Taking in the local Dodoma scene

We're definitely not in Raleigh anymore! Today was a very busy day. We're trying to make sure we really use our time off well, in terms of taking in the local culture. Despite a mentally exhausting week, we woke up early today for a quick breakfast, and then a walk into town. We wanted to check out the local markets, find some shops to get some locally created crafts from, and generally get a feel for the town. This is, after all, the capital of Tanzania, and one of the big parts of this opportunity is to understand the local environment. As we headed into the big roundabout - from which nearly every set of directions starts, we looked to the right and saw an interesting market scene. It was also likely to be the place where some of the shops we asked about were located. We walked down the path between the stalls, just getting a sense of what the story was. Turns out these various stalls and shops are always open during week as well, and are some of the primary places where locals shop. Take a look at some of these photos.

The first shot is the local rows of stalls not far from our hotel. The other two are a few blocks out, and in somewhat more permanent feeling buildings

We took a look at some local crafts at the curio shop just to give us an idea of what we might find in the area.

It was a beautiful morning, and just wonderful to get out and walk and mix with the local people.

We returned back to the hotel around 12:30, as we had arranged for a tour of a winery that was about an hour away. We boarded the minibus and headed out to the winery. We thought we were making great time - the van was driving around 120 km/hour, and the road was good....until we then turned on to a dirt road, and stayed on that for about 45 minutes. We went through all sorts of areas - local villages, people walking and biking up and down the roads bringing wood, water, and charcoal to their village or to the town. Some of them may be walking for several days to get to where they were going. It is quite an experience to be driving at maximum possible speed (relative to the road conditions), while dodging, people, bicycles, dogs, chickens, goats, and mules and car eating pot holes. We were rather glad to arrive at the winery - and were really amazed at how beautiful it was.

The tour was one of the best winery tours I have been on. They spent nearly 2 hours with our group, with tastings throughout. We learned alot about how they work with local farmers to help them grow their grapes, and from whom they buy, as well as who they sell to within Tanzania, in South Africa and Kenya, and throughout the world. It was fascinating and educational....and we were all exhausted but happy as we finished up and headed back. We had to get back to the hotel, as we had been invited to the home of our host at the university, and he had arranged to pick us up at 6:30. I'll write more about that tomorrow...as well as our euchre training sessions at the hotel listening to their local music.

Its been a full day -