Feelin' the Love

So, it’s finally happened…I finally feel like I live in Tanzania. Last night, my host family had a celebration for their nephew who graduated. I have been to a few celebrations in my time here but this is the first time it felt like I was celebrating with family.

All celebrations, regardless of what is being celebrated….graduation, wedding, first communion, etc…follow the same basic format. It usually begins with the entrance of the person (or people) being celebrated and then there are introductions of the most important guests at the party, usually the family members of the one being celebrated. There are speeches from family and friends, the shaking of the champagne and cheers using said champagne, and the feeding of cake to important guests at the party. And of course, in between each of these parts, there is lots and lots of dancing, usually around and around in a circle. There is often always entertainment as well; last night, the entertainment was my young host sister (she’s probably 10 or 11, if I had to guess) and her friend dancing to a popular Tanzanian song. I wish I had half the moves they have! Tanzanians just know how to dance so well; they got rhythm….Gershwin would love them.

I have to talk about being fed cake...it has been on my bucket list since I came to this country to be fed cake at a celebration and now I can check it off! Usually at large parties, not everyone gets the opportunity to be fed cake but because last night was a smaller party, everyone was able to be fed. My other host sister, who is 18, helped cut the cake into small squares. Then the graduate we were celebrating had the job of feeding each person their small square using a toothpick. Cake and the act of feeding it to the guests is a huge part of this culture. All major celebrations have a cake; it’s a big deal. And I don’t mind that one bit!

After all of the planned parts of the celebration, there was, of course, more dancing. I like to dance but by Tanzanian standards I’m not very good! Haha. There is one popular dance here that is much like the line dance we do in the States. So, I figured, “hey, this can’t be too hard. I already know the basic sequence of these steps.” Well, here’s the thing, in this country they step on the first and third beat, instead of the second and fourth, like we are used to at home. I must have looked like a fool. But Tanzanians don’t care if you can’t do it; they are just happy when you try. It is a great feeling and makes trying new things in this context a lot easier. It was so much fun; I really think last night was the best experience I have had so far in this country.

If you told me when I was staying with my host family in December that three months later I would be dancing in their dining room and have my first cake feeding experience there, I probably would have said, “yeah right.” But the thing is, once you’re a part of a community here, you’re a part of it forever, or at least that’s the impression I get. Mama calls all of the Jesuit Volunteers her children and she really does love and care for us as if we were her own. It’s an incredibly humbling feeling to have a woman you have only known for three months tell you that you are part of her family.

Not to mention, their niece is incredible. She was visiting from a place called Mwanza when I had my host stay in the beginning of December. She and I clicked really quickly for whatever reason (probably because her English is great) and I was sad when I left my home stay, thinking that I would not see her again for a while. But in January, we went over to the Nandi’s for dinner and she was the first person I saw! It was the first time I felt like someone was really genuinely happy to see me since I got here. Of course, everyone is friendly and always welcoming, but to have someone be happy that it was specifically you to walk through the door is a really amazing feeling. And the same thing happened last night; the moment we got to the house she was beaming and greeted me with much enthusiasm. Luckily, she is now staying with my host family as she begins university in Dar next month. I cannot wait to develop this friendship and spend more time with my entire Tanzanian family.

There are a lot of challenging parts of being in Tanzania, adjusting to a new culture and way of life is tough. But community and family is not something that has been lacking by any means during my time here. Last night is the most comfortable I have felt so far in this experience; it really was like I was among family. Unconditional hospitality is the norm and is highly valued. I am so incredibly thankful for this aspect of Tanzanian culture.