Weekend #3, and fruit

Our field trip this weekend was going to Makumbusho, an open-air museum that has houses from different regions of Tanzania. Seeing the many very different styles side-by-side like that really made it clear how many diverse cultures all exist within this one country. I keep hearing and reading how the language of Swahili has been so important in uniting the country as Tanzania rather than a bunch of separate tribes, and getting this visual impression of the range of different cultures makes it easier for me to grasp the significance of that. The more I learn about this country, the more I admire it. The book I’m currently reading, Robert Sapolsky’s “A Primate’s Memoir,” has one chapter about how the Tanzanians got rid of Idi Amin. I had no idea about that. Perhaps that’s largely my fault for being ignorant, but I also think it has something to do with this part of the world being relatively overlooked when it comes to current events, history, etc. Before I came here I’d sometimes simply tell people “I’m studying abroad in Africa this fall,” and I can’t recall anyone reacting as if that was an odd thing to say. I’d never just say that “my brother is studying in Asia” without at the very least specifying “east Asia,” or talk about my friends “studying abroad in Europe” without also mentioning the country (or general region like Eastern Europe). It’s rather sad.

But anyway, while I did find it interesting to go to the Village Museum, I felt somewhat ill at ease almost the entire time there. I didn’t take a single picture either, which is unusual for me. It felt hideously touristy, especially the drummers and dancers. Again, it was fun to see some traditional dance, and the men doing it were extremely talented. But it was also so very staged and catering to what tourists want to see (or what they presume tourists to be interested in seeing). I’ll never be able to blend in here and I don’t mind sticking out as a foreigner, but I like feeling like I’m at least making an effort to participate in life here rather than merely gawk at parts of it that have been especially constructed for tourists. We’ve avoided that kind of stuff fairly well so far, so it was odd to suddenly be in it. Afterwards, I thoroughly enjoyed the daladala ride back. It isn’t terribly pleasant to be squished up against multiple strangers in a cramped, hot, somewhat smelly vehicle that lurches along wildly in the chaotic traffic, but it is what people here do and I am so glad to have the chance to try it out. And I know I’ll miss the daladalas when I’m at home. Public transportation is way better here in Dar than in either Iowa or Sweden. In Iowa it is virtually nonexistent, and in Sweden it is prohibitively expensive. Affordability and convenience more than compensate for how crowded and occasionally terrifying the rides are.

On a completely unrelated note, the fruit here is excellent! I had mango for the first time, and loved it. Avocado and papaya are new fruits for me as well, but they’re delicious. The bananas are superb, and the oranges juicy and good. It is all very cheap too – a huge plate of fruit is way less than $1. While rice and sauce is good, it gets a bit repetitive and more and more of my meals are becoming fruit-based.