Apr 12, 06:40 PM
The business of talking
“Our business is talking. And also some writing. We talk, and we listen, and we write. That’s it.”
Kanta, the young lawyer we met in Arusha, told us this by way of explanation after he stopped to chat with three different people within 20 feet as we walked along the sidewalk in downtown Dar es Salaam. He’s still excited that he and I should open a practice in Dar someday, and he even pointed out the new building that he wants the office to be in. Of course all this is extremely unlikely (and I’ve not even started law school), but he’s the type of guy who is convinced that anything can and should happen.
He was nice enough to take us to see the University of Dar es Salaam, because we were interested to see a university here and because I’m remotely entertaining the idea of doing an academic exchange with UDSM after starting studies at the University of Minnesota. The campus is on a hill outside of town, and a cool breeze and some fresh air is a nice break from the heat and humidity of the city.
I had a quick meeting with the associate dean, we sat on some steps and said “jambo” to passing students—all smartly dressed, looking just like students in America, but nearly all Tanzanian and speaking Swahili when not in their classrooms, where English is the language of instruction—and we met Kanta’s girlfriend, Happy, for lunch.
Then it was back in the dala dala mini bus, transferring at the overwhelming public bus stop/market/mud pit, and on to downtown, where the YMCA hostel is our home until we’re off to Zanzibar tomorrow.