guess who's back? back again?
First, and hopefully last, Eminem reference I will ever make on this blog. Especially since (no offense Dad, Mom, Grandparents, Aunts/Uncles, etc) most of the 'mature' readers probably have no clue what I'm talking about.
I am back in Misungwi after a record-breaking 2 weeks away from site. I have yet to venture out into the market/busstand/downtown area, I expect it will involve too many explanations of my absence and inquiries regarding gifts from Dar that it will be tough to handle, so I'm putting it off until this afternoon.
However, yesterday I hung out with the neighbors and one of my best friends, Deus, and after a few minutes of 'how's it been stranger' type banter, things were back to usual. Surprisingly, I got no comments on how my Kiswahili or Kisukuma has gotten worse, even though it definitely has after 2 weeks of almost exclusive English communication. As much as I was nervous about getting back, yesterday was just very nice and normal, something I haven't had for awhile. As to be expected on Saturdays, the electricity was out all day, so I mostly just sat around in non-awkward silence or in bits of interesting conversation with Deus. Dinner at Mama Leo's was rice and beans, something I dare say I had missed a little (though when I was in Morogoro I had coconut rice every day, something I will miss far more).
My last few days in Dar were really fantastic, fortunatley my last blog entry was not prophetic (thank goodness, as for at least one day in Dar I seemed to be calling things left and right - I had just finished talking about gross amounts of dripping sweat when my friends and I piled onto the hottest daladala ride I've had yet and, yes, had sweat dripping from our chins. Then 2 seconds later I started a discussion on personal space and having strangers' kids sitting in our laps, and - BOOM - i got stuck with an awfully fat but cute Tanzanian 2-year-old on my knees).
I spent one evening visiting a friend at the University of Dar es Salaam, and despite the brevity, it was a really great evening. I hung out with a group of about 5 well-dressed, well-educated, young and motivated Tanzanian sophomores, and had interesting discussions about elections, politics, cultures, music and movies, over beers and pork (man, I love pork). They had just finished exams, something I definitely do not miss fondly about my university experience, but I do miss the intellectual discussion and the plethora of things to do and see and talk about that exists in Dar.
After that, I went to the other extreme and took a trip back to rural, up-in-the-mountains Bigwa, site of my homestay experience over a year ago (shit, time flies). I think I've already mentioned one highlight of this excursion, the coconut rice, which went deliciously well with some spiced meat that we had to celebrate Eid el Hajj with my homestay brother and his Muslim wife. Another highlight was to get away from the hustle and bustle (and expenses!) of the big city.
But the main highlight was visiting the family (father, mother, and older brother - the little guys were gone when I was there). From a big-picture perspective, I don't know these folks all that well, and only spent two months with them when i've now been in country for over a year. But the fact that I stayed with them for my first two months, and that the basics of everything I know and depend on here I learned from them, has created some sort of sappy, weird bond that allowed us to instantly connect like relatives who hadn't seen each other for awhile. Really, really short relatives. I only spent 2 days there, but had a great time playing checkers, hiking in the beautiful Uluguru mountains up to what I call 'Banana city', eating tons of fresh mangoes, and just catching up about the past year. I especially enjoyed seeing my host brother, whom I helped out a bit with school - he is now studying in Dar in Form 5, which is like pre-college, upperlevel high school. He is far more proficient in English than a year ago, and just seems so motivated, excited, full of goals and aspirations, a very fun transformation to witness.
My last night in Dar had a great time with the 14 or so Education volunteers who are remaining - went to a nice sushi place, then out dancing til 4 in the morning. Tanzanian prostitutes are very nice and polite, but can get a tad annoying.
Enough Dar recap, I'm excited to get back to entries about regular, i.e. boring, life.
I am back in Misungwi after a record-breaking 2 weeks away from site. I have yet to venture out into the market/busstand/downtown area, I expect it will involve too many explanations of my absence and inquiries regarding gifts from Dar that it will be tough to handle, so I'm putting it off until this afternoon.
However, yesterday I hung out with the neighbors and one of my best friends, Deus, and after a few minutes of 'how's it been stranger' type banter, things were back to usual. Surprisingly, I got no comments on how my Kiswahili or Kisukuma has gotten worse, even though it definitely has after 2 weeks of almost exclusive English communication. As much as I was nervous about getting back, yesterday was just very nice and normal, something I haven't had for awhile. As to be expected on Saturdays, the electricity was out all day, so I mostly just sat around in non-awkward silence or in bits of interesting conversation with Deus. Dinner at Mama Leo's was rice and beans, something I dare say I had missed a little (though when I was in Morogoro I had coconut rice every day, something I will miss far more).
My last few days in Dar were really fantastic, fortunatley my last blog entry was not prophetic (thank goodness, as for at least one day in Dar I seemed to be calling things left and right - I had just finished talking about gross amounts of dripping sweat when my friends and I piled onto the hottest daladala ride I've had yet and, yes, had sweat dripping from our chins. Then 2 seconds later I started a discussion on personal space and having strangers' kids sitting in our laps, and - BOOM - i got stuck with an awfully fat but cute Tanzanian 2-year-old on my knees).
I spent one evening visiting a friend at the University of Dar es Salaam, and despite the brevity, it was a really great evening. I hung out with a group of about 5 well-dressed, well-educated, young and motivated Tanzanian sophomores, and had interesting discussions about elections, politics, cultures, music and movies, over beers and pork (man, I love pork). They had just finished exams, something I definitely do not miss fondly about my university experience, but I do miss the intellectual discussion and the plethora of things to do and see and talk about that exists in Dar.
After that, I went to the other extreme and took a trip back to rural, up-in-the-mountains Bigwa, site of my homestay experience over a year ago (shit, time flies). I think I've already mentioned one highlight of this excursion, the coconut rice, which went deliciously well with some spiced meat that we had to celebrate Eid el Hajj with my homestay brother and his Muslim wife. Another highlight was to get away from the hustle and bustle (and expenses!) of the big city.
But the main highlight was visiting the family (father, mother, and older brother - the little guys were gone when I was there). From a big-picture perspective, I don't know these folks all that well, and only spent two months with them when i've now been in country for over a year. But the fact that I stayed with them for my first two months, and that the basics of everything I know and depend on here I learned from them, has created some sort of sappy, weird bond that allowed us to instantly connect like relatives who hadn't seen each other for awhile. Really, really short relatives. I only spent 2 days there, but had a great time playing checkers, hiking in the beautiful Uluguru mountains up to what I call 'Banana city', eating tons of fresh mangoes, and just catching up about the past year. I especially enjoyed seeing my host brother, whom I helped out a bit with school - he is now studying in Dar in Form 5, which is like pre-college, upperlevel high school. He is far more proficient in English than a year ago, and just seems so motivated, excited, full of goals and aspirations, a very fun transformation to witness.
My last night in Dar had a great time with the 14 or so Education volunteers who are remaining - went to a nice sushi place, then out dancing til 4 in the morning. Tanzanian prostitutes are very nice and polite, but can get a tad annoying.
Enough Dar recap, I'm excited to get back to entries about regular, i.e. boring, life.
posted by Brian at
11:35 AM
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