These are the three essentials for getting through homestay. For eight nights we stayed in Matula with the Safwa people. It is near the town of Mbeya right at the border with Zambia. It was absolutely beautiful. From my house I saw down in to a valley and looked out on to mountains. I saw a sunrise and sunset everyday.
I suppose you'd like to know a bit about my family. My Baba's name is Isaka. Mama's name is Upendo, but everyone calls her Mama Elebia (the name of her first child). They are both 45 and were married (not arranged) at 19. They have five kids and one grandchild. Elebia is the oldest and she is 25. She has one son Falasi who is five. They were around most of the time. Deudi is 19. He is in Zambia so we didn't meet him. Anastasia is 15 and she helped around the house with everything. Kajuna is 7. He went to school during the day. Karebo is the youngest at 4 years old. He and Falasi played all the time and are so stinkin cute! We always had other random kids at our house too. It took a while for them to not be scared of us wazungu (white people).
The first two days we planted beans which resulted in five blisters on my right hand. At times we also helped in the kitchen which was a small room with a fire and poor ventilation. One day we went to fetch water with Mama. It was about a 20 minute walk involving a steep hill down to the river. We carried a bucket each up the hill. Boy was it rough. Mama naturally had a five gallon bucket on her head with ease. When we got to the top I tried to carry it on my head. It was hard and I don't think she trusted me. We carried it in our hands...for only small periods of time so we didn't get tired. Mama would take it from our hands and carry it. She's superwoman I'm sure.
We did a lot of sitting around and talking. This is where a dictionary is suddenly your bible. Two days we played soccer (wazungu vs. Tanzanians). We went to choir practice twice. Wherever you are, when you see someone, you greet them. To make it more complicated, they greet in their tribal language of Kisafwa. You say "Mwagona" and respond with "Ewane." They also often speak Kisafwa to each other so you don't know what they're saying. They're usually talking about you. If you have low self-esteem, do not go on homestay. They're super nice, but you will be laughed at frequently.
Let's talk food. For breakfast we'd either have boiled potatoes or mandazis and bananas. Mandazis are these donut type things. They are so yummy and bad for you! Breakfast also came with chai which was delicious. Our Mama made it by throwing avocado leaves in the boiling water. Then adding tons of sugar. It was the best part of the day. Every lunch and dinner we had ugali except for having cooking bananas once and rice twice. Ugali is this dense doughy stuff made from water and corn flour only. It is very bland and filling. You roll it in a ball in your hands to eat. We either ate greens, beans or chicken with it. The greens are most often which I wasn't particularly fond of but it grew on me. We once had eggs with ugali which wasn't too bad. Let's just say meals were...predictable.
The first two days were pretty rough. I was on the verge of tears, but not sure why. I think I was uncomfortable mostly. I clung on to 2 Corinthians 12. As we got more comfortable with each other each day it got better. The time we sung together in the house brought us together. I realized I had a wonderful family. The home was full of joy and love. I learned so much. I have tons more stories and wisdom to share when I return.
After our time was over, we headed to Lake Malawi where we'd spend three nights. It was cloudy or rained pretty much the whole time which was unfortunate for being on a beach. I still had a great time relaxing.
The first day, we postponed the canoe trip because of weather. The second morning it was raining when I woke up and there were massive waves. When breakfast came it was no longer raining. We watched the water while we ate. It calmed a bit. Eli then decided we were going to do the canoe trip. It was still cloudy. It was optional but decided to go. About 3/4 of our group went. Let's just say nobody should have gone out.
Before my canoe got pushed out a wave crashed in and got me soaked. The trip was pretty long. It was very choppy weather. A majority of our group either got sick or at least felt nauseous. As we got close, it began to rain. Everyone came in cold and wet.
We then watched pottery be made and then could purchase. Right after Eli said we had to get back before the weather got worse. It had been raining hard the whole time. I was in the smallest canoe with three other girls. For about 2/3 of the trip back we were pounded by rain while rocking in the waves. There were many time I was sure we were going to tip right over. I felt like we were on some survival show or should be filmed for a movie. We sang hymns in the storm for comfort.
When we had gotten closer to shore we had to wait a bit to figure out how our boat and another (we were the last two) should come in. The waves were not good to ride in on. I ended up moving to another canoe. A few from our boats and previous boats had to jump in and swim in. This water was not particularly safe for swimming back. Eventually my boat kinda crashed in. We had to get out quickly so waves wouldn't take us away. We then had to walk the beach back to the resort. When I got there all wet and cold, Hannah (who had not gone) handed me a warm cup of chai which was wonderful.
So these were just a few of my adventures in the past two weeks. This is my last post in TZ! I may be able to write in Kenya so we'll see. Here's a glimpse of my last two weeks... Wed. the 11th we head to the tea plantation in Mufundi for two nights. Next weekend we will spend cleaning up. Manday the 16th we will head to Dar. The 17th we'll spend on a little island. The 18th we head to Nairobi! I will be back home the 27th! I miss you al!
