Mzungu musings

Everywhere I go I am followed by shouts and utterances of “mzungu”. This Swahili word can be loosely translated as “white person”. While it is not meant to be derogatory, it is still something that I have not yet gotten used to. I often want to turn around and say, “yes, I’m white, thanks for noticing”, but always end up keeping those comments to myself. Being a mzungu in Tanzania can be both a blessing and a curse. It can get cars or trucks to stop and give you rides when needed, but then they expect you to be able to pay a good amount of money for their help. Traveling with one of the field assistants helps this “money problem”, as negotiations can be made to lower the price. I experienced this first hand just the other day on the way here to Kigoma.

One of the field assistants and I began our journey at 8:30am on Sunday morning. We walked for about an hour to get from camp to the main road that links the towns of Uvinza and Mpanda. There we sat by the “bus stop” (buses don’t have scheduled times or places to stop on these roads) and waited for the bus, or a car or truck, to pass by and give us a lift. And we waited and waited and waited. By 5pm we were about to give up, when a truck (transporting cases of beer bottles!) passed by and gave us a lift to Uvinza. After stopping to fix two flat tires, we arrived after dark, quickly ate dinner, and then went to bed.

The next morning began at 5am to walk to the center of town to catch the bus to Kigoma. By the time we got there the bus was already packed, so we ended up taking a car instead. At first this seemed to be the better option, but after some time the car became just as packed and uncomfortable. We made our way to the town of Kasulu, where we got out and waited for a daladala to Kigoma. This daladala ended up getting a flat tire and then completely stalling. So we waited again. And waited. And finally caught another daladala to take us to Kigoma.

It has been difficult, but I am slowly learning that waiting for things is just how things work here; people are very laid back—things will happen when they happen. Hopefully next month, the trip to Kigoma will go a bit more smoothly...or I will just be used to waiting by then!