From Yogurt to Football

I know I keep saying it, but if anything bad ever happens to me during my stay in Arusha, it will not be from Malaria, or not eating properly, or contaminated water, it will be from a motor vehicle accident. I have been in Africa for one month now and I still cannot get my head around how atrocious the driving is here. Today, as Emily and I were struggling to cross the street without the aid of stoplights or crosswalks, a local standing in front of us attempted to cross prematurely, nearly getting hit by a daladala. The angry driver stopped the daladala, jumped out and started to smack the pedestrian who had tried to cross! I had never seen anything like it before. Later in the afternoon, my observations about Tanizanian driving were confirmed as, while waiting to speak with a lab technician at the hospital about potentially culturing the probiotics, I came across an article on how motor vehicle accidents were one of the leading causes of death in the developing world.

Top right picture: Our house in Darajab Mbili

Aside from my newly developed fear of crossing streets, the more time I spend in Arusha, the more I love it. Although the weather is unpredictable and often cool, Arusha is a beautiful city. From Darajab Mbili, where Emily and I are living it is about a fifteen minute walk into town, which is characterized by a roundabout and a clocktower. On our walks into town we pass by a beautiful market where they sell everything from woodcarvings to clothing and if the sky is clear you can see Mount Meru stretching far into the clouds. Compared to Mwanza, Arusha is cleaner and more touristy. While it was rare in Mwazna to see other mazungus in the streets, in Arusha it is far more common. The town caters to the tourists, which is evident in some of their restaurants and cafés, such as a very Starbuckesk Africafé that is constantly packed with Westerners awaiting their 3000 shilling Latés. Thanks to Emily’s fantastic sense of direction we are able to navigate our way all around town. As we weave our way through the crowds of people, our most used phrase is hapana asante, meaning no thank you, as everywhere you turn someone is thrusting either a newspaper or a banana your way, hoping to make a sale.
Middle Picture: Me in downtown Arusha in front of the clock tower.

We were forced to learn our way around quickly, because upon our arrival we immediately began working on getting the kitchen up and running. Since I have neglected to describe the Arusha project in detail I’ll quickly give an update of where we stand. The Mondo Foundation is funding the project in Ngaramtoni, with their primary group being the Hope Kimondo Foundation. Although Ngaramtoni is far, and Emily and I have to walk forty minutes to the daladala stop, followed by a half hour trip on the daladala and another twenty minute walk once we get off, it is nice that we get to experience working and living in three different areas. Unlike Arusha, which, like I previously mentioned is a center for tourism, Darajab Mbili and Ngaramtoni, both being more rural and secluded are similar villages. The houses range from fully furnished to mud huts and little shops line the streets with people selling vegetables, fruits and Tengas, the material worn as skirts and dresses by Mamas here.
Left picture: Cute little boy waving at us on our walk into town from Darab Mbili.

Middle Picture: Emily walking down the laneway just outside our house.













A few days ago we met in Ngaramtoni for the third time with the Mondo Foundation and Hope Kimondo representatives, however this time we also had the pleasure of meeting with six excited yogurt Mamas who are eager to be part of the project. The Mamas were tasked with looking into potential kitchen locations in town, so hopefully when we meet again with them tomorrow we will be able to finalize the location and start buying equipment. Currently our biggest barrier challenge is finding a lab and a lab technician to culture the probiotics. Last night, we met with Dr. Mhando, a well-renowned physicisian in Arusha, who has offered us his lab and who may be able to help us find a technician. Unfortunately, as of now his lab does not have the proper equipment to culture the probiotics, so we are working through that barrier with him. Having already met with him earlier in the week at his office in a very professional setting, when he invited us over to his house for our second meeting we were expecting to sort out work related matters and likely head home soon after. It was a pleasant surprise to arrive at his home with this entire family there to greet us. In between Fanta and coffee we discussed the project, and were invited to stay for dinner and to watch the football game afterward. Before we knew it, we had spent the entire night at the Mhando house, and it was one of our most enjoyable evenings yet. Being at their house which was bustling with people coming and going all night reminded me of my lovely, hectic house back home. It was nice to be in such a warm, family oriented environment. Not only is their entire family extremely successful, but they are friendly, humble and a treat to be around.

Dr. Mhando’s oldest daughter Neema, I especially admire. As their family lives in the same neighbourhood as Emily and I, she walked us home and ended up staying over for another hour or so for tea. At thirty-five years old, she is one of the most empowered women I have ever met. Still completing post-grad work, she is unmarried and entirely devoted to her education. Being thirty-five never having been married, and not being in any rush to find a man takes guts in Tanzania and her determination to hold off on marriage until she finds someone who views her as an equal, rather than merely a woman, and who supports her ambitions makes her incredibly strong. I feel so lucky to have met such lovely family, and maintaining a relationship with them will make my stay in Arusha all the more amazing.

In between work for the yogurt kitchen, Emily and I have been trying to follow the world cup. All of Africa is engaged and during game time every local place that has access to television is airing the match. A few days ago Emily and I spotted some other international students at the gym where we have been attempting to squeeze workouts into our already packed days. I noticed that one of them was reading Three Cups of Tea, which I had just finished, so I figured that was reason enough to strike up a conversation. It turns out one of the girls was from Canada and a student at Queen’s and the others were from the States. Having already been here for a month and consequently being more familiar with Arusha, they invited us to watch the England versus USA football game at a place called the Greek Club, where all the international students were headed that night. The place was packed! Emily and I, deciding that England needed some support chose to side with them, and ended up getting our faces painted by a young man draped in a British flag. It turned out that almost everyone there were Law students from all over America and a few from Canada who were here on an internship. We met some really interesting people, one of which was a fellow Canadian studying international law and working with the UN for her internship here in Arusha. My desire to pursue international law was definitely reignited that night and I am looking forward to learning more about their fields of study.

Emily and I have also managed to make many local friends this week. Yesterday as we were walking down the street, a young man stopped us and asked if we had recently arrived from Mwanza. Slightly confused we responded that we had in fact been living in Mwanza before Arusha, to wish he burst into laughter and embraced us. Able to tell from our faces that we had no idea what was going on, he explained that the south African family we had met in Mwanza had mentioned we were coming to Arusha and that he had been looking for us all week. I had forgotten that back in Mwanza I had received this man, Bariki’s number as a credible reference. Sure enough, he was the first contact number listed in my phone. Tomorrow, evening, after we meet with the Mondo and Hope Kimondo groups in Ngaramtoni, Bariki and out other local friends and are heading to a place in Darajab Mbili to watch the big Ivory Coast game. The upcoming week is going to be a busy one, but combining work with football makes the days fly.

I’ll do my best to keep you all updated as things with the kitchen progress!
Fun Fact: I’m writing this blog in mine and Emily’s room and a gecko just scurried down from the ceiling and crawled behind a picture hanging on the wall.