The past two days have been a flurry of cultural initiation. A traditional African Ngoma dance group came Saturday morning. They began by going through the history of the group members, a few of their main rythms, and a couple of dances coming from some of the main tribes. There are 123 tribes in Tanzania known to this group… they practice song and dance from more than 50 of them!

After their history, it was our turn to try it out. We would perform a dance of theirs, and one of ours for the village in the evening. We practiced 3 patterns of a 16 pattern dance, intended to tell a story. Each dance has a special meaning and time to be used. Some, like this one, are danced to send a message to the community. In the afternoon we prepared our own dance, a variation on the electric slide.

Members of Imbaseni village, where the UAACC is located, began to arrive in the late afternoon. Many children came, more than 50! The Ngoma group warmed up on stage. Then we donned traditional dance dress, and performed the dance we’d practiced with them! Our own dance came next. The evening finished with the Ngoma’s performances.

Sunday morning brought us a real treat. After breakfast, we split into small groups and were paired with a member of the village to visit their homes. Phewwwww. I grouped up with Dieu Tran and Krista Moyer. Our host was Mwana Idi, a muslim woman. The first part of our visit was very awkard – Mwana speaks almost no English, and we speak very little Kiswahili. She has a husband and two children, but they were away at a grandmother’s house. It was the three of us, Mwana, and very little communication.

She took us back to her home, and began to prepare tea and eggs for us. The dwelling was simple. It was divided in two halves, one half belonging to her. She showed me a radio and turned it on. There was enough room for a bed, a kerosene stove, a few buckets of water and supplies, and the four of us to sit.

After a few more minutes of awkwardness her neighbors started showing up. Two of her neighbors showed up and luckily knew some English! The lines of communication opened up. We each began asking questions about the other, apologizing for our for the awkwardness, and sharing much thanks. The eggs were some of the best I’ve had, and the tea was swell as well.

After eating, our translator’s invited us and our host to visit their house. We accepted of course – but they had to ask their father first. One ran off to do so. The other translated some more for us, and told us a bit about herself. Then she helped us with our Kiswahili. She rattled off quickly maybe 100 words, naming items in Mwana’s house, parts of the body, phrases we were curious about etc.

When our other translator returned we went to their home. There were four daughters: Monica(first translator) 10 years old, Jane(second translator) 9, and twins Hosiana and Josephin, about 6. Their father went by Mr. William Lukuta and spoke very good english. He invited us into their home, where we again shared about ourselves! He had a two year degree in human childhood development from a university in Dar es Salam and works with kids of kindergarten age. He has been looking for a university to continue his studies, and we told him a bit about Penn State. The family then sang a song they had written for church, and the father departed to ref a football match.

It amazed me that he left us as he did, in his home with his children, in their charge. And not before inviting us back! “No need to make an appointment,” he said.

We left their home soon after, with Mwana, Monica, and Jane; Mr. Lukuta’s twins were told to stay home. They took us to a small local market. The children bought us bubble gum, and I bought 150 grams of the tea Mwana had served us for about 65 cents. I paid for it with a dollar bill, which caused quite a stir in the small remote market. A small crowd gathered, and I thought i’d gotten myself in a little trouble. However, many of the people simply wanted to see the dollar bill, and our host fended off the rest.

On the way back to the UAACC, Mwana and the children took us past the chicken farm where Mwana’s husband works. A short distance outside the market we ran into the twins! Aparently they had followed usfrom a distance. It was so cute, but realizing they’d been found out, they sulked back towards home.

The children then took interest in my camera, and I taught them how to use it. They explained a little about everything the photographed. Here are a few of the pictures they took.

Coffee and Potatoes:

Maize:

A Tree:

The Chicken Farm:

When we got back to the UAACC a passerby took a group photo for us. It came out a little dark, I’ll lighten it when I get back.

Our cultural immersion continued the rest of the afternoon. Lunch was solely east african traditional food – and was delicious. After lunch Mama Charlotte gave us a presentation on how the food was prepared, and some clothing tutorials. Here are Janelle, Shona, and Jenny:

Later on we had a crash course in Masai beadwork. Three Masai came to teach us – I was again astounded by the beauty and energy of these people.

Their beads, like the songs earlier, each had a special meaning. Here is what the colors stand for(and when they are used).

• Black: The Masai, Engai(Masai God), people and culture (prayer, meetings).
• White: Milk, food, daily life (happiness, parting).
• Red: Blood, strength, warriors(arpul, esots, warriors at work)
• Green: Health, grass during rainy season(grazing in rainy season).
• Sky Blue: Water, rain, sky(women at work).
• Yellow: Environment, grass during dry season(grazing, collecting firewood).
• Dark Blue: Blessings, children(after birth, protecting children from evil eyes).
• Orange: Engali light(sunset, after grazing).

More too come in this post, especially photos! But I’ve typed too much at once already. Tomorrow morning we leave on Safari. Hiya. Kwaheri