4th blog post from Tanzania
March 1, 2011
I’m in my last week of 2-month stay in Tanzania, and many reflections and realizations come after a short stay here.
Things I will not miss about Tanzania:
o Being Mzungu here, and the enormous unbreachable gulf between the haves and the mostly have not’s; the ever present assumption that all whites have Bill Gates’ deep pockets.
o Being overcharged a large fortune for everything from water to tea to a used article of clothing in the market, to a taxi ride home…
o The immense number of problems that neither one person nor one nation can solve…
o The endless pollution of driving in town or city here, diesel, smoke from roadside fires, and constant dust…
o Corruption on every level- from the gatekeeper, to the shop tender to the tour operator, to the officials who are on the take…just like the animals you see on safari on the prowl for a weaker species to take down and feed on.
o The stories of so many, in fact most children, now young adults who failed to pass the primary school exam due to poor teaching and kids families that could not afford the shillings for school uniform, paper and pencils.
o Muslim Women and young girls behind the burka- with only a slit to view the world from.
o The apparent lack of work for so many, in a place with so many problems that clearly need serious attention.
o People living in inhuman conditions for their entire lives with little access to sanitation, clean water or adequate food, and with little hope for change.
o Cultural Attitudes of secrecy towards HIV and AIDS that prevent Tanzanian people from getting support and help when they most need it.
Things I will miss about Tanzania:
o Warm evening breezes in winter months
o Life outside – sounds of people talking Swahili
o Smells of cooking outside, along the roadsides, and of leaves burning.
o The Massai walking with their staffs in huge open stretches of country with long strides in big wind storms- undaunted…
o Tastes of Milky sweet chai tea and chapattis, fresh fruit- avocado pineapple, mango…
o Red dust coating you head to toe while walking
o Sounds of the early morning- birds, roosters, Muslim call to prayer,& kids walking to school on the road…
o Hearing the stories of the people here, their lives, and their optimism in spite of poor odds for change in their circumstance.
o View of Kilimanjaro in the morning- snows rising high above the din and dust of life in town.
o Honesty in the photographs of people being who they are- giving of themselves with no pretense
o Ready smiles and “Jambo” from passers by…
o Walking in the cool of the mornings and seeing Kilimanjaro every day a bit different
o Homeopathy helping me heal my leg when I was Western medicine could not.
o Hukana Matata attitude of the people
o Seeing beautiful landscapes that have extreme shifts in weather in short periods of time
o People living now in relative harmony with large animals that live in the borderlands between wild and cultivated lands.
o Seeing the power of homeopathy to change people from deep within to gather themselves and come to a higher level of wellbeing.
No comments:
Post a Comment