Today we went to our first day of class at the museum. Our teacher is a really nice guy, and very smart. He got his Master’s at Northwestern and is now getting his PhD at the London School of Economics. The class is going to be mostly discussion-based, and although we were all thinking we were going to have to pay really close attention to the readings, it was pretty free-form, so I’m hoping a quick skim of them will suffice. Then we went and ate lunch at a great little place called Milk and Honey that serves Tanzanian food—I got chicken curry with rice & veggies and it was delicious. I expected to have stomach problems here and have a tough time adjusting to the food, but it’s really good and I haven’t had any issues so far. Then we walked around awhile and I talked to Robert, a student participating in the program from Uganda, about the differences between our respective cultures. I think I’ve learned the most from talking to East Africans here—the people in Tanzania are great, even if they’re trying to sell you something. I love that such a huge part of the culture here is greeting people you encounter on the street. There is a typical call and response that usually consists of one person saying “Mambo” and the other saying “Poa”. It basically means, “how are you?” and “cool”. You can also respond “fresh,” which I find humorous. Then we went to the Masaai Market, which is the touristy marketplace where you can buy all kinds of souvenirs. I got a pair of leather beaded sandals and a wooden sign that says “Karibu” or “welcome” to put over my door. I am going to try to get mostly stuff that I can use around the house or decorate with, so I’ll be able to see it often. I’m hoping to find some pretty beaded jewelry too though—the Masaai are famous for their beadwork, and the number of huge beaded necklaces a Masaai woman wears indicates her age group. Then we went to the real market, led by Mary, a participant in my program and an Arusha native. I’m really glad she was there to guide us because we would have been hopelessly lost. The colors and sounds of the market were really overwhelming; everyone selling things from fresh fruits and vegetables to huge, dead fish, to beautiful fabrics. Everywhere we went people would yell, “mzungi!” meaning, “white person!” to try to get us to come check out their stuff. I’m sure you could get much better prices in the actual market but I was a bit beleaguered by all the things demanding my attention. I took a few pictures but vendors sometimes don’t appreciate being photographed, and people swipe your cameras, so I had to be careful. Then we headed back to the house where we found a bird trapped inside! Emily, one of the other girls on the trip, picked it up and carried it outside in a towel. It was pretty amazing. I’m finding myself to be a total wimp when faced with wildlife (mostly bugs) in the house. I also just discovered that we have a banana tree out our window and an avocado tree in the backyard! We have made it our mission to learn how to make fresh guacamole, Mmm. That’s all for now, hope everyone is enjoying their summers!
Kaa salama (stay well)
Jenna
Oh yeah, and we saw this chameleon just chilling out on our way to lunch!
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