FIRST IMPRESSIONS I
MY TANZANIAN “FAMILY”
In a sense this is a trip like any other, with unfamiliar but friendly faces, different but delicious food, and a strange but simply constructed language, or so I thought until a vast array of different noun classes was encountered. But this trip is unique in its length, its avowed purpose, and its accoutrement: the other twenty-three trainees with whom I spend perhaps fifty hours weekly plus three or four current Volunteers whose presence in Arusha is so frequent that I wonder about the work they are allegedly doing; a training staff of about fifteen and an uncounted number of occasional guests including the local Regional Commissioner, who is something like a governor at home, and the current US Ambassador; and “my family,” which includes about a half-dozen quasi-residents and a seeming infinity of transient members, other relatives, and guests.
That I was still in Seattle three weeks ago is no less incredible to me than is the fact of my being in Tanzania as a temporary member of a merchant family residing in downtown Arusha, the gateway to what are arguably East Africa's finest scenic and game areas. On the edge of downtown and a prominent sight as I walk to and from work–27 minutes when I'm serious about Kiswahili, much longer when I'm not–is Mount Meru, 4566 m high and still the home of numerous bird species and quite a few animals; an armed park ranger is a required companion when hiking on the mountain. Kilimanjaro, a short distance east, was clearly visible on our drive south from Nairobi. I also saw the top of Mt. Kenya rising above the clouds as we approached the airport that morning; it seemed a fitting conclusion to my enjoyment of the involuntary upgrade to business class that I received in London, which I attribute entirely to my having worn a tie. During the past several years of frequent travel, I have occasionally awakened in the morning uncertain of my location; that is an even stronger and almost continuous sensation here.
Before concluding this first summary of my activities with a description of a typical workday here, I wish to make a few general comments. Undoubtedly the best part of my existence is the life I share with my family. Their home is a two-story affair surrounding an open compound just behind their two grocery stores on Arusha's main street; the ground floor contains the common rooms and my essentially detached bedroom. I have not seen the upstairs where all the others sleep. The house is served by 220-V electric ity and running water, although the latter is unheated and the supply is quite intermittent, whether by intent or not I don't know. We have separate toilet–the typical floor-level choo–and shower rooms; since it's winter here and a bit too cold to use the unheated running water, I'm given a bucket of hot water.
On July 13 I will learn the location of my school, and during the last ten days of the month I will visit it to observe its operation. Although I do have copies of the syllabi for all six forms, which correspond to American grades, of the science and math courses, and they unhappily do follow an old and desiccated British format as I expected, it will not be until the actual visit that I can decide if there is a worthwhile role for me here. August will be spent finishing the study of Kiswahili and doing some practice teaching, which will be a first for me. None of the other prospective physics teachers has even taught the subject before, however, so I guess I still retain both seniority and tenure. We will spend the first week of September in Dar es Salaam, where we are to be sworn in as Peace Corps Volunteers by the Ambassador, and then we leave for our individual assignments.
My alarm has been set for 5:20 each morning, but I am usually awake before then since the family retires quite early. There is a rooster next door and an active mosque across the street that help get me up; the rooster's timing is erratic, but the call to morning prayer has been a consistent 5:30 event so far. My breakfast of coffee and milk–provided in a thermos–bread and jam or occasionally a reheated chapati left from the previous night's dinner, a few cookies, sometimes fruit, and about half the time two soft-boiled eggs, is ready about 6:45. Mama says grace over my food, and I think and hope that she includes a request for assistance with the day's Kiswahili lesson. I dine alone and then walk to Peace Corps House for the day's work.
From 7:30 until 12:30 we study Kiswahili in groups of four, each with a Tanzanian instructor. The objective is for each group of four trainees to be of similar abilities and to change instructor every week; the concept is good, but it will probably take another week at least to achieve proper matches. My personal problem is that I grasp the structure as quickly as anyone and still memorize quite readily but struggle a bit to understand the questions asked of me; responding and reading are quite easy. I probably will stay with a slower group to facilitate hearing and speaking basic elements of the language and will rely on individual study of a textbook for other details. My learning to speak will be greatly aided by the family, since Bwana Peter, my host, has decided to use his English infrequently with me, and Mama professes not to speak any English at all, a claim I somehow doubt.
Lunch requires only a few minutes; so we typically have an hour to rest, play volleyball at the nearby Greek Club, walk, or whatever. The period from 2:00 to 4:30 is reserved for a variety of activities and discussions on medical, historical, and cultural topics; this time has not been very well used so far, but it should get better when we begin to prepare for our specific teaching assignments. I usually return home after this session to relax and study a little before bathing and joining the family for dinner. The food is for the most part very easy to like, and there is a vast amount of it. We have a lot of fresh fruit and vegetables as well as traditional cooked forms of rice, casava, bananas, beans, maize, etc. There is some meat but not too much. I rather suspect that Mama is choosing foods she thinks I will like, but she is serving traditional preparations. Fortunately I'm active enough not to be putting on any weight; also my alcohol consumption is limited to an occasional beer.
After dinner the family sings a hymn, reads some scripture and a prayer, recites the Lord's Prayer together, sings another hymn or two, and soon after retires; I usually join in the devotions since at least half the hymns are familiar to me from childhood, and especially Peter seems to appreciate my participation. Their faith is sincere–it seems to me to be Evangelical Lutheran–but unlike several other host families, they leave their guest completely free to share or not. After we sang a hymn the other night–Shall We Gather at the River?–that Dad often used in his services, Peter introduced a discussion, more a monologue actually, on the possible reality of such a river, and whether such a gathering would actually occur; I chose not to participate. As I wrote above, the friendship of this family is the most significant part of my experience here so far.
It is now a little past 1:00 on a fine sunny Sunday afternoon, the computer seems to work normally, and the spare battery appears to be recharging properly on Arusha's power, so I intend to take a walk. It is difficult to find time free from classes when the post office is also open, but I think Wednesday, July 8 is my next opportunity. Who knows when you might see what I've written? Anyway, I am staying extremely well, quite happy, and looking forward to the possibility of soon beginning the work I came to do.
With warmest personal best wishes to each of you,
W. Vance Johnson
06 Jul 92
P. S. The walk lasted about four hours and was superb. I went into the farmland at the base of Mt. Meru and thoroughly enjoyed its fields of bananas, coffee, and various ground crops; for the first time I feel I'm in East Africa.