Off to the [Goat] Races

Bet you would have never guessed that goats rival horses in their speed, intelligence, and gracefulness when racing.

Well, they don’t.

But there really aren’t any horses in Tanzania. There are, however, a plethora of goats.

The Annual Goat Races have been a Dar es Salaam tradition for about the last 10 years, and we never went until this year. I think we just didn’t get it. Goat Races? I mean, really. Goats…racing?

Was this what you imagined? Ah yes. They have to all be followed by their “jockies” so that they go the right direction. The large blue “prod” in the back keeps them moving. Why? Because, well, a goat might just stop and decide he wants to eat the grass instead of race.

But as you can see from the crowds, this is exciting stuff! Not only because the prizes are large for the winning goats, but a lot of people have bet a lot of money on these goats.

All for charity though, people. All for charity.

We took along Thomas, a former student, and Cecilie, a current student. It was a fun day considering that it rained about half the time and turned the entire arena into a mud pit. But really, it was still fun.

Just about the cutest little Spiderman that ever was. The next couple of days after, he kept asking me, “What happened to my Spiderman face?” Grace got a little exasperated with this and responded more than once, “We washed it down the drain, Josiah!” Such a big sister.

Boy do we know how to have fun here in Dar es Salaam! 🙂