That’s My Kind of Tribe

Dear friends and family of the Tanzanian Education Project,

I greet you as a solitary volunteer today, alone in this great, wide, semi-wilderness. I’m a loner, Dottie, a rebel.

In truth, I am not all that alone. My faithful partner in crime (or, what... “enacting positive change”? “Crime” has a much more rakish ring to it), Kristina departed for the motherland on Saturday, and I am glad she has arrived safely. Since her departure, I have become increasingly busy. Though it was nice to have a companion, I can’t say that I don’t enjoy solitude as well. Having a contemporary present affords one the luxury of communing with someone of like mind and similar cultural capital. Lacking that, one is forced to find different ways to keep one’s mind and sense of humor stimulated. So, naturally, I have begun working a lot more (and also reading Dickens... oh the depths to which we sink!) and have accomplished a great deal of work thus far.

Kristina, if you’re reading this, I’d have to say, you left on an opportune day. After a bumpy journey to the airport (and “bumpy” is putting it mildly; as one might say “warm” when visiting the sun’s surface; “Oh, how do you feel about the weather there?” “Eh, its alright. A bit warm.”), and bidding a fond farewell to Kristina, I was under the impression that we would be returning home. Not so.

We proceeded to drive another hour or so south of the airport (which is already a bit south of Dar es Salaam’s city center), during which process I managed to convince myself that, “I guess I don’t really need my teeth after all”, so uneven were the roads. Finally, after turning off a “main” gravel/mud road onto a smaller road, we drove further into the bush, and finally stopped at an unmarked location.

It turns out we were visiting one of Babu’s shamba. 4 hours away from home. As it was near 3 o’clock in the afternoon, and we had had no lunch, I though we might be welcomed into a home for a small meal, but the only buildings in the vicinity were stick and mud huts. Babu conversed with a friendly man for about three minutes, and we turned around and continued on.

“Surely,” thought I, “We will now go home. For it is late in the afternoon and we have driven a long way.”

Surely, I was grossly mistaken.

We proceeded to drive even further south and then west, and visited an old friend of Babu’s, and a cousin of my late Bibi. The family resemblance was striking, and we were warmly welcomed. Luckily, for my petulant stomach, Bibi’s family are Nyakusa, and in the Nyakusa tribe, visitors are not to leave without eating. Babu explained this to me as we were brought dishes of fresh mango, baked chicken and poured glasses of pineapple juice.

“That’s my kind of tribe,” I sagely commented, happily munching on the crispy chicken.
We stayed for a bit, before finally making our way back north toward town. Because of the limited availability of roads, there are few options for choosing a route home. This meant that we had to plunge into “rush hour” traffic, which consisted of sitting on a village road amid the chaos of market day, immobile for about 45 minutes while cars, daladalas, and pikipikis jostled their way onto the main road. Did I mention there are no opening windows in the back of the van? And that I had a blanket of two affectionate children covering my lap? Rest assured, I was entirely comfortable.

After making it back to Posta, the city center of Dar es Salaam, around 5 or 6 pm, we paused for a moment near the shore so Raheli, Eja and I could jump out of the car and see the ocean. I don’t know if the kids had seen or been on the beach before, but they seemed to find the experience delightful, and talked about it the whole way home. We finally arrived back in Bunju at about 7:30, which of course, is just in time for tea.

Other than that, I am happy to report that we have successfully picked up our first batch of chicks! We ordered 350 (for full details of that excursion, please visit www.winona360.com), and were given 6 extra to insure us against any losses. Unfortunately, we have lost since chicks since their arrival here Tuesday morning, but we are hoping that the rest hold out well. I go to visit their warm little house several times a day, and Babu spends hours with them making sure mice do not interfere with their eating, drinking and well, living habits.

I am busy at work beginning to type up exams for the end of the term, as well as working on reorganizing the finances of Fanaka with Babu, Allen and Billo. This weekend, I am excited to be going to stay with my mama May in Kibaha, where she lives with Baba Polisi and their two kids, Atu and Andinda. I plan on getting fed well and not doing much else. May told me she’s going to teach me how to make her fried chicken “properly”. Let the lessons begin.

I hope everyone is well at home, and that college and school semesters are finishing up in a satisfactory manner. Congratulations to all of my friends who have graduated!!! (Ethan and Kathleen, especially, not to mention my beautiful sister Kate, who has been ready to leave college since her freshmen year.) I love and miss everyone, and hope to hear from you soon!

Eileen