Mid-terms and food for thought - be sure to check the previous blog for a video!

*** please check the last post to see a video of photos, some audion clips, and videos from the first month here.



ID 373 mid-term
It amazes me to think that a new environment can feel like home after only a month or so, but that is exactly the case here in Tanzania. I feel like people here have been remarkably accepting of us and willing to work through the (slowly diminishing) language barrier. On each and every village visit so far, the people have been nothing short of welcoming and warm-hearted. But I have come to assume that the welcoming nature of this culture comes out of a much deeper sense of community and a connection between all aspects of live. Here it is not uncommon for neighbors to know a great deal about the people in their community. People rely on one another and everyone relies on the environment in one way or another. This idea of coexistence is reflected in countless ways.
Folk tales tend to be about animals that have human characteristics and they teach about the need for cooperation and fair treatment of others. Linguistically, any man or woman you meet on the street could be referred to in terms that in the States we reserve for blood relatives and they could be called ‘mamma’ (mother, any woman of child bearing age), ‘baba’ (father, any man old enough to have children), ‘kaka’ (brother), ‘dada’ (sister). Even the front page of our Swahili book quotes a famous Swahili proverb, “Mtu ni Watu” (Person is people). It appears as though the entire traditional culture almost revolves around this notion of community.
People realize that their survival depends on the survival of their neighbor and the health of their environment. Yes, part of the eco-friendly behavior has come out of financial necessity. But the overwhelming theme is a move for helping their neighbor or family member because, as the title page of our book explains, a person is not complete without the community around them. No one can be truly whole without people around them – no one can live a life of complete solitude.
It reminds me of the notion of passing good deeds and compassionate treatment forward to the next person you meet who needs it. Debt to a neighbor is not an issue, it is expected that it will be ‘paid forward.’ People typically do not try to overextend their reach and help those people they cannot reach – they keep aid within their communities, but as a result they are able to ensure that the aid is sent where it is most needed.
Another major difference that I have come to notice is that people are very conscious (partly out of necessity) of how money and resources are spent. And as a result, they are not very wasteful. Only necessities are purchased and used.
It is certainly a combination of realizations that has made me reevaluate the extremely consumer-driven culture that we subscribe to in the U.S. I have enjoyed life thus far in Tanzania. The hospitality that has been shown to us coupled with the apparent lack of extreme material greed would be a much needed lesson for many Americans. This is made so much more apparent to me with the focus on the upcoming election. In the States, we are so very focused on the economic policies of each of the candidates – because their economic policy will either help or hurt our pocketbooks - when in the States our percentage of people living below is 12% (according to the CIA World Fact Book) in comparison to half the world’s population (about 50% or 3 billion people) that lives on under $2.50 USD per day. Here in Tanzania, people are focused so much more on the importance of a candidate’s foreign policy than how he will enact economic change within the U.S. I think Tanzania could teach Americans and the international community a valuable lesson in priorities – people need to come first and communal living cannot be seen as a bad (‘communist’) concept that is to be feared. I think it is best summed up by the fact that Tanzania’s first president, Kikwete, had a very socialist, community-based image for Tanzania. And while he was criticized and seen as leaning too far towards Communism by Western critics, he was praised here and seen as ‘the great teacher’ – because in Tanzania, community, people, and relationships are put before financial gain.




RE 373 mid-term
In just a month here in Tanzania we have been blessed to experience a full life-cycle’s worth of religious experiences – we have been to three baptismal services (two of which were Massai services), two Swahili weddings, one cross raising, and countless ‘typical’ services. The thing that strikes me at each service is how important religion appears to be to each person. Life doesn’t seem to be compartmentalized like it is in the States, where faith is only a small very secluded portion of life. Here, faith carries over into everyday living. I suppose a great deal of the difference may lay in the fact that here most people have made a conscious decision to become a part of religious life – they typically have not formally enter a faith community until they are older - whereas, in the States, many people are baptized and enter the Christian community as infants. For whatever the reason, faith appears to be such a big deal here.
Unfortunately, we primarily see people outside of the LJS community on days when we are holding a service, so it is difficult to judge exactly how these same people carry their faith with them on ‘regular’ days. But from the services we have experienced, I can safely say that religion doesn’t appear to be constricted. Concerning Smart’s six dimensions, there is a much wider variety that can be seen and experienced here than can be seen or experienced at home. Services are days of celebration and rarely are constricted – life appears to often be put on hold for a church service. The physical structure is not always necessary; here the shade of a tree works just fine, as long as the people can gather and worship. The Bible, though it doesn’t appear to be very prevalent in print within the villages, is considered a holy book and people seem to know the stories quite well. The ideals set forth by the Bible are lived out in their fullest – community is seen as more important than individuals and people treat others with respect and compassion. Finally, religious ceremonies are important rites of passage for all occasions in life.
But the thing that I have found as most amazing (and often perplexing) is the ability of a variety of religions to coexist. At both Luka’s wedding and Solomon’s cross raising, the ceremony included Muslims and Christians. Neither faith appeared to carry the sentiment that they were any better than the other and they both respected each other’s faith. With the great deal of sectarian and religious violence that exists in today’s world, it would be interesting to find out more about how the various faiths in Tanzanian have managed to get along so well.



Peace.