Beside Kiswahili, there is another language that is local to Iringa. It is the language of the HeHe tribe who originally lived in the mountain region. One of the traditions here is to greet your elders and let them know that you "see their knowledge." In HeHe you would say "Kamwene" to an elder. This is a sign of respect. You also place both of your hands on their head so that you can "feel their knowledge," something I find very beautiful.
In Iringa, you use the Tanzanian shilling. There are various coins and bills that range from 50 Tanzanian shillings all the way to 10,000 Tanzanian shillings. Here you can get all the way across town on the bajiji (taxi) for only 400 Tanzanian shillings. Another similarity I have found between American dollars and Tanzanian shillings is that the shilling has a picture of the first president of Tanzania, Julius Kambarage Nyerere, just like the one dollar bill has a picture of George Washington.
