Friday night and Saturday were amazing. Exactly what I needed. I was starting to lose faith in and question why I am here and these two days have reminded me of everything I hoped Tanzania to be and more!
Last night at about 5pm, the music teacher Randall who is an American working at Malkumira University and is in Arusha working as a missionary for the Lutheran church, took us to his church to hear the choir sing. (The name of the congregation has escaped me as it was a long Swahili name!) He informed us that choirs are very popular in Tanzania and there are 800 choirs in Arusha alone! The choir that we went to see was the best out of those 800 and came in first place! They also travelled to Germany several years ago to perform at a multi faith music festival.
The choir was probably the best choir I have ever heard. They did one act of their performance in a western style church choir style. Very melodic and incredibly beautiful. They included some African drumming and dance moves and the songs were in Swahili but the arrangements were very western. The second part of their performance was in the Massai style. Their clothing was beautiful and the men did their jumping dance and chanting. It was AMAZING.
After the performance, we were matched up with our host families for the night. I was matched up with a woman named Naishiye and within the first few minutes of meeting she told me she thought I was beautiful about 10 times! I liked her already!
The walk back Naishiye's house was actually very long, but some members of the choir accompanied me through this really confusing neighborhood! While I was walking I was talking to a few younger women in the choir and they asked me my name. I said "Arielle" and they said "Harriet?" and so I said "Arielle" (pronounced like REL) and they said "Horrielle?" So I figured maybe I should have them call me Ari but it just came out sounding like Harry. I gave up and just laughed along with them!
When I got to Naishiye's house I met her two daughters, Franciska, 21, and Gifty, 9. She also has another daughter who is 23 but goes to university outside of Arusha. They too had difficulty with my name so I decided then and there that my Swahili/Tanzanian name was going to be my middle name, Esther. They were familiar with this name as it is religious and there are several stores in the area named Esther this or Esther that.
The house was nice! They had two bedrooms and a living room with a television. They cooked their food on hot plates outside and the toilet and shower were outside as well.
Franciska gave me a konga to wear in order to feel more comfortable and gave me tea to drink until dinner was ready. During the time before dinner was served, I talked with the two sisters about their lives. Franciska just finished teaching college but really wants to be a lawyer. I talked to her about learning English and we made a plan for me to tutor her in English and she can teach me a little bit more Swahili. Gifty sang me a few songs as well! At about 9pm we ate dinner, the mother, two daughters, and a cousin. We ate rice with beans and potatoes and greens. Very delicious!
Shortly after dinner it was time for bed. I had to share a bed with the younger daughter and I was fine with that until she started kicking and moving around a lot at night on top of the sounds of fighting dogs outside! I made it through though!
I woke up at about 6 the next morning. After being in a Tanzanian house, I understand Swahili time much better-- their days actually start at 6am which is the beginning of a Swahili day-- 7am being 1 o'clock, 8am being 2 o'clock, until noon which is 6o'clock.. It has not rained at all for the almost 5 weeks that I have been here but of course on this morning it was pouring and I did not bring any rain gear for the hiking we were going to do that day. Luckily Naishiye had an extra jacket that I could wear.
We set off on our hike with the rest of the Arcadia students who stayed the night and some of their families at about 8:15am. It was a much more strenuous hike than I was told it would be but it was SO WORTH IT. Also it was FREEZING COLD! It definitely did not feel like we were 3 degrees south of the equator! We hiked all the way to a waterfall at the foothills of Mount Meru. It was a beautiful waterfall and some people went under it but I did not-- fear of parasites and things like that. I did climb to the ledge that was in the middle of the waterfall and when I was climbing up there I slipped into the water all the way up to my knees and when I tried to get out of the water I fell back it. It must have been hilarious to watch!!
The hike back to the town seemed shorter but I had a chance to talk to some of the amazing people who came hiking with us. The first was a 13 year old girl named Belinda who is quiet but seems so strong and confident. I asked her what she wanted to be when she grows up and she immediately said she wants to be the president. The second was a 19 year old girl named Zawadi who is a FIRECRACKER! She's just about done with high school and can not wait to go to university. She kept being interrupted by her friends and yelling jokes in Swahili to them! I asked her also what she wants to be when she grows up and she said she wants to be a lawyer for women. She believes women need more rights and freedoms and she wants to be a person to make those changes. I gave her my contact information so we could talk about this more!
After the hike, I ate lunch of banana stew at another person's house and then went back to the house I slept at the night before. Naishiye washed my filthy pants and shoes that were covered in mud from the hike. Her neice who could not have been more than 1 year old was at the house when we got back but she was really scared of me. Every time I got near her she started crying and ran away. They told me she was afraid of my hair... I think it was because I was a stranger. The family also gave me a gift of two kongas! It was so nice of them!
Overall the time spent with the family and the members of the church was AMAZING. I feel more connected to Tanzania and its people and I am very grateful that I will be here for several more months so I can meet up with some of these amazing people again.
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