Masai Village Trip and Usa River Market

I just spent my first weekend in Tanzania and it was busy!

Saturday morning we met at the training center at 9:30 am for a day trip that Ben (the onsite coordinator) had organized.  He had rented two dala dalas for the day to take us to a Masai village on the side of Mt. Meru.  We drove for a little over half an hour but when we were almost there the dala dalas got stuck in the mud so we had to walk the rest of the way.  

The dala dalas stuck in the mud.

When we first got there the leader of the village met us and had us sit down where he had tea prepared for all of us. Then a tour guide met us and walked us around the village. The best part was when we were walking down a road and about 15 little children ran screaming up the road to meet us. The braver ones would come up and say the Swahili word for gift haha but I would reply sina (I don’t have any) and they would leave. There were always children walking with us and some little girls followed me and touched my hair. We saw the traditional masai houses and even went inside one. They bring their cattle inside the houses at night to keep the people warm. And traditionally they are polygamists so the more cattle they have the more wives they can have.

Traditional Masai house. The little boy in the middle told us he is practicing his Kung Fu!

After the village we hiked to the top of a hill to see the cool view. It took an hour and wasn’t too steep but the problem was that it was sprinkling and the paths are all dirt which turned into really slippery mud so we were making bets on who would slip first. Luckily, it wasn’t me!

The view from the top of the hill was incredible. A girl, Angela, who had participated in the program last year, came with us for the day. She actually stayed with the same mom I have now. She is back this summer working as an engineer for a nonprofit but it was really great to meet her because she has a lot of useful advice. After the hike they served us lunch which was really good and then we walked to a waterfall. That took another hour each way but it was fun and the waterfall was really cool!

Daria, Angela, and I at the top of the hill.

Sunday morning, Daria and I met Angela at a place called Cradle of Love. It is an orphanage for children 0-2 years old right next to our training center. We went in just to play with the toddlers for a while (Angela knows some of the workers from last year and they always love it when people come to visit). As soon as we walked in kids ran up to us and asked to be picked up and read to. I had 3 kids hanging on me at all times haha. It was a crazy two hours but I loved it.

At Cradle of Love.

Then we went with Angela to the Usa River market!  It was my first time in a traditional African market and Daria and I each got a Kanga.  It’s a piece of cloth that they fasten around themselves to wear.  We got the larger version though and Mama is going to have skirts made for us out of the fabric! 

Angela’s side project when she is here is to make a Tanzanian cookbook.  Every Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday she learns a new dish from my Mama and Mama Farida (my Mama’s friend).  So we went with her to Mama Farida’s house to learn how to make a dish out of corn and beans and coconut milk.  It was so good!  I am eating way too much here!

Learning the traditional way to grind coconuts to make coconut milk.

Later, Daria and I walked to the University that is in our neighborhood because they were having a music festival.  All the music and dance majors gave a performance of traditional Tanzanian dances and songs.  It was super crowded so it was hard to see the stage but the chants and songs were amazing. 

After we came back from the festival, Mama told Daria and I that she had been invited to a “Fundraising” and asked if we wanted to go.  This is a Tanzanian tradition preceeding a wedding or funeral.  Family and friends gather to discuss how to collect money for the event.  The idea is that family and friends will contribute money to the event and then in return, when it is your turn to raise money, you will be helped as well.  As soon as we walked in they piled our plates with food!  I couldn’t understand anything that was being said but it was still a cool experience. 

I also experienced my first power outage!  Apparently three wires fell down so we didn’t get any power for the rest of the night.  We had candles set up around the house and went to bed early. 

It was a great weekend and hopefully we’ll be planning another fun trip for next weekend too!