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As Cate and I made our way back to Dar es Salaam, we had a chance to discuss some of our observations about Africa. (that's one of the best things about traveling in my mind … so much time to talk!!)
Something I've alluded to before is the constant level of harassment and "begging" (it's not exactly begging, but more like trying to sell you stuff) that happens at all times. You constantly have to watch your stuff, your belongings, where you are, etc. and it is incredibly draining. I struggled for a while to define what exactly it was that was so exhausting … for I have certainly traveled in tough countries before, andbeen in places where it was impossible to "blend in", so to speak. As usual, it was Cate who helped me put my finger on it; "for me, it's the outright, blatant racism. It's not just that you're discriminated against for being a tourist, but you're being outwardly discriminated against for being a white person, and, for us, for being women."
And it's true.I have been called a "wazungu" (literally translated from Swahili - "white person"), pointed at, shouted at and stared at. As a woman, it's incredibly intimidating, and compounded by the fact that there are a certain percentage of men who are (a) hoping to marry you for your visa (and are NOT shy about it) or (b) hoping to sleep with you, since it's considered extremely impressive.
To be fair, Cate and I saw a very gritty, realistic part of Africa that most tourists probably don't see. We stayed in hostels in funky locations, took buses & public transportation (trust me, tourists do NOT take the buses we took) and generally cavorted around Africa as cheaply as possible. While it was this that exposed us to the moments I've mentioned above, it also opened our (my) eyes to the incredibleness that is Kenya & Tanzania.
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