Today was the first day in a while I had the camera in my hand, and it felt good. I awoke at 5am to catch the city stirring during golden hour. My friend took me around town to shoot authentic Arusha.

We visited the Central Bus Station and the main daladala station—at both places, locals thought I wanted transport and kept trying to sell me tickets to various destinations. When at Samunge market, people wanted me to buy their vegetables.

People here are weary of getting their picture taken, so I had to be discreet. I shot mostly scenes instead of portraits. Many people wanted me to take their photo and asked for money. I laughed and told them "you want me to take your photo.” I tried to blend in as much as I could, being the only white person in the vicinity, and the only one carrying an expensive piece of equipment.

There’s a certain feeling when shooting, especially with street photography. You watch, you observe. You try to capture specific moments in time that tell a story about a person or a place. It requires patience, and a certain peacefulness.

Regardless of what I captured with the machine, I enjoyed the actual process of shooting. I experienced the scenes. The local markets in Arusha are a hive of activity. They appear chaotic at first, but when you stop to really observe, you see the comfortable, slow pace of hakuna matata.

Arusha exists in poverty. But that’s not its identity. Arusha is a place of life, of business and activity, of leisure. Tanzania’s safari industry originates from here. A system of business, long gone from the Western world, lingers and functions here. People here try to make a living, and they try to enjoy life.

Is it really that different than anywhere else?