Today started with us waiting for Mchungaji and Luka to return from Dar – they were picking up two of the pastors from the airport since they had visited Denmark. While we were waiting I ran into Sylvester, probably my favorite worker here at LJS. Him and I always talk and he is a great resource for practicing Swahili since he knows English so well but he always will try to make me talk only in Swahili (one thing that is especially nice since most people here at the campus tend to talk more in English). We were talking about the day and at somehow I managed to make it through the conversation in mostly Swahili (I broke into English once but caught myself and went back and translated it). At the end of our conversation Sylvester told me (in Swahili, of course), “now you are speaking beautifully. It is difficult to start, but now you are speaking like a Tanzanian.” Talk about a huge compliment!
Today we visited Konseli, another Massai village. Tim was unable to go today since he has Malaria (pole sana, Tim – so sorry), so it was just Peter, Steve, and I. It was nothing less than a beautiful day. When we got out of the car at the village people were singing and we were once again greeted once we stepped foot outside of the car. As we were greeting people, we were surprised to find that one of the young men, Michael, in the village spoke amazing English – possibly better than many of the teachers. We were quickly ushered into the church for tea (amazing, as usual) and maandazi (again, I love this stuff). As we waited for church to start, we talked with Michael some more and then some little boys came up and sat by me and started to feel my skin and hold my hands – it was so cute. After tea, some of the choirs started to come in and we moved to different seats. The service started and proceeded as usual – baptisms and all. One nice difference was that I was able to follow a lot more of the service than ever before. Like with every other service, it ended with the congregation going outside and shaking hands.
After we all shook hands and had the sending blessing, there was a healing service (like there usually is) and Steve and Peter went inside while I stayed out and talked to Michael. Another man came up to greet me and he told me that I was welcome to come back anytime and he pointed in the direction of where he stays and where there are places to stay in the village. He also told me that every Sunday they have service and that I should come back. I continued to talk to Michael about schooling and English. He said that many people, Massai in particular, have a difficult time obtaining education. For him, English is the language of the educated. He told me that many Massai weren’t able to start schooling until several years after the Waswahili people – much like many minority groups. He explained that he would have loved to go to university but he just didn’t have the money (1,000,000 shillings) and if he ever gets sufficient funds, he will try to go. He also told me that many Tanzanians would like to go to the US but it is so difficult to get a visa – they are able to get passports, but visas applications are so frequently turned down. He explained to me that he would love to go to the US just to see it and open up his mind (sounds a lot like the reason many Americans study abroad). Soon enough I wandered into the church for lunch (rice, beans, goat, pepsi, and water). After lunch we walked outside and hung around playing with the kids while PH, Pastor Paulo (one of the pastors who went to Denmark), and Pastor Malaki (the area’s pastor) talked with some of the men. At one point, two little girls came over to me and the older girl told me that she had brought over another little girl whose name was also Sara. When it came time to leave, Luka honked the horn and we had to break away from the kids. A couple of kids grabbed my hand and walked me to the car. As we walked, they told me not to leave – my heart just melted.
We drove out to one of the congregation members’ new house (very beautiful by the way!) and while we had some milk (Massai live by their livestock so milk and goat meat are food staples) Pastor Paulo joked around with me. Before I know it, all of the men were joking around with me that they had arranged my marriage and got a herd of cattle. This became the running joke for the rest of the day.
Finally, on to the lesson/realization of the day – you get out of things what you put into them. Today I went into the day with no expectations and with a confidence in my Swahili skills and I ended up having one of the best days yet – I didn’t want to leave the village today. A few nights ago my mom had told me that I might have found the place of my calling – part of this trip for me was to help me decide what part of the world I wanted to try to work in. When she told me this I felt like if I agreed with her, I would be abandoning the people that I love so much in El Salvador, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I am just drawn to Tanzania. I love living in community with others and the sense of people’s existence relying on one another and that is exactly how so many people here live. Then when I went into today with that thought in mind I could almost feel myself letting down a wall that I had put up that prevented me from fully falling in love with this place – I found myself trying to speak Swahili more, with less fear of making a mistake, and I let people into my heart. Being here has taught me that clichés become clichés since they are true for the most part. If you put good energy into something you will get good, positive things in return. I can truly say now that I am falling in love with this place and these people.
We leave in a month and I am already dreading having to leave this place. I can only hope and pray that I will be able to return here one day in the (near?) future.
Peace. (and photos :) )
Today we visited Konseli, another Massai village. Tim was unable to go today since he has Malaria (pole sana, Tim – so sorry), so it was just Peter, Steve, and I. It was nothing less than a beautiful day. When we got out of the car at the village people were singing and we were once again greeted once we stepped foot outside of the car. As we were greeting people, we were surprised to find that one of the young men, Michael, in the village spoke amazing English – possibly better than many of the teachers. We were quickly ushered into the church for tea (amazing, as usual) and maandazi (again, I love this stuff). As we waited for church to start, we talked with Michael some more and then some little boys came up and sat by me and started to feel my skin and hold my hands – it was so cute. After tea, some of the choirs started to come in and we moved to different seats. The service started and proceeded as usual – baptisms and all. One nice difference was that I was able to follow a lot more of the service than ever before. Like with every other service, it ended with the congregation going outside and shaking hands.
After we all shook hands and had the sending blessing, there was a healing service (like there usually is) and Steve and Peter went inside while I stayed out and talked to Michael. Another man came up to greet me and he told me that I was welcome to come back anytime and he pointed in the direction of where he stays and where there are places to stay in the village. He also told me that every Sunday they have service and that I should come back. I continued to talk to Michael about schooling and English. He said that many people, Massai in particular, have a difficult time obtaining education. For him, English is the language of the educated. He told me that many Massai weren’t able to start schooling until several years after the Waswahili people – much like many minority groups. He explained that he would have loved to go to university but he just didn’t have the money (1,000,000 shillings) and if he ever gets sufficient funds, he will try to go. He also told me that many Tanzanians would like to go to the US but it is so difficult to get a visa – they are able to get passports, but visas applications are so frequently turned down. He explained to me that he would love to go to the US just to see it and open up his mind (sounds a lot like the reason many Americans study abroad). Soon enough I wandered into the church for lunch (rice, beans, goat, pepsi, and water). After lunch we walked outside and hung around playing with the kids while PH, Pastor Paulo (one of the pastors who went to Denmark), and Pastor Malaki (the area’s pastor) talked with some of the men. At one point, two little girls came over to me and the older girl told me that she had brought over another little girl whose name was also Sara. When it came time to leave, Luka honked the horn and we had to break away from the kids. A couple of kids grabbed my hand and walked me to the car. As we walked, they told me not to leave – my heart just melted.
We drove out to one of the congregation members’ new house (very beautiful by the way!) and while we had some milk (Massai live by their livestock so milk and goat meat are food staples) Pastor Paulo joked around with me. Before I know it, all of the men were joking around with me that they had arranged my marriage and got a herd of cattle. This became the running joke for the rest of the day.
Finally, on to the lesson/realization of the day – you get out of things what you put into them. Today I went into the day with no expectations and with a confidence in my Swahili skills and I ended up having one of the best days yet – I didn’t want to leave the village today. A few nights ago my mom had told me that I might have found the place of my calling – part of this trip for me was to help me decide what part of the world I wanted to try to work in. When she told me this I felt like if I agreed with her, I would be abandoning the people that I love so much in El Salvador, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I am just drawn to Tanzania. I love living in community with others and the sense of people’s existence relying on one another and that is exactly how so many people here live. Then when I went into today with that thought in mind I could almost feel myself letting down a wall that I had put up that prevented me from fully falling in love with this place – I found myself trying to speak Swahili more, with less fear of making a mistake, and I let people into my heart. Being here has taught me that clichés become clichés since they are true for the most part. If you put good energy into something you will get good, positive things in return. I can truly say now that I am falling in love with this place and these people.
We leave in a month and I am already dreading having to leave this place. I can only hope and pray that I will be able to return here one day in the (near?) future.
Peace. (and photos :) )
Holding hands.
Smile!
Loving the cameras, as usual.
The first kids we've seen in the blue fabric... after asking both Moreto and Kidege, the color of a Massai woman's cloth is mearly a fashion choice.
This guy is deaf and despite getting him into two schools for the deaf, he kept running away from the first in Dar and couldn't learn in the second.
Through the looking glass.... or door.
The local choir... one of three choirs today.
Mchungaji Malaki .... this guy seems to be everywhere we go!
The boy on the left is Malaki's son... last week he swallowed a nail. He also responded to Luka's question of, "Who are you?" with "I am a child of father and mother."
The kid in the middle with the big smile just kept smiling at us like this pretty much the whole time we were there.
Mchungaji Paulo - one of the two Pastors who went to Denmark... this guy has so much energy.
1 comment:
I'm so glad you're having such a great experience there and you're finding your calling. Its makes me sad thought too, to think you might be there permanently :( Who else will I call to talk to?
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