Christmas in Moshi, New Years in Dar

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On December 21^st I headed down a real shady road to Moshi, Tanzania, home of Africa’s highest peak, Mt. Kilimanjaro. It was a beauty drive, everything was extremely green, nice mountains and hills all around, the bus was pretty comfy, and I think we had 2 pee breaks during the 10 hour drive which was one more than what I had expected. I had the same number of breaks for my first ride to Shy that took 13 hours, so I was pretty happy with the improvement. My second ride back to Shy from Dar we had 3 in 16 hours but one isn’t totally legit because we gotta flat tire. Needless to say, travelling by bus might be the most common way for people to get from one place in the country to the other, but it’s a pretty hairy ride overall filled with questionable roads, bad drivers, and one that you can make even worse depending on how much you drink, eat, or how much/what you drank and ate the night before. But no worries, eh - unless you’re one of those sweethearts.

So anyways, once we got dropped off by the bus in Moshi, we got a ride out to a place called Sanya Juu – kinda like a Corkery like area, very country like and the place I stayed at was like a semi village. It was no Nhobola, but the family I had the absolute pleasure of staying with has no fridge, stove, oven, microwave, cooks all their meals outside on charcoal in a room with no ventilation, squatter toilets outside the home, bucket shower, has to boil their drinking water, and the family grows or raises most of the food they eat. And let me tell ya, I wouldn’t want to have spent Christmas anywhere else. Once again, folks from Tanzania showed me just how welcoming they are to a stranger. I had an absolute blast.

I thought about doin a safari while I was in Moshi, but I chose instead to just chill out with the fam and have a good time havin a few pops and bottles a wine. I’ll be back in Tanzania to tour around anyways, so I figured instead of seein a bunch of animals that I can’t talk to, might as well party with some that I can kinda communicate with. We did the ol family stuff, got to meet a ton of relatives, saw the town a few times, and partied hard the last night we had before we hit Dar. I drank Banana Beer too, home grown brew right outta the ground. It was awful, but real potant. Two sips and I was swirlly. And being allergic to bananas, I paid the price for the next few days, but it was worth the shot.

Again, Christmas itself was great just because I was able to spend it with a beauty family. But it was a little sad in a way because Christmas back home is so different than it is here. These folks don’t have much. A tree was put up, but no presents were under it – a strange site for a Canadian to see. No one said anything about it, but to me it was just another example of how hard things are here. Imagine seeing all the Christmas commercials, listening to those songs talkin about gifts, turkeys, meat pies, potatoes, World Juniors, Spangler Cups, plum pudding, Christmas sweaters, snow (definitely missed that), Nog, and not having them during Christmas.

For New Years, I headed to Dar to say some goodbyes. New Years Eve was no big party, but for the time I was there I was pretty much partying in a few different parts all around Dar every day. It was great to see everyone again – the people here were the first to take me in when I first came to Tanzania. Many of whom I hadn’t seen since July so I’m happy I got the chance to party with them before I headed back home. Currently I’m back in Shinyanga and just like when I was in India, I missed it and am glad to be back.

Its kinda bizarre how there is absolutely nothing here to see or do, but every time I go, I miss the place and the people. I miss home a lot and am excited to hearder back, especially to hit the outdoor rinks which I hear are about ready to roll, but shes gonna be a tough ‘taker easy’ when I gotta take off on the 17^th.

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Photos

Mt. Kili
This is a shot from a neighbours front yard. The place I was staying at, you can see it from the backyard on a clear day. Beauty.

Not Enough Eye Brows...
But this was his first burger, and is now his favourite food and now he knows how to makem.

For the Ol'man
He requested pizza, and the kid delivered. Again, I think it was the families first time eating it, and they all loved it.

Your Boy
This kids a beauty who at the age of 14 has already lived an extremely hard life. God bless'em.

Cookin Mama
She didn't really speak English and always used Mzungu in every sentence when she looked at me so I could tell she was a beauty and had a great sense of humour as soon as I saw her.

Mishkakhi
Home grown baby, and absolutely delish.

Banana Brew
Awful stuff.

The Fam
After Shy, my next fav spot. The fam's beauty, gonna miss 'em.

A Little Over the Top
There was actually two buses that flipped over, each trying to pass each other, happens all the time.

The Game Grows
No surprise, all the Leaf sweaters sold out real fast.

Haha
Our driver in Dar. Also an inspiring tailor.

A Wild Ride
Went like 80 km through traffic with this guy on his bike for 10 minutes, unreal ride.

Cute Kid
An extremely hard working. Basically picture all the stuff your mom does at home and thats what this lil girl does, and more. The amount of work women do in Tanzania to run the home is incredible.

Comments

[Pat]

Hi Matt,
Great blog. Shy sure gets under your skin, doesn't it? Enjoyed my time there and am looking forward to returning soon.