Karibu Tena, na Tena, na Tena!

Well, it is official. The part of the trip (other than maybe ISP…) that I felt most anxiety about has come to a conclusion. Homestay in Bangata has ended. When I arrived in the village three weeks ago, all I wanted to do was go back out on safari. I pictured all of the awkward moments that were sure to ensue given the language barrier and, naturally, assumed that my family would probably hate me. The transition was a challenge. As I mentioned previously, it is not easy to move in with complete strangers and be forced to rely on them for everything from food, to instruction, even to water for drinking and showering. Reflecting on it now, I wish I could rewind and start over (probably from the beginning of week two…). My Tanzanian family was wonderful. They accepted me into their home, and made me feel like as much a part of the family as is possible in a three-week span. Times there were not without embarrassing moments and oh boy was I laughed at. I suppose informing family friends that you are visiting the Maasai on the 80^th of March warrants some chuckles… ok, maybe saying “good night” at 7 am, asking my brothers how school was before they even left, and mistaking “kufua” (to do laundry) and “kufa” (to die) do too. (It was rather concerning to wake up thinking that mama was telling me her plan for the day was to kill my brothers. I’m so glad that she was really just washing their clothes). All of these moments were combined into a skit that my friends and I performed at a farewell party that we aptly titled “hatuelewi!” meaning “we don’t understand!”

            This past week was midterm week. We received many assignments, including a ten-page paper on a topic somewhat related to globalization, a five-page paper on the concept of gender, an analysis of our time in Africa so far, a resource flow map and village map, both done entirely in Kiswahili, a comparative paper, showcasing the differences between our maps and those of our families, and a chore chart, dictating what was done by whom inside and outside the home. On top of all this, Kiswahili classes continued, and this week featured both a written and an oral test. Needless to say it was a very busy week, complicated by power outages and money shortages, preventing (some) of us from access to the ever important snickers bars (after all, who can really do their best work if chocolate, or in my case biscuits and sesame seed granola bars, are lacking?). Despite all the work, I still managed to find some time to learn to bake cake (with no oven! Happy early birthday, Erick!), make 7 friendship bracelets to distribute to my family and neighbors, watch snippets of the Hunger Games (sadly we couldn’t donate quite enough time to finish… =/), and even become reacquainted with Western music! Alex, if you happen to be reading this, I successfully went six weeks without Jack Johnson…

            I got pretty close to my brothers, especially Erick, while living in Bangata. It is without doubt, largely thanks to him that I don’t have more miscommunication stories. Our last weekend together, the three of us were sitting in my room, making friendship bracelets. We heard something hit against the ceiling repeatedly. They both mentioned how disturbing the sound was. I said that I didn’t mind and continued working. About two minutes later, they started yelling, and I looked up to see a bewildered bird flapping around my room! Apparently it fell in through a crack between the wall and ceiling. In fright, the bird flew into the wall and fell. Emmanuel ran over and grabbed it, then turned around and cracked a crazy grin. I was immediately struck with panic… My little brother was about to squish this poor bird right in front of me. I pleaded with him to release it outside, and we went to get Mama. She came to inspect the crack, and we returned to the dining room, to find Emmanuel standing by himself. I ask him where the bird was, and he pulled his hand out from behind his back, still grasping it tight. I told him again to let it go, and that time he conceded, and went to put it outside. The bird, however, had other plans. Once Emmanuel loosened his grip, it flew right back into the house! This time, (thankfully) Mama caught it and put it outside before it could continue its tour of the house. Once I was finally sure that the bird was ok, I found the event to be hysterical. Talk about habari moto moto! (Kiswahili classes began every day by students sharing “habari moto moto”, or hot hot news).

             Every night after dinner, the boys and I would sit around the dining room table doing homework, asking questions, and sharing stories. Erick informed me every night leading up to departure that it was the worst week ever because we had to say goodbye. He said that he wished I couldn’t leave until I had been living there for at least a year, and also asked me several times if I planned to return to Tanzania after I go back to America. In response, I informed him that I certainly hoped so, and that I wanted to bring my family with me (hear that Mom and Dad? An 11-year old boy is counting on you to come and visit. Guess we’re going to have to start planning the trip… =D) I told Mama that I wanted to come back and see the family before leaving the country in May, and she told me that I was “Karibu tena, na tena, na tena!”. Welcome again and again and again. When I shared these stories with my friends, everyone exclaimed that they were going to miss Erick and that he was the best little brother ever. I know I’m going to miss not just him, Emmanuel, and Mama, but all the neighbors too. As hard as it was to move into the house, it was so much harder to leave…

            Now it is time to actually figure out what I’m doing about ISP… Thea and I set off for the port city of Tanga tomorrow. Fingers crossed I won’t be so lost about my research project when I return…

This week I was thinking about friends and family at home a lot, as it is a popular birthday week. That being said, I would like to wish happy belated birthdays to my Uncle Tom (March 2^nd) and my sister, Erin (March 8^th). I also want to wish a happy early birthday to one of my best friends, Shira (March 11^th). If any of you are reading this, or even if you’re not, I love and miss you all very much. Wish I could have been there to help celebrate!

Erick, teaching me about the regions of Tanzania

Mama, Erick, and I with the cake we made without an oven

Erick sharing his birthday cake with me

Chow time

Piu