Meeting the locals

The last few days have been lots of fun. On Sunday morning I came to Arusha with Julie and Annemart (volunteers living in the apartment with me) to use the internet and visit the masai markets. That was a bit disappointing, as the only customers we saw were other mzungus (europeans) and the prices were exhorbitant!!!! they tried to charge me $20 for a cloth bag. I wouldn't pay that at home! I managed to get one for $6. ;-)

In the afternoon Julie and I visited the home of Mama Musa, a nanny who works for Cradle of Love. She was so sweet. She is a muslim, so was unable to eat, drink or prepare food for us as it is Ramadan at the moment. But she had arranged for her son Frank (a christian, so he was not fasting) to cook us a traditional Tanzanian meal of cooked green banana, goat and spinach in a coconut cream at his restaurant down the road from Mama Musa's house. MMMM MMMMMMM!!!! The food and company were delightful (though i felt terribly guilty eating in front of Mama Musa during ramadan- but it would have been impolite to refuse her hospitality).

Following our visit to Mama Musa, we met Edson, the driver who collected me from the airport when I arrived. He had previously invited me to visit his plot of land and the house he was building. Being a skeptic, my first thought was 'he SEEMS a lovely fellow, but what if he kills me?' so I asked if I could bring Julie along (best not to die alone! haha). Of course, I was way off base.

Edy took us to see his lovely brick cottage under construction, with spectacular views of Mt Meru (the second highest mountain in Tanzania) and a gorgeous plot of land on which to plant vegetables when his home is eventually completed. Apparently the land cost $4000. The house will cost about $3000 by the time it's completed - is has 3 bedrooms, a communal bathroom, and ensuite and kitchen/dining area. The area where he was building is extremely dusty and quite rural (at present, there is one well that everyone in the development must collect their water from), but it has a lovely community feel. He then took us to his rental flat and was so hospitible - with donuts and Tanzanian juice - which was brewed from a flower and was bitter but tasty.

This morning was another adventure. Annemart wanted african braids, so we went down the road to a tiny shack called 'Mama Asia's Hair Saloon' with one chair and one mirror, for Annemart's makeover. Annemart wanted zigzag braids like R Kelly - but her hair was too thin so they were a little less sharp at the corners than she wanted them...it was hilarious watching her try to explain to Mama Asia (who could speak very little english) that she wanted the braids sharper and closer together, and watching Mama Asia responding in Swahili that it was very difficult to make zigzags for a mzungu because her hair is too fine!




We took pictures of Mama Asia and her family - they were so excited, and asked if we could bring back a developed copy of the photos for her to put in her salon. We're going to do that this afternoon and take the photos to her tomorrow. I'm in Arusha now, waiting for annemart - so i haven't seen the finished product yet. Fingers crossed she is happy with it!

I'm off now to buy supplies and continue researching my safari trip. Apologies for the epic post!