One of the most surreal moments of my life was walking in the bush in Tanzania near a village, two maasais passed by on a motorbike, stopped, took out a mobile phone from the folds of their red garment, took a picture of me without saying a word, and left.

At the time, smartphones were not common and I was somewhat surprised that all maasais had cellphones (non-smartphones, usually). But of course I now understand that they're essential for a society that doesn't have any other form of connection (no landlines, so fast adoption of mobile, and also poor roads and no postal service).

And of course, it must have been much more surreal for them to see a random white young man walking alone in the middle of nowhere near their village.