"Rest day" - Arusha

Oh let's be honest, I'm pretty bad at resting. How do I resist a bright Sunday in a new city - new country - new continent?!

I don't, naturally. I explore.

Tanzania (pronounced tan - zan - ya, not tan - suh - nee - ah) is located right on the equator. I burnt the back of my neck walking hours on dust filled roads. Blackened corn cobs and discarded water bottles filled in the drainage ditches. Women dressed in their Sunday best, with loudly colored blouses that flared at the hips and scarves wrapped around hair. We were told that it was a quiet day for Arusha, but I found it hard to believe.

The first market greeted us with rows and rows of bananas stacked ten feet high. "These are for eating," our new friend Mike explained. "And these," he added with a wink, "are for drinking." (Enjoying so-called "banana wine" is now on my Tanzania bucketlist. I'll let you know how it goes). Outside of the banana tent, women sat by blankets with fruits and vegetables on display. I recognized tomatoes, carrots, onions, garlic, beans, and grains. Mike told us each blanket had specific permission to exist in that location. We wove haphazardly through the masses, enjoying the sights.

In the second Central Market, we came across more meat and fish. Mike introduced us to a friend carefully packing dried sardines in plastic. He'd wrap them up and seal the package over a wax candle. His table also had brown rings stacked high. I peered closer and to my surprise found them to be fish, curled tail to mouth. Mike said catfish do that naturally when cooked in hot oil. I wish I asked him how your prepare them once bought from the market. Like, what kind of dish uses a fish like that?

From there Mike asked us if we would be interested in seeing the Masai market. For the full experience, we chose taking a public dallas dallas over a private taxi. Over twenty people crammed into this mini van with the windows rolled down. "Jambo jambo!" I greeted the man next to me as I squeezed my tiny butt against his in the far back. Mike asked how seats were left and I raised my fingers indicating maybe two were available. Somehow they got all five us on. Poor Derek got stuck on the tiny backless fold down middle seat. The ten year old pushed against Derek stared at him for a good two minutes. And I thought I was squashed! Three people work the mini bus: the speed demon driver, the conductor, and the recruiter. The recruiter hung half out the van door window, whistling to anyone walking on the street as the driver honked incessantly. Thankfully half the people got off along the way.

A little bit about our friend Mike. He's a student studying Rural Development. He has dreams of working with NGOs to help his people open small businesses and improve farming practices. His thesis is on potential sources of land conflict and how to resolve them with policy. Tanzanian education is expensive, so he's worked for years saving up before starting his degree in his early thirties. He's spent time in construction and - wait for it - three years as a porter for Mt Kilimanjaro. He had nothing but good things to say about our tour group, Climb Kili. I'm grateful to see firsthand that our money can help people get an education to change their country for the better. I suspect he's met a lot of obstacles in his way and I admire his perseverance in his goals. He even shared with me that his ex girlfriend didn't want him to study - only work - so they're no longer dating. It's a great reminder to surround yourself with loving, supportive people as much as you can.

Back to the Masai Market. The Masai are a local & iconic semi-nomadic tribe. I highly recommend you google pictures of them for a visual. (They believe photographs can hurt your soul, so I didn't take any out of respect.) Tall with red fabric draped around their shoulders and hips, the men always carry a blade and a thin stick. Many wore sandals made out of motorcycle tires for their long walks. They herd goats, sheep, and cows to markets all over Tanzania to sell and exchange at markets like the one we visited. And boy were there animals everywhere! The sounds and smells were almost overwhelming under the hot dusty sun. We estimated maybe 1000 people were present for all the commerce. Of course, as white (and one Indian!) tourists we were quite the sight. Everyone was staring. A few came up to us and shook our hands, saying "hello how are you?" in English. One even took a liking to Chetsi. Once he figured out we were all only friends ("rafiki"), he put his arm around her as if she was his new wife. He laughed and laughed at his joke. As his bride price payment, we would need to accept one small cow for her! (Personally I think she's worth at least a big cow).

While we were wandering out, I stopped to buy a bottle of water at "West Gate Market." The men were very proud to tell me that name in English. Soon enough we're talked into sharing a couple of Mt Kilimanjaro beers with the friendly locals. The breeze swept through the little structure and the beer was perfectly refreshing after all the dirt and dung. We joked about partying and admired the packets of whiskey they sold. (Literally - plastic pouches of clear local whiskey). If we didn't have our hike the next day I suspect we could have gotten up to some real fun trouble.

Anyway, we made it sober back to our hotel for our 5pm trek briefing. By the time you read this, I'll be on my way to the mountain! January 3rd is summit day, so say a little prayer for us. I should be back with wifi the evening of the 4th to share with you the results!

Katie

PS for pictures I'm using Instagram - username "kmt88"