Reflections on Life in Bukoba



Sunrise over Lake Victoria.  The view from
 KEMPS campus.



Walking to choir rehearsal Thursday evening, I noticed an abundance of new brightly colored flowers.  Unfortunately my camera wasn't charged, but I plan to get pictures, and maybe even to do sketches of them - either from life or photographs.  Perhaps I can start to build my own record of the plants here.  I should look for a decent sketch book and then begin.  I also finally caught a glimpse of the species of bird that lives in a tree on my way to the main road.  The tree is very strange - it looks like it is dead, but it has some sort of green growth, not ivy but it still reminds me of the trees choked by ivy at our house in England.  And on all of the dead, bare branches are little puffs of dangling grasses.  At first when I saw them I thought they were part of the tree.  But now I think that they are the nests of all the birds that one hears.  I saw one go in - it was quite a bright yellow.

I love that when you walk here it is completely normal to pass goats nibbling grass at the side of the road as well as passing cattle being herded by a slender young man with his walking stick.  Continuing down the hill, I passed an older gentleman wearing a suit jacket and what I think of as a French impressionists brimmed hat.  Greeting him with "Shikamoo", the wrinkles in his face creased into a smile as he said "Marahaba" and "Hujambo".  On Sunday while riding home in the rainstorm on a pikipiki, I passed a much younger woman dressed in a kanga, her arm bent upwards holding a large banana leaf over her head - a unique but probably effective umbrella.



In noticing all these details, I am realizing that this place is still so new and interesting to me.  Yet, at the same time, it has become so much more like home.  This past week, I really am beginning to feel like I am living here instead of just visiting for a while.  Living on campus and travelling to town feel comfortable and I am starting to recognize people as I walk around. 



Walking to town offers this fabulous view of Lake Victoria
and the town of Bukoba in the Valley below.



Not only have I been walking around, but I have also started running.  Originally I was nervous to run because it is not at all common to work out here.  But, I asked Teacher Joyce if it was appropriate to wear shorts and to my surprise she said it was no problem.  I was still skeptical. But, opting for the least conspicuous route, I donned a loose t-shirt and my brother's old basketball shorts which come to my knees (and look ridiculously baggy) instead of my usual shorter workout shorts.  I got lots of looks while I was running.  I have seen one American guy running, but no women or Tanzanians at all.  Not only is it not normal for people to run here, but it is not normal for women to wear shorts or pants.  I got the typical "wazungu", but with my music playing, I really didn't care.  I greeted people with "Habari" and "Shikamoo" and "Hamjambo" and to my delight, I got way more smiles than I usually do.  One little girl even ran alongside me for a ways - I challenged her to a mini sprinting race.  We tied and at the end she smiled, giggled, waved and said goodbye.  I don't know if they were smiling just because they thought I was weird, or if it was the combination of my doing something that is so American, and yet still greeting in a very Tanzanian way.  Regardless people seemed much more friendly (who knows, maybe it was the endorphins affecting the way I interpreted peoples' greetings).  But by doing something that is so un-Tanzanian, I felt much more a part of the community.



This particular comfort in Bukoba has been a real revelation for me.  For those of you that have travelled and lived abroad at some point, I am sure that you have heard about the different stages of adjustment to a new culture.  Usually phase one is the "novelty" and "in love with the culture" phase, and phase two is a low point where you are no longer in love with the culture and want to return to your own.  In a sense I feel like I have reversed these two stages.  Leaving college and friends was harder than I anticipated, and then to turn around and pick and leave home as well made everything that much harder.  Although I still miss friends and family (and I love hearing from you all!), I feel like I belong here for the first time and that I have really and truly made the right decision to live here for the next two years (not that I wasn't before, but it wasn't as clear).  I have rediscovered my adventuresome spirit and I am excited to see as much of Tanzania as possible and to enjoy every moment with the students that I have.

Students having class outside.