The Week in Arusha (Wiki Katika Arusha)

i'm just going to jump into the meat of my week in arusha: emotionally challenging. i went there hoping that it was going to be refreshing and splendid, but instead it was quite challenging. having the english speakers to talk with was really great. the problem came in when i returned to spend time with my fellow swahili speakers who felt abandoned by me because of my involvement with the english speakers. my swahili speaking friends laid some guilt on me. so my heart was torn because of my classmates who felt abandoned by me because of my involvement with the english speakers. they felt inferior to the white people at the base. some of my fellow students became very reclusive and only spent time with swalili speakers or in their room. the language barrier became ever more a problem in arusha than it is at my base. who would've guessed that? (my finger is not up!) many of the tanzania with whom i spend time feel like lesser people because they don't have much money, education, skill of speaking english, etc. this is a cultural difference, but it's a real struggle.

some of the highlights of my week were: #1) the food was great. chapati's, spaghetti, mash potatoes, and fruit. very lovely! #2) the weather is much cooler at that base which i enjoyed for a bit. slept under a blanket, unlike our base where i normally use a sheet or less. #3) the english speakers, including most of the staff from the arusha base and many of the students. #4) I was given a good haircut from a korean lady named sarah. #5) many of the international students from the arusha base told me how inspired they were because of my courage to attend the dts at the kilimanjaro base. i wasn't sure how to respond to that encouragement... #6) i've been given a new appreciation for the kilimanjaro base, with all it's challenges, language barrier and wide open environment. i really enjoy being able to go for a walk in the bush by myself and not worry about if someone will harm me. we are in the bush (the locals call this 'town', but let me tell you - it's the bush, but not the 'bush bush'!)

so that's my week in a nutshell. oh, one more thing - the base ran out of water the day we arrived, so i didn't get a hot shower. sad. but we had enough water for bucket baths. guess this is all preparing me for my month in the bush, living in tents and bathing in the river which begins on saturday.

in some ways i'm looking forward to the adventure of going into a new area, facing challenges and forced to learn more swahili. in some ways i'm not looking forward to being without the internet, electricity or the convenience of communicating with friends and family. so we'll see how my attitude changes as it nears the end of the week.

for my friends patsy and cathy - thanks for the comments about bathing which made me bust into laughter: spit baths and powder! many of the people here do the powder trick, by the way. and the part about not much soap - i do that! shampoo is really expensive here, compared to other things. it's costs about $6 for a bottle, since it's really a luxury. we use bar soap for any cleaning needs: bathing (all parts!), laundry and dishes.

a confession: one day while at arusha i skipped out of work duty and took a walk with samson, miriam and abraham. i thought we were simply going for a walk before work duty, but they had it planned to visit samsom's family. (language barrier!) we walked thru a market where Maasai trade cattle, goats, and other animals. then we walked to this big market, which i really wish i could've taken some photos of it. it was spectacular! the place was buzzing with excitment - many, many little shops selling everything. we went there because samson's aunt worked in one of the shops. even though my white skin was completely out of place, i never felt like i didn't belong there. it was a weird feeling for me. some of the congos, the cloths used as wrap around skirts and shirts, in this market were marvelous. i wouldn't have minded getting one, but i didn't have any money (or my camera or gps.) at one point samsom stopped to get us some bananas, and because he was walking with me, the cost of the bananas was extremely high. the joy of being an obvious foreigner. but samsom talked them down in price and we all enjoyed a banana together. during our walk back to the base, we nearly got run over by a run away steer, but we all survived.

i'm apologizing for spelling and grammatical errors right now - i don't have any time to proof this post.