Wordless Wednesday

Shopping in Tanzania is different than here. Although there are stores in buildings there are also many open air markets where people bring the food they have raised or items they have made, put them in a pile on a blanket and wait for things to sell. I remember while in Mwanza one day, I saw a huge pile, probably four foot across and 3-4 feet high, of used tennis shoes. I noticed they didn't look to be paired together so to find a pair that fit and had both shoes I think would be quite a time consuming task.




The interesting thing about the stores within buildings is that most of them are basically variety stores where they have a little bit of many things, they do not typically specialize in anything. I recently heard from a missionary in Dar Es Salam who told of trying to shop for a side mirror to replace the one that had been stolen off his Land Rover. Of course, there isn't a local car parts store. He had to hunt through the many stores hoping someone had exactly what he needed. During the process, he was well aware that the one he ended up buying was most likely stolen property from someone else's or maybe even his own vehicle. Frustrating to say the least.