A Sense of Tanzania
First, Happy Chanuka! (Don't know how to say that in Swahili or Maa.....)
I ran a very successful chanuka party at the home base over the weekend, complete with something resembling potato pancakes, applesauce, jelly doughnuts, candlelighting, a retelling of the chanuka story, and several games of dreidel! People really enjoyed it.
And now back to our regularly scheduled program.
Touched: a teeny kitten who appeared from among the livestock on a homestead, the hand of a 90-year-old Maasai woman who had survived all nine of her children, the damp, red clay of a Chaga tunnel, an hour-long massage ($14), a baby who immediately started crying when he realized he was being held by a white person, the very cold water of the stream I had to walk across every day on the way home from my placement, teeny Maasai beads spread out as I strung them and in the form of finished jewelry, sweltering heat (luckily, a dry heat), many pieces of cloth hanging up in a shop
Smelled: the night air filled with the scent of flowers from a nearby tree in bloom, lots of sweat (warm climate, low use of deodorant), bug spray, diesel and other visible emissions from cars and trucks, a rarely-cleaned squat toilet
Tasted: a fantastically delicious meal at the headquarters of Pete O'Neal (former Black Panther), orange Fanta while on a home visit to one of the members of the women's group, a poolside pina colada at a nearby resort, ugali (stiff, bland cornmeal staple of Tanzania), very unique chanuka food at the home base, a glass of red wine at a nice restaurant
Heard: roosters at 4:30 AM (and almost every other time), vehicles honking at each other either in greeting or in warning, depending on the situation, an English translation at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, a large loud waterfall at the bottom of a beautiful steep ravine, I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas blaring across a local market, muezzins, the stamping feet of Maasai women dancing, dogs fighting at 10:30 every evening, an open air concert including classical, African, and fusion music
Seen: women carrying small suitcases on their heads, a disabled man sitting cross-legged and propelling himself with his arms, a live chicken tied by its feet to the handlebars of a bike, a small mob tying a man to a cart in order to dump him in the river (because he was not clean enough), donkeys carrying sacks and bundles on their backs, streams cutting their deep way through the soil, vans with special names on them ("Domination," "Tokyo Express," God is Great," "Chuchu Trans," "Jesus Power," "Sabra"), fields of maize and beans
Hope everyone is keeping warm.
Kwaheri!
-Jenna
I ran a very successful chanuka party at the home base over the weekend, complete with something resembling potato pancakes, applesauce, jelly doughnuts, candlelighting, a retelling of the chanuka story, and several games of dreidel! People really enjoyed it.
And now back to our regularly scheduled program.
Touched: a teeny kitten who appeared from among the livestock on a homestead, the hand of a 90-year-old Maasai woman who had survived all nine of her children, the damp, red clay of a Chaga tunnel, an hour-long massage ($14), a baby who immediately started crying when he realized he was being held by a white person, the very cold water of the stream I had to walk across every day on the way home from my placement, teeny Maasai beads spread out as I strung them and in the form of finished jewelry, sweltering heat (luckily, a dry heat), many pieces of cloth hanging up in a shop
Smelled: the night air filled with the scent of flowers from a nearby tree in bloom, lots of sweat (warm climate, low use of deodorant), bug spray, diesel and other visible emissions from cars and trucks, a rarely-cleaned squat toilet
Tasted: a fantastically delicious meal at the headquarters of Pete O'Neal (former Black Panther), orange Fanta while on a home visit to one of the members of the women's group, a poolside pina colada at a nearby resort, ugali (stiff, bland cornmeal staple of Tanzania), very unique chanuka food at the home base, a glass of red wine at a nice restaurant
Heard: roosters at 4:30 AM (and almost every other time), vehicles honking at each other either in greeting or in warning, depending on the situation, an English translation at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, a large loud waterfall at the bottom of a beautiful steep ravine, I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas blaring across a local market, muezzins, the stamping feet of Maasai women dancing, dogs fighting at 10:30 every evening, an open air concert including classical, African, and fusion music
Seen: women carrying small suitcases on their heads, a disabled man sitting cross-legged and propelling himself with his arms, a live chicken tied by its feet to the handlebars of a bike, a small mob tying a man to a cart in order to dump him in the river (because he was not clean enough), donkeys carrying sacks and bundles on their backs, streams cutting their deep way through the soil, vans with special names on them ("Domination," "Tokyo Express," God is Great," "Chuchu Trans," "Jesus Power," "Sabra"), fields of maize and beans
Hope everyone is keeping warm.
Kwaheri!
-Jenna
posted by Jenna @ 6:58 AM
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