Chickens and Babies: My Least and Most Favorite Things All in One Day!

Last Monday began the End of the Quarter/Easter break for Gonzaga Primary School. However, being a teacher for Standard 4, I had to go in and teach two hours each morning, Monday through Wednesday. On Monday after school, my co-worker and community mate, Beth, and I went into Dar es Salaam to mail some letters. From there, we hopped on a dala dala (public bus) to Mbezi, which is about an hour and 15 minutes from Dar, to visit a friend Beth made a few months ago named Suzy. I had never been out this way before and it was a fun adventure to see a new part of the area surrounding Dar.

When we got off the dala dala, we took two piki pikis (motorcycles) through a very windy valley of steeps hill and muddy roads. My piki piki driver could not have been more than 25 years old and spoke English pretty well. I challenged myself to speak to him in Kiswahili instead of reverting to my easier mode of English. So, with his knowledge of Kiswahili and a little bit of English, and the vice versa for me, we had a great conversation during the drive in what I like to call “Kiswahi-nglish” (kind of like Spanglish but with Kiswahili). I told him we were teachers living in Mabibo, that I was from America, and we discussed some differences between Tanzania and the States. It was a lot of fun to practice my Kiswahili and ride through this beautiful place in the mountains. There are no mountains in Mabibo and the piki piki driver laughed when I told him I liked this area where we were because it was green...unlike Mabibo which is just dirt, asphalt roads, and cement houses. Our simple, yet friendly conversation also eased my worries of zipping down hills, through mud puddles, and back up steep, steep gravel roads at a pretty fast speed (sorry, Mom).

Finally we arrived in Suzy’s village. It was quiet, nestled among the hills and valleys, very green, and full of welcoming people. Suzy greeted us just as we arrived and we walked together to her home. We sat for a while and talked about school and various other things; then after some time she asked if we wanted to visit her “mama kubwa,” which means “big mother”; in other words, her mother’s older sister. She explained that her aunt just had a baby, so obviously I was all about going to visit. I love babies! (Probably more than most things). So, we walked up a very steep gravel road and across the ridge of this beautiful mountain that overlooked several more valleys and hills sprinkled with homes and a primary school that was bustling with the sounds of children learning. It had just rained and the grey clouds were moving away from us, making room for the clean white ones and a clear blue sky. It was really beautiful and my words will never do it justice (and neither will my camera…mostly because I forgot to take it with me that day).

So, we arrived at mama kubwa’s small house, which was honestly just a single room with a bed and enough room at the foot of it to sit on a stool and cook over a small fire. On the bed, sleeping soundly under a mosquito net was the smallest baby I’ve seen since I came to Tanzania. He could not have been more than a few months old. Suzy, Beth, and I all sat on the bed and passed the peacefully slumbering baby between us. I love holding babies…until I remember how heavy they get in one’s arms after a while!

After some time, we walked back to Suzy’s house and along the way she bought Beth and I both a soda. I am telling you, Tanzanian hospitality never fails. I continue to be amazed and humbled by their generosity, patience, and kindness on a daily basis. Back at Suzy’s we ate lunch and spent some more time simply sitting together. We spoke about birthdays, teaching, living in Tanzania, going to the beach, and many other things. Then, out of nowhere, the generosity continued! Suzy gave Beth and me both a new madela (a type of dress) as a gift, simply because she wanted to do. We hadn’t done anything in the least to deserve it and it was humbling.

Then, we went to visit Suzy’s sister, who owns a duka la dawa (store of medicine) just at the bottom of the hill where Suzy lives. When we arrived, Suzy’s sister was making envelopes out of plain white computer paper which will be used to store and distribute the various medications she has in her shop. Beth and I offered to help and spent about an hour making these envelopes, using a flour and water mixture to paste them together. Suzy’s sister knew a good amount of English and had many questions about visiting and working in America. Suzy and her sister were both patient with our Kiswahili and I learned many new words from them. Including “kuogopa,” which means “to be afraid.” If you haven’t guessed already, this is where the chickens come in! We were sitting outside on the ground and a bunch of chickens, and a GIGANTIC turkey, got really, really close to me. Well, if you know me at all, you know I don’t react well to being in close proximity to birds of any kind. They began to laugh and asked me if I was afraid. “Ndiyo, sana!” was my response (“Yes, very!). Looking back on it now, I probably looked ridiculous but we all had a good laugh.

After an hour of envelope making, Beth and I said our goodbyes. We got in a bajaji (a small cart like means of transportation powered by a motorcycle) and completed the trifecta of Tanzania transportation…dala dala, piki piki, and vijaji. We rode back to the main road and rode a dala dala back to our brown, flat, concrete but lovable neighborhood of Mabibo.

 It was a great day… in spite of the chickens and especially because of the baby! Chickens and babies, that’s what we have in Tanzania…chickens and babies.