First Impressions 03/03/12

First impressions are the most important, they say. That's why you should always have a firm handshake. My first impressions when I landed in Tanzania were that it seemed like two different places. From the air over Dar Es Salaam, I saw nothing but green fields and farms. Other than the types of houses I could make out, I could have been flying over England. Then I landed at Kilimanjaro, was met by a Projects Abroad employee, and was driven to Arusha. Outside Kilimanjaro airport the land seemed barren. The sun was out and beating down, the land around me seemingly devoid of life. It seemed like it does in the movies. We passed many shepherds herding their animals, mostly goats I think, and a few small ... I hesitate to call them towns for they were no more than a few shacks dotted by the side of the road. It was fascinating but humbling too. This wasn't exactly the pictures and stories you see on Comic Relief, but these Tanzanians were not rich by any means. They say life is more sedentary here and many people were simply sat in some shade away from the midday sun.

We arrived just north of the town of Arusha via the road from Kilimanjaro. To my left were a couple of high rise buildings, one incomplete and one that would not look out of place in the City. To my right, in the area I knew was Mianzini where I was staying, were shacks. As we turned right, driving up what seemed to be a dried out river, the road got extremely muddy and bumpy. To the left and right were simple houses made of what looked like mud. I hesitate to use the word mud hut because it would make it seem that they were primitive but it was my first impression. The family I was going to stay with, however, owned a fairly large single floor house within the perimeters of its walls. There is a fairly large courtyard at the front which resembles a scaled down version of the drive ways of some of the more expensive detached houses in the UK. The living/dining room was comparable to the house I stayed in for my second year of university, containing a coffee table surrounded by a sofa set, TV, what looks to be a fairly expensive hi-fi set and a dining area complete with table chairs and a sink for washing your hands before dinner. Off this main room there is a kitchen and three bedrooms, mine being roughly the size of my own at home but with an en-suite. (Side note: Bruno Mars has just come on the radio. I travel across the world and I still can't get rid of him! Maroon 5, that's better.)

The family consists of: Moses Jacob, a tour guide and safari driver; Benedeta, his wife; Glory, their daughter; two maids; a quiet, lazy cat; two dogs and some chicken. The family are extremely friendly and are very insistent that I am able to call this my home for the next three months. There is also another volunteer, a dutch girl called Quirine who is also teaching at Gohechi, which is a bonus. I find myself always trying to conform to Tanzanian culture and norms but occasionally find myself doing things that I think I shouldn't be, things that are normal at home, which is frustrating and confusing. However, all this pales in comparison to being kept up at night by the barking dog or woken up at the crack of dawn by the rooster in the yard. I'm told that I will get used to it in a few weeks and I will stop noticing them. The cat on the other hand lazes around and is more friendly. This is why I like cats more than dogs.

The first that I experienced was the food. As soon as I arrived, Benedeta was there with a glass of mango juice and told me to sit at the table. Lunch was a meat stew served with chips and a sour salad. Having spent most of my last week in England trying to sample the last Western takeaways that I would otherwise miss (a key one being Subway), I was suprised that I was being served chips. Dinner later was another stew  with beef, potato and something that seemed like okra served with rice and a vegetable that I think was spinach. The stews form the main part of the meal and they are very tasty, even if the two that I had the first day were very similar. I did mention that I would like to try ugali and Benedeta has hinted that she may make it so it will be an interesting experience. I look forward to that and all the other home-cooked Tanzanian food I will get to sample.

UPDATE: So I tried ugali. It is a paste which looks at first like the sort of dough you would make char siu bao out of (the roast pork buns at dim sum). It is thick and you slice through it with a knife before jabbing it and lifting it onto your plate. You also take some vegetables and some stew. In order to eat ugali you break a chunk off with your right hand and compress it so that it will not fall apart at first contact with moisture. Then you grab some vegetables or meat, again with your right hand, and dip it in some sauce before shoving it in a rather ungainly manner into your mouth. Every website I've read says that you form a ball with a indent in the middle to hold the sauce...meh.

Tanzania is about to enter its rainy season and it did rain later on in the day. The rain brought a welcome relief from the heat and the Projects Abroad staff member, named Regan, took another inductee, named Julie, and me to a small local eatery where she could have lunch and we could sit out the rain. This was a fascinating period where we got to know Regan and about life in Tanzania. It was roughly 24oC and I was comfortable in that heat. Regan, however, found it cold in his T-shirt. We also talked about TV and movies. It turns out that Regan loved the first two Twilight movies which is disconcerting. Maybe, if rubbish such as Twilight can make it to Tanzania, I won't have to wait that long to see The Avengers after all.