Happy November!

Elections have come but they are not gone. On Sunday, Tanzanians hit the polls to vote for their favorite candidates for local government, national parliament, and president. The day was eerily quiet especially since we had been warned of potential unrest during voting times. I went to sleep on Sunday night thanking the high heavens that it was a peaceful day.

On Monday morning, while walking to class before 8am, my classmates and I walked through a small group of Chadema (opposition party) supporters standing outside of the Municipal Council. When class ended at 10am the small gathering had grown exponentially so that an entire road was filled with people wearing red, white, and blue, the colors of Chadema. I found out later that there were some disputes over the results. Police in riot gear surrounded the demonstrators. I tried my hardest to circumvent the action and spent the rest of the day in my apartment complex. At around 6pm I heard noises from outside that sounded like gunshots and then saw masses of people running down the small road that runs behind my apartment building. I found out later that the sound was the police shooting off tear gas to disperse the crowds that were forming! Luckily I was far enough away to not be affected and by the time I finished eating dinner that night the city returned to its relative calmness.

I spent some time yesterday at Women in Action sitting in on one of their Village Community Banking (VICOBA) groups. I am writing my final paper in my Gender and Development class on the organization ad their VICOBA groups. More to come later about the banking groups!

When I was catching a dala dala to go back to my apartment after spending time at WIA, I saw the strangest thing that made me stop in my tracks for several seconds. A big truck transporting prisoners passed me (which is relatively normal, I usually see these types of trucks driving in and out of the local hospital) and all of the prisoners were sticking their hands through the bars of the truck and yelling in support of the opposition party. As I looked around after the initial surprise I realized that traffic kind of stopped for those several seconds as everyone initially stared in shock and then flashed the peace sign that represents the opposition party. It just shows how EVERYONE has an opinion about politics here!

After dinner, a few friends and I watched Blood Diamond. I recommend that movie to anyone who wants to begin to understand Africa and its conflicts. While not every country in Africa is in conflict over diamonds, the movie shows how natural resources and international influences are major causes of conflict and power struggles. Nevertheless, the issue of conflict diamonds continues to cause major human rights violations.

Today was pretty calm. Ate my first mango of the mango season, did some homework, and went swimming with a few friends at the hotel up the street.

I am in shock that I am leaving at the end of this month. I am finally starting to feel comfortable here! Its all part of the adventure I guess.