Internet connections in Arusha are plentiful, but painfully slow. The computers are also quite old so multi-tasking is risky business. I feel like I am mistreating the computer when I have 4-5 explorer windows open, uploading pictures and writing something up in word. Muich like African business, it's best to do one thing at a time. "Poleh Poleh" (means slowly, slowly in Swahili)
The other night, I was using Mr Elias' computer when we lost power. I lost about 20 minutes of work, but learn my lesson. I now save my work every 2-3 minutes. Mr Elias does not know the location of the keys on the keyboard, so watching him type is also quite painful. I am developing patience at a whole new level. He sent his children for matches to light some candles, so I took out my 4-LED Petzl head torch, which impressed the family quite a bit. I also reached for my lighter, and handed it to Mr. Elias. To my surprise, he did not know how to operate it!
Mr. Elias' previous guest gave him a "broken" digital camera. I put new AA batteries, gave Mr. Elias my small 8MB SanDisk, and he now has a fully operational camera. I showed him how to work all the functions, and he is now the expert photograph. His computer has a USB port, so I also showed him how to download his pictures. Next week, we will come to Arusha and I will show him how to surf the net. He's a much faster learner than he is a typer.
Just about everyone has a mobile phone here. Talk time is very expensive, but SMS text messages cost around $0.15 so they are very cheap. All services are prepaid, and the largest refill card you can buy is 5000TSH, or $5. And they last a while...
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