off the streets.