mzungu
mzungu: a swahili word meaning white person or foreigner. aunt teresa informed me that it is rooted from a word that means to wander aimlessly like a crazy person.
i don't feel like i'm wandering aimlessly. i feel like i'm here for a reason and i have something to offer. i offer care and love to children. i offer an open mind that wants to learn more about this country and culture. i offer 5 weeks of unpaid human labor. i offer friendship. somehow, everyone here thinks that all i have to offer is money.
when we go to downtown Arusha we take the public transportation, or daladala. as we walk toward downtown men come up to us and start talking to us, whether or not they know much english. a majority of them are safari guides. i think they want our business. they never talk to us for long. along the way we pass people on the ground begging who yell at us if we pass by without giving them someething. once downtown hoards of street vendors follow us try to sell us bracelets, batiks, paintings, etc. that are outrageously over priced. children will come up and say hello and then ask for pens or food or money. yesterday a homeless boy about 14 came up, said hello, asked me how i was, and held my hand. he then asked me if i would give him the food in the grocery bag i was carrying. when i told him it was my friend's food and not mine (kendra had asked me to carry her bag for her) he just left without saying goodbye. we pass the homeless people and vendors on the way out of town again.
last week the artist next door to our home base who i bought an oil painting from and who hangs out with a lot of the other volunteers at the cafe/bar in the same building said that he wants to go to college, but has to save up money by being an artist and wait to be sponsored as well. when i told him i grew up near stanford and that my dad still lives right by there he asked me if dad would pay for him to go to stanford. i said no. then he told me he would take me and my friends on a hike over to the lake on the other side of town or up Mt. Meru. i'm pretty sure he'd ask us to give him money for that too.
last week i was speaking with the volunteer coordinator at our home base. i told her i was frustrated because i bought a phone card to use on our landline, but the landline hasn't been working properly since we got here. she told me that's the reason why they had suggested that volunteers buy a cell phone in Tanzania to use while we're here. she told me they were only about $50. when i told her that i didn't have $50 to spend on a cell phone, she just sort of stared at me blankly in a very surprised way.
in tengeru today a group 8 of very cute young girls (ages 4-12) said hello, how are you, what is your name, etc. they then asked for pens and money. i told them i didn't have any (we use internet on a tab system, so i never carry money into tengeru town) they just stared at me blankly. i walked away and said goodbye. mind you, the girls and i were smiling the whole time. it was a friendly interaction.
it's so strange to have people here bluntly ask you for money. i feel like they think the only thing i can offer them is money. also, i think many people don't understand that even though the average income and the amount of money that americans have is significantly more than tanzanians, the cost of living in america is significantly higher. i think when people here look at me they believe i'm here because i just happened to have an extra $2,000 or so lying around and thought: hey, why not spend it on a plane ticket to africa. sounds like fun. and while i'm there how bout spending the other $10,000 that's in my bank account. i am not Will in You Shall Know Our Velocity.
i know that sounds bitter and very harsh. but it's very difficult when you want to meet people and make friends and all they want from you is money. when they find out you don't have what they want or that you're not going to give them that one thing they want, they tend to no longer care about being your friend.
i don't feel like i'm wandering aimlessly. i feel like i'm here for a reason and i have something to offer. i offer care and love to children. i offer an open mind that wants to learn more about this country and culture. i offer 5 weeks of unpaid human labor. i offer friendship. somehow, everyone here thinks that all i have to offer is money.
when we go to downtown Arusha we take the public transportation, or daladala. as we walk toward downtown men come up to us and start talking to us, whether or not they know much english. a majority of them are safari guides. i think they want our business. they never talk to us for long. along the way we pass people on the ground begging who yell at us if we pass by without giving them someething. once downtown hoards of street vendors follow us try to sell us bracelets, batiks, paintings, etc. that are outrageously over priced. children will come up and say hello and then ask for pens or food or money. yesterday a homeless boy about 14 came up, said hello, asked me how i was, and held my hand. he then asked me if i would give him the food in the grocery bag i was carrying. when i told him it was my friend's food and not mine (kendra had asked me to carry her bag for her) he just left without saying goodbye. we pass the homeless people and vendors on the way out of town again.
last week the artist next door to our home base who i bought an oil painting from and who hangs out with a lot of the other volunteers at the cafe/bar in the same building said that he wants to go to college, but has to save up money by being an artist and wait to be sponsored as well. when i told him i grew up near stanford and that my dad still lives right by there he asked me if dad would pay for him to go to stanford. i said no. then he told me he would take me and my friends on a hike over to the lake on the other side of town or up Mt. Meru. i'm pretty sure he'd ask us to give him money for that too.
last week i was speaking with the volunteer coordinator at our home base. i told her i was frustrated because i bought a phone card to use on our landline, but the landline hasn't been working properly since we got here. she told me that's the reason why they had suggested that volunteers buy a cell phone in Tanzania to use while we're here. she told me they were only about $50. when i told her that i didn't have $50 to spend on a cell phone, she just sort of stared at me blankly in a very surprised way.
in tengeru today a group 8 of very cute young girls (ages 4-12) said hello, how are you, what is your name, etc. they then asked for pens and money. i told them i didn't have any (we use internet on a tab system, so i never carry money into tengeru town) they just stared at me blankly. i walked away and said goodbye. mind you, the girls and i were smiling the whole time. it was a friendly interaction.
it's so strange to have people here bluntly ask you for money. i feel like they think the only thing i can offer them is money. also, i think many people don't understand that even though the average income and the amount of money that americans have is significantly more than tanzanians, the cost of living in america is significantly higher. i think when people here look at me they believe i'm here because i just happened to have an extra $2,000 or so lying around and thought: hey, why not spend it on a plane ticket to africa. sounds like fun. and while i'm there how bout spending the other $10,000 that's in my bank account. i am not Will in You Shall Know Our Velocity.
i know that sounds bitter and very harsh. but it's very difficult when you want to meet people and make friends and all they want from you is money. when they find out you don't have what they want or that you're not going to give them that one thing they want, they tend to no longer care about being your friend.