This
was by far the most difficult month that I’ve experienced here in
Tanzania, perhaps in my whole life. The biggest issue that I was
struggling with was the intense feeling of isolation. Bibi Kay had left
to go back to the USA at the beginning of April, and the other volunteer
Eve had completed her stay at the end of the April, so I was the only
mzungu (white person) in the village. Actually, I was the only mzungu
for miles. Of course every day I am surrounded by more than a dozen
people, so I’m never really “alone” but only a few of the locals can
speak English and my Swahili skills are still in the development stages.
There is one girl, Rose, who works here at Sunrise that speaks fairly
good English, and we get along well however it’s still not the same. I
was unable to attain the depth within a conversation needed to truly
build a meaningful relationship with her or anyone else here for the
matter. In addition, with the lack of reliable internet, it was
difficult to fulfill those needs by contacting my friends back in the
states. So there I was, by myself, literally in the middle of nowhere,
consumed by loneliness.
Of
course I am not one to give up easily, so instead of allowing myself to
dwell on my depressing situation, so I absorbed myself in a variety of
projects. With Bibi Kay gone I was left in charge and we certainly had a
lot of work to do at site; creating new flower beds, harvesting corn
and potatoes, fixing plumbing, building furniture for the dining room. I
also began giving computer lessons to one of the teachers at the
primary school. She knows enough English to get by; however she had
never used a computer before, so twice a week I met with her to teach
her all the basics. In addition I finally started to spend come
concentrated time studying Swahili. Originally I thought that I would be
able to pick up the language easily just through daily interactions
with the staff and kids, however this has proven untrue. While I have
learned a good deal of vocabulary, I wasn’t able to communicate
effectively except for simple commands for the children. The day I
opened up my Swahili text book for the first time it was literally like a
light bulb turned on inside my mind – the language made sense!
Immediately I was able to put to use many of the words and simple
phrases that I had learned, and form complete sentences. I don’t know
why I didn’t crack a book sooner!
I
was able to put some of my new-found Swahili skills to use when I
attended my first African wedding. A friend of mind who is a teacher at
the village primary school invited me to join in the celebration of his
nuptials. Not only was I to attend the wedding, but I was to wear the
special dress specifically for his close friends and family. And in
addition to that, he told me that I would have to give a speech at the
reception! Needless to say, the wedding was an entertaining experience.
Many of the traditions were comparable to Western-style weddings;
however there were many customs that were distinctly different, such as
the solemn expression the bride and groom maintained and the purchase of
a ticket in order to receive a meal at the reception. Throughout most
of the 8 hour celebration, I was unsure of what exactly was going on,
but eventually gave up and joined the crowd of 500 Tanzanians in the
ensuing insanity of sporadic dancing and screaming, and voracious eating
and drinking (only Coca-cola and Fanta, of course). One thing I can say
for sure, is that those Tanzanians know how to party!
