Three weekends ago we were invited with some friends to come to Moshi which is about an 1.5 hours away from Arusha on the bus, and also the home of Kilimanjaro. The bus ride is only 2,500 Tsh, which is a less than $1.50. I am really going to miss Africa prices once I come home. It was the same type of bus that I had taken on my previous trip to Moshi and apparently I hadn’t learned my lesson because I sat in the back row of the bus AGAIN. It was the only three seats left by one another but lucky my shoes did not melt to the floor this time. YAY for that. It was cloudy out and once again we were not able to see Kili.
We finally got there and took a dala dala from the bus stand out the the university. Moshi has a very large university for African stanards (2,500 students) and it is where Kelvin attends college for Wildlife and Tourism. Moshi is a lot prettier/cleaner/and safer than Arusha and if I were to even come back I would love to stay here. Plus... it has Mt. Kilimanjaro!
The college was having a back to school even that night and it was a good time. Except for when I ran my foot in to a short cement stair that I did not see in the dark and slit my toe open. I then washed it out in a tap coming from the ground. If I haven’t caught a disease in Africa yet... it surely isn’t going to happen.
The next day we caught an early bus back to Arusha so we could attend a traditional Massai wedding for the cousin of Kelvin. By the time we finally got to the wedding the “ceremony” had already taken place and the bride had left to go to her husband’s tribe, but the party was still going. At these events the women stay on one side of the village and the men on the other. We were not aware of this and followed Kelvin once we had gotten there to the men’s side. We got A LOT of attention. We were brought stools to sit on and given soda. We were getting plenty of stares and contemplated going over to the women’s side by ourselves but Kelvin assured us that it was okay. One older man came up to me and proposed in Swahili. Of course I said yes.
Even though we had just eaten lunch at the TVE house we could not say no when they offered us food or “Chokula.” We ate this maize (corn) mized with banana and then rice with “meat.” We were given water to rinse our hands and then Amanda and I looked at each other and started digging in with our fingers. This is the common way of eating in Africa and we have done it many times before so we were fine with getting messy. In less than two minutes we were supplied with spoons. Apparently, Mzungus cannot eat with their fingers :)
We were then given a delicacy to the Massai tribe and most of Tanzania that is a mixture of maize, banana and milk. It is boiled and then poured into a bucket. Before it is poured, the bucket is stirred up. It was a soupy/chunky mixture and you drank it. I had a little... I would not like to have a little ever again. Plus I was worried about what the milk was doing to my body, we never get dairy in Africa and I didn’t want it to upset my stomach while I was out in the middle of no where.
We took some photos with Kelvin’s family and then we got into the car and drove through the dust dessert to a small village where Kelvin’s father was born and where he went and lived with his aunt for a year when he was younger. It was a cluster of five Massai houses and lots of land around that the family owned. We were warmly welcomed and it was a truly amazing experience. The people were lovely. the children were happy, and the scenery was to die for. I really don’t think I will ever see another continent as beautiful as Africa. Not from the lack of travel but because I honestly think nothing can beat it.
The next day four of us went to Njiro complex for dinner and a movie. It was a much needed distraction from Arusha and the dust and the chaos. It was nice to sit down and have steak fajitas, and see a movie. We ended up seeing Transformers 2 which was the only movie other than Cars 2 and something Indian.
Kelvin and Mark picked us up from Njiro and we thought they were taking us home but once the car turned away from home we asked where we were going. They told us that they didn’t know and were very secretive for the whole drive. We pulled into a drive way with a bunch of cars and once we got out they told us that it was their nephew’s (Mark’s sister’s son’s) third birthday and that we were at the birthday party. We walked in and there were about 60 adults and children all hanging around who immediately turned to stare at the four Mzungu girls who were walking in. The children immediately ran up to us and we scooped them up. We were given great Tanzanian food and had a great time. It seems that we always get to do really cool things when we are with Kelvin and Mark. A taste of real hands on culture. Love Africa. <3
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