I hardly know where to begin as so much
has happened in the last few weeks. It has felt like several life times or at
least a whole childhood relearning patterns of behaviour and communication. I
guess I will start with some of the lessons I have learned and then go onto my
exciting plans that have gone from seeds to sprouts before my eyes.
To be honest Reality is harsh here and
so sometimes the people seem to be too. It is not a place where people are
constantly concerned with how you are (though they may not actually care). You
have to say what you want and what you don't want, there are no games in the
way they communicate. It has been an intense lesson and I am still working on
it. People care for each other but only if you ask and this is something we don't
do at home. I almost feel guilty asking them for help but they don't care they
expect it of you. It is an excellent practice at looking at what you really
need and what you don't want. Saying no is particularly important, as they will
not stop if you fumble on your answer. I can see why people do not have the
neuroses here we have in the West but I can also see why so many of these
people get cheated out by foreigners and locals who know how to play games with
their words. There was a German doctor staying at the Jeshi for a few days
before Christmas. He was about 65 and came from a very different generation
than me. I had quite the love hate relationship with him. I loved having
someone to talk to and some of the stuff he said was interesting the other
stuff was slightly horrifying. He has been too many different countries during
times of war or suffering to help people, and perhaps you would expect him to
be a calm, caring fellow but on the contrary he was an abrasive, angry man who
likes the drink. He sees life here in a startling and yet refreshing way. He
sees the life of these people living with nothing and understands why they
would rob each other or get stuck on a mzungu (white person) in hopes of
salvation and yet he often referred to the people here as barbaric and stupid.
He himself has a Tanzanian girlfriend who he says helps keep him in check while
he helps her and her baby survive. His words all seemed to contradict each
other and yet they all spoke of his reality. He seems to have taken on the
abrasiveness that people here have but doesn’t quite have the calmness that
they possess. One thing he said which I really liked was that people here will
always forgive and once they forgive they will not bring it back up and rub it
in your face, it is gone forever.
My days have become filled with much
more action and I actually haven’t been studying or doing yoga as much as I
was. I have started to teach English to a friend on Saturday mornings and I
make a journey to the market ever second day to pick up the most fabulous fresh
produce, a ripe juicy mango only costs 30 cents. I also have been to visit my
friends in Mbande, the village I lived in last time I was here and went to the
most amusing Christmas party ever. I was invited by Alex (who works at the
Jeshi) to come to his house for christmas, so Abdallah, his daughter and I got
all dressed up and hopped in a cab. The safari took us threw the small streets
on Mbagala a large settlement on the outskirts of Dar to a beautiful home in
the midst of great poverty. It was actually Alex’s friend’s house and by the
time we arrived at 4pm they were all
well on their way to being inebriated. They welcomed us warmly and immediately
began to feed us alcohol. The yard was filled with children; some relatives, some
the house girls and others kids of the four families gathered together. I was
very thankful that these were all quite well educated people, even their kids
went to private school and thus they could speak English because it gets tiring
trying to understand people speaking Swahili after many hours. After many
drinks and lots of laughing we were invited to the back where a beautiful feast
had been spread out; pilau, rice, beef, chicken, salad, fruit and an amazing
chilly sauce. We feasted and ate our fill and then came the music. Tanzanians
really love ridiculously loud music, I don’t fully understand it but I highly
enjoyed it this time. After a few more drinks (I had consumed a whole bottle of
wine by this point) we started to dance to joyous African gospel, middle
eastern inspired Tarabu and some bongo flava. I even learned a South African
Kwaito line dance. It was a great party and
We partied hard until after 11pm. It was definitely the most action packed Christmas I have
ever had.
Since Christmas I have been on the hunt
for somewhere to live as the Jeshi will leave me bankrupt soon and haven’t had
much luck yet, as I had to check out the beach area which was really pricey
($80-300/mth). But I have faith as I have some friends who pay as little as $12/mth
for a room to $65 for a modest two bedroom home. I have also just put in my
application for my residence permit which will allow me to stay in the country
and volunteer for a year. I have started working with a wonderful local NGO
started by an inspiring young man who comes from a very poor area near lake
Victoria and was lucky enough to meet Jane Goodall at a young age and his
involvement with her foundation roots and shoots has changed his whole life. His
foundation is called Rafiki Development Foundation www.rafikifound.org and works mainly
with sustainability projects to help local people live a better life and take
care of the environment. I am currently
putting together an environmental education program to pilot at a few schools
and an orphanage here in Dar and we also hope to build an educational centre
where people can learn about sustainable building, organic farming, wildlife
and forest conservation, the 3 Rs and renewable energies. I am starting to help
write the proposal for this and will let you all know more soon. At the moment
though if you feel so inclined I would love it if you would download the igive
donation button. It is a simple download and whenever you purchase anything at
an online store $5 or a % is given to RDF. http://www.igive.com/q6vlY0C
Many thanks and so much love to you all
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