The Bukimau Pivot (5/31)

Waking up to “My Heart Will Go On” was not something I ever expected to experience in Tanzania, but this adventure has nothing but surprises. Most mornings here in Madisi are very foggy/rainy which adds to chill in the air. This region in general is wet during this time of year. 

After Paul woke me around 8:30am, I took another bucket bath with my own soap and towel this time! It’s starting to slowly feel more and more normal! Being Sunday, I put on some nicer clothes and went to Farista’s house for breakfast. We had tea and mandazi which was amazing! The mandazi tastes like a doughnut and the tea is very sweet and fulfilling. 

Church was at 10:00am so we started walking towards the church and crossed paths with Eli and his host Luka (30 years old). Luka is an extremely sweet man and very enriching to talk to. The walk was a decent distance away with some pretty large hills! We talked about various things and I practiced my introduction in Swahili to say at the church that I had learned the day prior. I had it down perfectly. 

When we arrived we were greeted by some insanely loud worship and lots of dancing. Church here is extremely important and worship is significantly more valued here in Tanzania than back in the states. More than half the service was a variety of different performances performed by different age groups and genders in the village. One would be all of the moms coming up to sing and dance and another would be all of the young children coming to the front to do the same. It was clear that Christ is extremely significant to these people (as it should be everywhere), but here it felt special. In fact, Eli told me the moment he entered the church he was brought to tears. The church itself was a long and large building that hosted many wooden pews and a stage up front. 

Once the worship was over, it was time for all of us to do our introductions (it just happened to be that everyone in our volunteer group went to the same church). When it was finally my turn, I completely bombed it. I don’t think the words could’ve come out any more mangled than they did! Everyone got in a good laugh and as Jonah (Jonathan) puts it, us Americans are everyone’s comedic relief. The embarrassment wore off quickly and the sermon started. All us guests were invited to the front pews and the pastor was kind enough to translate his sermon into English after he was done preaching in Swahili. 

We went over the story of Zacheeus the wee little man and how amazing Jesus’ forgiveness and beauty must be for someone of Zacheeus’ nature to seek Jesus out and have dinner with him. Prayer followed the sermon and we prayed for many things for the village. 

Afterwards, we all walked back to the village where Paul and I spent what we thought our last moments would be before I would be back in a month. While listening to more music, his extension cord EXPLODED! I’m talking the outlet was spitting sparks like a firework and the cord starting melting into his wood desk. The entire event was absolutely hilarious. Paul was making the funniest sounds while trying to unplug the cord that was simultaneously shocking him and exploding. Fortunately nothing was beyond repair and the cord still worked! 

Farista invited us over for lunch where we had a meal I did not expect to eat at all; plain spaghetti noodles, a small amount of tomato, and fish! It wasn’t my favorite meal I’ve had here but it was certainly interesting. 

Once 3:00pm hit, I took all of my stuff to the main area we first arrived at and got packed into a small car to head to Bukimau. Henry and Michael were to stay in the village and Eli, Miraclin, and I were to go to Bukimau. Jonathan and Josea also came with us. Considering we had a ton of stuff to bring and very little space, it was extremely cramped in the back seat. The bumpy roads and lack of AC in the car led to an uncomfortable, but memorable experience to say the least. 

Bukimau is around 1.5 to 2.5 hours away depending on how fast one drives. We talked about many things and honestly had a fun time. Our driver, Josea, was being a very careful and respectful driver, but that meant that he drove extremely slowly which added a lot of time onto our trip. Around ¾ of the way through the trip we stopped in a village to grab a gift. It is very common in Tanzania culture to bring a gift when you arrive at a place where you know someone very well. For us guests, we don’t have to worry about it but Jonathan and Josea do. Fruit is always a great gift and is very cheap here ($0.10 USD or less for everything). We got to stretch our legs and try something known as custard apple. It tastes like custard and even has the same texture (hence its name!) despite the massive, large, and hard seeds in the middle. 

With our tummies full, we finished the rest of the trip to Bukimau. After we got out of the car, we went to the main building on the school grounds and were greeted by the staff there. Bukimau is home to the education department of VST so there are many employees there who are not just teachers. We each stood up in front of around 20 people, told them our names, where we’re from, and a small bit on how we’re excited to be here. The entire staff was extremely welcoming as they all introduced themselves as well. With the introductions out of the way, we unloaded the car and were sent to our host. Again, I was not paired with a family but instead with a man named Joseph! He is an English and Swahili teacher and was very welcoming. 

Just like Paul’s house, it was just me and him. When we got to his house (a short walk from the main office), we went to my room and sat down to talk. Joseph’s English was hard to understand but we made it work. There were many things to cover during our conversation but the main thing I did was talk on the phone with other people. Joseph was proud to have a foreign guest so I talked with his wife who is a teacher in a nearby region, his best friend who is a teacher in the same region also named Joseph, and his oldest brother who is a teacher as well! After lots of talking and not knowing how to keep a conversation going with someone that doesn’t speak much English it was time for dinner. 

Since Joseph’s wife was not there, he of course would not cook so I was sent to a neighbor's house for dinner. To my surprise both Miraclin and Eli were there! The neighbor’s name is Rosadina and she is such a kind and wonderful woman. We had rice and lots of meat for dinner along with a very sour and sweet mango! We also got to try oranges which were like cuties but had seeds. 

Once we had finished the meal, Rosa encouraged us to “make story” which is the Tanzanian way to say have a good conversation. Due to all of the catchy music we listened to on the bus and all of the music I listened to with Paul, we all had many songs stuck in our head. We began to sing them before Rosa decided to connect to a speaker and actually play the songs! If you’d like to listen to them, the two very catchy ones are “Happy” by Diamond Platinumz and “Joy” by Diamond Platinumz. Diamond Platinumz is a very famous Tanzanian artist and definitely one of my favorites so far! Of course with all of this music, it meant we needed to dance! We stood up from the table and had a small dance party which was very fun. 

After a while, many other men from the village came to eat (Andrew’s friends. Andrew grew up in Bukimau while most other teachers/staff come from all different regions of Tanzania). We were convinced to eat more with the men as they wanted our company. Here I got to see more of the man to woman cultural dynamic. The men get to eat and have conversation while the woman, who to my knowledge is not connected to any of these men, simply waits to see if they need anything. It’s very different than America to see these gender roles be so narrow. Regardless, Rosa seemed more than pleased to be serving those around her. The one thing that did bug me was the lack of thank yous to Rosa, but that may just be a cultural thing I simply don’t understand yet or implicit. 

When everyone was finished, I walked back to the house where Joseph and I both went to bed. Goodnight in Swahili is “useeko mwema”! I spent some good time writing down the previous days in my journal until the electricity went out! I had no light on me so I had to use the light from my almost dead laptop to rummage through my checked bag to find my almost dead flashlight. Of course the moment that I got the flashlight out of my bag the electricity came back on! Once my writing was finished, it was sweet dreams for me!