Saturday 15th
March marks what is one of the definite highlights of my time in
Tanzania so far. We met at the Projects Abroad office at nine in the
morning, after I had had a good eight hours sleep. I was awake and
ready to go, in stark comparison to the previous day, but we very
nearly forgot one person behind. Luckily I had his number and was
able to call him but we set off half and hour late. By this point,
though, I have acclimatised to everything being late; the volunteers
call it African time. The journey to the springs was around three
quarters of an hour along the Nairobi-Moshi highway and then on to
side roads for another hour and a half. The scenery on the way there
changed from build up areas outside the office to paved highways
surrounded by little towns then onto desert dotted with little Maasai
bomas as they tended their livestock, while we rocked and swayed on
the uneven road. At one point we had to stop for the driver to work
out whether the bus would make it over a mini swamp. The sky was
clear and the road dusty as we finally reached little shaded oasis
in the middle of nowhere. Light brown desert gradually turned into a
landscape dotted with green and suddenly we were parked under the
shade of trees, the sound of running water in the background. A
couple of elderly tourists were already there as we all marvelled at
the crystal clarity of the water and changed into our swimming gear
but otherwise it was just us. The water, while not hot, was probably
as ideal a temperature as one could have asked for to cool down on a
warm Tanzanian day. The pool was big enough to accommodate all of the
thirty or so volunteers who were swimming and further away from the
main body there was a little stream, although the current was fairly
strong and my astounding lack of fitness showed as it tired me out
swimming against the current.
As if other attractions
were needed, there was a rope swing attached to one of the
overhanging trees allowing us to swing right out into the middle of
the pool before belly flopping in the most inelegant way possible. A
lot of fun although landing on your back did sting a little. Aside
from swimming, there were plenty of low hanging trees to climb.
Unfortunately I'm not in the best shape for climbing trees but I
always remember watching my little 8 year old cousin climbing as high
as he could with little care in the world and regretting not having
had the same courage when I was young. Thus, whenever I get the
chance to climb now, I give it a go and when someone pointed out a
branch overhanging the water that was probably reachable, another
volunteer and I decided to give it a go. He was tall enough to simply
reach the branch but I needed to jump, swing and inch my way up the
branches in order to get out over the deeper parts of the water. In
the end I did it with much effort and a loud splash. Along one side
of the pool, there was a branch or root of a tree which was
conveniently placed just underneath the water with a second branch
further down. The former made for a good seat and the latter a useful
footrest and altogether formed a nice place to just sit and relax.
Later in the day I met
up with other volunteers at the local sports bar for some food. When
I broke the news to my host mother and told her I was not going to be
staying for some tea as I did not want to be late, she seemed to be
quite upset and gave me a dismissive wave of her hand. Now, this is
the one frustrating thing about living here. I feel quite restricted
in what I do, not physically, as I can technically come and go as I
please so long as there is someone in the house, but rather
emotionally. I understand that my host family is religious and I am a
godless heathen; I understand that I come from a culture where we
drink and they do not approve of drinking; I understand that
Tanzanians heavily secure their house from outsiders with high walls,
topped with razor wire, three doors and two guard dogs, but I am made
to feel guilty about these things, when I have the freedom of a 22
year old man in England.
Anyway, the dinner we
ordered at Empire Sports Bar came, in true African fashion, one and a
half hours after we ordered it. I just had chicken and chips, which
was nice enough. A live band was playing and we headed inside to
dance, getting even more energetic when the DJ came on with European
songs. African music generally isn't my thing. The night was a good
one, with a chance to hang out with other volunteers but we were all
tired after the day at the springs and things died down after 1am.
For me, Saturday has
been the highlight of Tanzania so far. As much as I enjoy the work
and meeting my host family and the school children, I also wanted to
be able to enjoy myself out here and on Saturday I definitely did.
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