Ya Mzungu Moja

‘The One White Man’

Tomorrow John departs for Mbeya where he will catch a flight to Dar es Salaam and then head home. This means I am back on my own. I don’t mind it anymore, though. I am so used to it now that it has become the norm.

Before John leaves he wanted to get a good look at Songea and have time to check it out more. With the transport to and from Songea taking so long it really limits your time actually spent in town so we decided to each get a hotel room in Songea last Friday. This allowed us to have plenty of time to check out the shops, spend some time away from the village and get a better feel for the city life. It was nice not to have to worry about rushing back to the dali dali (minivans that act as taxi transports) in order to get back to Hanga.

Close encounters on the road to Hanga!

In Songea we made sure to check out some shops, grab a few beers, use the internet (much faster and more reliable connection) and, of course, eat some chipsi. However, one of the restaurants we went to had an American burger on the menu. I was blown away. This was a rare find. When the time came to order I said I would have that. Unfortunately, they didn’t have any bread (who doesn’t have bread?) and so they didn’t want to make it. I then went with chipsi, but I was a little bummed. I will have to get back there sometime to try it.

While at this restaurant a few of the waitresses came around and started speaking with us. It was all in Swahili which made for a short conversation, but we had one of our small Swahili books with us. They then went about picking out words and we did the same. In the end, the main point that came across was that they liked my beard and thought I was handsome. John is unable to grow a beard and I have only been able to grow one since a year ago. Actually February 1^st marked one year with a beard – yeah, I remember really weird things like this. So, I suppose I am glad that I can grow one now.

The funny thing is that the same comment came up at school. Considering African secondary schools tend to have kids ranging in age from 15-30 you tend to meet some that are your age. Many of the girls my age have even gone as far as telling me that I should marry them. This is also not super uncommon because…

1. They think that I should have a wife by now and that I am weird for not having one.

2. They think the same thing about me not having children.

3. They think I should be continuously looking for a wife even though I am not.

4. Their resolve to all of my problems, or at least what they think are problems, is to just marry one of them.

I think it’s hilarious that they think these are problems and I also think it gives me a great insight into what they are currently thinking, what they want for their own lives and what the norm is in Africa. From my observations I would say that this is definitely the norm. Many marry young and everywhere I look I can spot a woman with a baby on her back. It’s very common which is why they think it is weird that I am practically the opposite.

Alas, in the end, I say no and continue on with my weird American lifestyle. J

Another thing the students love to hear are the names of my family members. My brother, sisters and parent’s names fascinate them. They love to compare their names with ones of my family. If they know the name they say them out loud and if not they ask me to pronounce them. A popular name is Grace and so when I tell them that I have a sister named Grace there are always a few girls that proudly stand up and shout that they share the same name.

I have also been asked about what tribe I am from or associate with. Everyone here recognizes a specific tribe that their family comes from. I tell them that I am not from a tribe, but my family name shows a bit of my ancestry. They then ask what my father’s name is (which is really asking what my last name is) and so I tell them what it is and where it comes from. They find it interesting that I live in America but have a German name. Ah, the world of migrating and immigration. It is not very common for these children so it is no surprise that they find it a bit funny.

So, before I get to ahead of myself, let’s go back to speaking about Songea once more. There we are in Songea and looking for a hotel. There are a few, but I am going to have to ask you to take that picture of the nice Marriot hotel you last stayed in out of your mind because these weren’t those. The one we picked was a standard African hotel I’d say, at least for this area. There was a bed, table, bathroom, tin roof and, to my surprise, a TV. The TV was one of those fat ones that everyone used to have back in the 90’s.

Hotel bathroom!

There was also a bathroom which could also just be called a hole in the ground. The funny thing was that my shower head and toilet (personal hole) was one unit. The shower water just ran into the same hole as where I would go to the bathroom. This isn’t a big deal, but John and I had a good laugh. There’s nothing quite like getting cleaned up in the same spot as you do your business.

We also both were able to experience load-shedding in a large city. We have both experienced load-shedding before (where the electricity is shut off from that part of the country), but it is an interesting experience when in town. You have a few lights about you while you are enjoying a beer and then boom! Pitch black. This is the true meaning of ‘buzz kill’.

Overall, the night in Songea was a lot of fun and we were able to map out the town a lot better. It was fun for him to see and I am sure it will come in handy for me now that I will be traveling alone.

Back in the village things have continued to go well. There hasn’t been much change since last time. However, there was some very sad news about one of the boys at the secondary school. He passed away due to a serious case of malaria. He told his teachers that he wasn’t feeling well on Saturday and by Sunday he had passed. This is why it is so important to report symptoms right away rather than waiting. If caught early, malaria can be treated. Additionally, this is why I believe many people come to receive treatment even when they only have one of the symptoms and it is an ambiguous one like a headache.

Though, this is where the hard part comes in for the doctor or nurse. You have a fine line to balance because you do not want to give someone a hard drug when there is no illness. So, it’s kind of a guessing game in a way. Still, even though his case wasn’t about whether or not he should receive treatment (because they all knew he should), after hearing stories such as the one about the boy on Saturday it becomes apparent that it is better to give the treatment whether they are sick or not.

Now that it is February my trip to Kilimanjaro looms closer. I have begun planning out my trip. I have made a friend here named Raphael. He actually will be travelling to Dar Es Salaam in March to visit his family. He has invited me to travel with him and even stay with his family a number of days before my final leg of the trip to Arusha, Tanzania. I think this is great and being able to explore Dar es Salaam sounds fun. Additionally, Fr. Francis (the Filipino monk that I met in Katibunga) has moved to Pugu which is about 30 minutes outside of Dar. I may visit him as well. So, March is shaping up to be a fun month of travel and exploring Tanzania. As we all know, things can change, but this is the plan as of now - to head to Dar in early March and then climb Mt. Kilimanjaro in mid-March.

I hope everything is going well back home!

Thanks for reading!