Forgot to take a picture with the man who got it all started. D’oh!

This minibus had 28 people in it. But if you think it's full, you must be a naive mzungu (white guy). These buses are never full.

This afternoon after class, I had the pleasure of having lunch in town with Tumaini Minja, the man who arranged this internship for me. It was the first time I had met him as we had been put in touch with each other through a mutual contact at OISE. We had lunch at the top floor restaurant of the KNCU building in town. It was a nice and relaxing place, away from the bustle of the street and with a good view on Moshi and to Kili to the north (it is only a 6 or 7 storey building though).

Tumaini is a lawyer but works mostly right now with causes in the peace and conflict field. He travels an awful lot for a Tanzanian though because of the nature of the work, he extracts very little financial compensation for what he does. Though he does hope to earn more money one day, he is content right now with the experiences he’s having overseas, the charitable work he does, and the people he meets. Unfortunately, I have no photo of him because I forgot entirely to take one.

I mentioned yesterday that it was completely normal here on packed minibus rides for someone to take your bag on their lap if you’re standing and they’re sitting, even if they’re not necessarily sitting near you. I found out today on another packed ride home that that doesn’t just apply to material belongings. We had a packed bus already when we pulled up to a stop where a mother and three of the cutest little girls were waiting. It took only a moment to figure out what to do, and the mother got in the back while the bus assistant swung the kids up on to the laps of two perfect strangers who had the benefit of the front seat next to the driver. Again, seemingly perfectly normal!