Northern Tanzi - Some serious beautiful going on
Market outside of Arusha
Me off the beaten trail
Lake Manyara Natl Park - Tanzi
Tea Plantation
Shurimoyo - Moshi - Typical rural school building
Market in Moshi
Arusha Park
Arusha Landscape
My wing man Julius - he and I are tight.
Beauty Salons pop up everywhere - It's so funny!
African Manicured Paradise
Sorry, I know it's been too long since I last wrote. I'm not sure where I left off, or where to pick up. The important thing to let you know; everything is GRAND here in the land of rain and green and smiles and muddy feet.
Here's me and my pals on a little hike to Moshi (10 miles), no hill for a climber! The guy on the right is Freddy, the new man in my life, (besides Julius), who showed us where to find a fabulous swimming hole and brews his own banana beer) I swear, whenever we're together my sides ache from laughing. I think he has a crush on me.
Mama, you'll be pleased to know I took in a Sunday church services last week. Knowing I wouldn't be around this weekend (cause I'm going camel riding), it was my offering to stay in your good graces, but also the service I took in was an event in itself, very entertaining, almost like a baptist revival. We arrived to a very large, airy hall and were clearly the only "mzungu" there. Let me tell you about the word mzungu. I've heard it an awful lot in the past 5 weeks. It means "white person" and the men especially have a penchant for calling out mzungu anytime I walk by. It's not exactly a compliment, but it's taken in stride. Even us volunteers have found ourselves referring to ourselves or other foreigners as mzungu. For example (and I am jumping ahead for a moment), we went out dancing at an outdoor club on Thursday night called Via Via (another going away partying, a person could stay drunk all the time here cause every other day it seems someone is leaving and a new person arrives). Anywaays, on Friday morning, one of the other volunteers who had not come out told me that she heard I'd been dancing like a "bongo" (local), not a mzungu, on Thursday night. I learned the shakey-shakey. It's a 'traditional dance' where you shake your shakey-shakey ba-donk-a-donk like its no tomorrow. I think we call it something else back home, 'bootie', very similar outcomes. Apparently the dance here is/was used for men to figure out who would be their wife/wives. Yes, wives. It happens here. Moving on....the ladies doing the shakey-shakey then proceed into the audience and pick out men to dance with, sound familar? Too bad there's no video, I was doing my best to keep up with the locals, shakey-shakey'ing my tushie in high gear (like I need any encouragement) especially after a few beers, sheesh, it was loads of pure clean fun, and they love learning new slang for hiney.
Back to church, sorry, I keep digressing, but seriously I have seen and experienced so much I could spends hours every night writing about it, it has been the ultimate frustration not to be able to share it on a daily basis! So I apologize that I seem to be going off on several tangents. The church service was in Swahili, but holy crickets, the choir was rocking! They filed in from the back dancing and belting out their tunes, and everyone in the audience clapped along with them. It was really cool. They were definitely the highlight, and sang every ten minutes or so throughout the 90 minute service. It was also fun to look at all the churchgoers in their Sunday best. Many loud hats and dresses.
One thing I've noticed in my short time here, this country seems to be overrun with missionaries, as if there's a race to see how many people one can convert to Christianity. Ummm??? Religion!
After wards, we walked around downtown for a little while. Arusha has a lively outdoor produce/housewares market, and lots of little shops and stalls with a random assortment of goods. Also lots of money exchange counters and tailors. There is one little building that I pass everytime I go downtown, called "The Computerized Zebra Eye Clinic". I have no idea what it is, but it always makes me laugh. I become an expert with dodging the frenetic rhythm of vehicles, pedestrians and the occasional goat or chicken.
Almost everyone makes some sort of greeting, unfortunately in any one of about 4 languages. KiSwahili is either 'Hujambo' to which I have to reply 'Sijambo', or, if they are being particularly polite, it will be Shikamoo, to which I have to reply Marahaba. In essence Shikamoo means something like, ‘I know I am only a worthless speck of dust before your great age and wisdom, but please don’t ignore me.’ The reply is roughly ‘Yes, I agree that you are only a worthless speck of dust before my great age and wisdom, but I will deign to notice you.’ The local language is Maasai. The greeting here follow a clear pattern: a) Habari b) Mzuri a) Ta Kwenya b) Eeko a) Soobeye b) Ebba (sorry, written phonetically). I think it means, How are you, fine, where are you going, work, where have you come from, home. A lot of people like to practice their English, so there are a lot of ‘Good Mornings’
In my six weeks here, I've grown accustomed to the smells, the sounds, and the sights of Africa. The poverty mixed with hope. The wealthy helping the poor. A community in which the gift of life and death is shared. People walking, selling their crops, people jumping in the back of a pick up truck of a stranger for a ride, people jumping vertical as high as my head, man those Maasai can grab some air, The mountains and the plains, the lush green rainforest, and red desert dirt and dust, the beauty and the ugliness, happiness and sorrow, the Maasai trying to hold on to their past, while carrying cell phones in their robes. The pursuit of education. Women trying to have a voice...and of course sickness: AIDS, Cholera, Malaria plus many more... Time, worries, priorities, everything different here than back home, not necessarily better, just different.
As beautiful as it is...it is a place I could enjoy because of the opportunities available to me. I try to put myself in these peoples shoes, but I can't...I try but I can't...
So instead I choose to see the beauty of this land because of its differences and the contrast... I am grateful. Nothing I write will do it any kind of justice. I may have wrote that before but it merits repeating.
This is my last week of working at the placement. It makes me sad to think about saying goodbye to the kids I've grown to love. It makes me happy to know I've made so many close bonds. Some of my friends have already left. I'm told by others this is always the hardest part. One more going away party-mine and I will be getting fully intoxicated come the weekend. After I recover I'm traveling to Lake Malawi with Sondra and some friends who already finished up with their volunteer work and waiting on me, so it's all about exploring now. Lake Malawi is suppose to be fabulous, we're planning on camping and then on to Victoria Falls. What a rush, can't wait to tell you about it, I've heard they have an awesome bungee from the bridge and an ultraglide you can rent. Best I can do, no taildragger to be found on the Serengeti. My last stop will be spent meditating on the beaches of Zanzibar and Pemba and doing some diving. At that point I anticipate losing all consciousness in a spiritual way and just decompressing.
Samuel and Chad are the Irish guys I met during my layover in Amsterdam (the ones trying to talk me into doing the Kili hike with them) We've become great chums, they're going to travel to Malawi with us.
Crazy Sondra - I could not do this! She's staying an extra three weeks just to hang out and head to Zanzibar with me.
Soon to be traveling companion Naomi (from Sydney) - appliances are just for looks around here - electricity is a joke - we laugh and make fire!
Happy Easter!!
I miss you and love you all,
-alana
