Climbing the Figurative Mountain

Quitting the mountain hike was the best decision I made this trip. Omega and I wandered the streets and chatted about our two cultures. Our topics included weather, appropriate etiquette, and worldview based on culture. But after all, above culture, age, and political views, we were two guys so the conversation turned rather quickly to women. :) Omega found the concept of pick-up lines extremely hilarious. His favorite cheesy pick up lines were "I'm going to have to call the police on you, because you just stole my heart" and "if I had a dime for every time I saw someone as beautiful as you, I would have ten cents". Then we stopped at a little restaurant and had a soda.

By the way... I don't know if you know this, but I'm white. I mean I always knew that, but it never really hit me until today. I felt like I was walking through the streets of Morogoro ringing a bell and wearing a sandwich board that said "HEY LOOK AT ME!". It was very unsettling, I don't think I could have handled the streets of Morogoro by myself. Thank God Omega was with me. We had a great conversation and I think I have the strongest connection to him then anyone else here in Tanzania.

That is ironic since I came here expecting to build great friendships with PH and Kim. Kim is extremely competitive and, quite frankly, I do not enjoy her company. She is highly critical of everything I say and is constantly comparing our experience to John's experiences. Now I don't know John (Kim's boyfriend) but I'm sure he's a great guy. I have heard wonderful things about him from Kim, PH, Audry, and other Wartburg Students. He came to Tanzania last year and had a great time. But Kim is ALWAYS saying stuff like, "Well John did this, I want to do that", "John bought something like that, I want to buy that too", or an example from today, "John climbed the mountain, but I love to hike and I'm sure I'll be faster then him". She just needs to experience the beauty that is Tanzania for herself. Its not right to constantly compare yourself to other people, our differences are what makes us special! Kim also has the amazing habit of putting her ever growing foot into her even larger mouth, and she is the first to admit that for some reason. I'm not saying she is offensive to the native people here, she is very culturally sensitive. But she is highly critical of me and the other Americans here. She often will say something rude or offensive to me, then feel bad for saying it, and then instead of apologizing will go through point by point of why what she said wasn't rude. She need to learn to quit while she's ahead. ... I just realized I have spent a lot of time talking about my disappointments with Kim. I guess I just needed to vent. But overall we get along fine, we make a great Swahili team, and we both enjoy scholarly discussion about topics we both enjoy.

As for PH, well he is an extraordinary man. He is very kind and friendly and extremely knowledgeable. He is unlike any person I have ever met before. But he is very busy and I don't foresee any sort of non-professor-student friendship coming out of this. But that fine, it just happens to leave me high and dry without an American confidant.

But back to the story, Omega and I had a great time. I really enjoyed our conversations. I don't think I've ever talked to an American I didn't know very well the way Omega and I talked. Its nice to find someone who is genuinely interested in your opinion and when I ask him questions he is genuine in his answers as well. So often in American our conversations consist of one person speaking and the next person just waiting to speak next.

Once we decided we were going to head back, we walked to the taxi station. Then, we changed our minds and decided a dala-dala would be more fun and culturally interesting. These dala-dalas (also mentioned in my 3rd blog entry) were just crammed with people. After my row filled up the dala-dala guy started loading cargo into the isle, then people sat on it, then people sat on other people. Overall, in a large van built to comfortably hold 10 people,there was about 20. Next to me was a one armed man who knew a little English and asked me about Barack Obama. And across from me/ontop of me was a mother and her little girl. I was able to ask the little girl how she was doing and what her name was, but she was too shy. But after Omega bought her a lollipop she started to open up and talk. Unfortunately, I couldn't understand her... she had a lollipop in her mouth.

After we got back, I showered, read, studied Swahili, and spent some alone time. It was great because normally you are just surrounded by people here. I am very happy Omega and I turned around on the mountain. The girls who went on the full hike came back cranky, sore, and sunburnt. Later that night, we watched the Lion King. It was really fun watching it with Africans because they could tell us if any of the words meant anything (i.e. simba = lion, rafiki= friend, etc.). Overall, it was a very good day.