Another world 30 km away

I've been here in Tanzania for almost six months now, so for the most part I'm pretty used to life here. This past Saturday, though, I realized how limited my experience has been. Almost all of my time in the country has been in places that are either urban or the Tanzanian version of suburban. Unlike most PCVs, I have spent very little time in rural settings out in the villages. This past Saturday though I did spend the day in the village, and it was quite a time.

Right now at most of the schools in the area there are student teachers. One of them at Nganza, my PC neighbor Ryan's school, invited the two of us and Brian, the PCV in the town of Misungwi not too far from here, to go up to her family's place in a village outside of Misungwi. It sounded like a good time and something different, and I knew I'd get a good meal out of it, so I went along. It really was an amazing ride. The first thing was that the landscape was completely different even though Misungwi is only about 30 km away. Where I live it is very hilly and wooded and there are huge rock formations, especially right on the lake. Once you get a few kilometers further way though you come to grassland that is almost completely flat. Picture images of the Serengeti without animals and you're pretty close. It was a really beautiful and clear day so the scenery was quite amazing.

Once we got a ways off the main road another difference was how empty things got. Like I said, I've pretty much only lived in fairly densely populated areas. The sheer amount of empty space was amazing. You really could imagine a herd of wildebeast come thundering through at any moment. Another difference is so far from town, Swahili is no longer the predominant language. While most people know Swahili, they mostly speak Kisukuma, the language of the Sukuma tribe which inhabits this region. Brian, living in a much more remote site than Ryan or I and being gifted with languages, actually knows a good bit of Kisukuma, but Ryan and I don't know a bit. Fortunately in the house we were speaking Swahili, which Brian and Ryan have no problems with and I can muddle through.

Perhaps the most significant difference was transportation. By Western standards, my normal transportation may seem primitive. I get around in mini buses about the size of a VW van called daladalas that they cram as many as 30 people into. It's not the most comfortable way to get around, but it's cheap and convenient. I have one come by my house every five minutes or so and get to town for the equivalent of a quarter. It's pretty nice. Out of town, however, it's a little different. So, let's say the closest point any daladala comes to your house is five kilometers, and you just want to drop in for a visit so it's kind of ridiculous to walk the ten kilometer round trip in the heat, but there aren't even any cars around, let alone buses. What do you do? (Oh, and don't think horses. I've actually seen significantly more elephants than horses in this country. I've seen one elephant so far). Well the solution the rural Tanzanians have come up with is an interesting one--bicycle taxis. That's right, a guy with a bike that has a small platform over the rear wheel for the passanger to straddle. Now I have to tell you, I'm not all that comfortable on bike's in the best of circumstances, but when I'm the one pedalling, at least I'm in control of things. Riding on the back over bumpy roads dodging cattle was at first downright terrifying. Once I got used to things and relaxed though, it actually became a pretty fun way to travel. For the sake of our pedalers I was glad it was so flat where we were. They got us there (sometimes alarmingly) quickly and each got the equivalent of 50 cents for their trouble, which doesn't sound like much, but for the time it took it's only a little less than what I make. Once in the village we had a great time walking around and had a great meal, so I was really glad I got to make the trip. I'm also excited because this weekend I'm going to Musoma on the eastern shore of the lake to visit Meena, another PCV. I haven't been up that way yet, so I'm excited about it.

In other news, last Thursday after 15 days my electricity finally got fixed. It was one of the most exciting moments of my life. Grading tests by candlelight, while possibly the most quintessential Peace Corps experience, is no fun. Everything else has been going pretty well and it's only a few more weeks before we have a PC conference where I'll get to see most of the lake volunteers who I haven't seen since Christmas. So, until next time, kwa heri (goodbye).