Tanzania - more than friendly

By Melissa Mattwig

East African culture, and in particular Tanzania, is more than just friendly—it’s about community. When I’m walking through the streets by my host family’s house after being here for almost 8 months, I see the same people every day who always ask how I’m doing. And if you don’t see someone you

A fruit and vegetable market in Moshi, Tanzania

Some goat meat cooking around a fire.

A typical dinner at my host family’s house (rice, tomato vegetable sauce called mchuzi, vegetables, fish and chapatti; which isn’t pictured but looks like a thick pancake).

A view of Mt. Meru from a street near my house in Usa River, Tanzania

normally see for a while, the translation from Swahili is “You’ve been lost”, as if you were lost from a part of the community. Even raising kids is a community effort—if kids don’t properly greet their elders, whether they know them personally or not, they are quickly educated even by strangers. When I stop people in the street to ask for help, absolutely no one bats an eye and I always get where I’m trying to go. As I’m nearing the end of my time, I’m starting to realize how incredible some of the people are whom I’ve met here, and how I will never get tired of eating rice and beans. From the absolute warmth my host family has shown me, their willingness to take me in as what quite literally feels like one of their own, to my friends who call me everyday just to ask how I’m doing. The pace of life here is much slower, and one of the weirdest things I’ve experienced is that now I can sit for a couple hours with a couple people and nothing to do and feel absolutely not in a rush to do anything else. I’m also a lot later to things these days. I do think, however, one of the greatest things I’ve experienced is how much just knowing the language of the country, Swahili, and how much more I’ve been able to experience of the culture and learn from others by being able to talk to Tanzanians in a language much more natural to them.

In Swahili: Kitu nitakachobeba kwenye kumbukumbu zangu kwa maisha yangu yote ni wazee wanavyotabasamu nikwasalimia kwa Kiswahili. Mara kwa mara nikitembea barabarani, watu hawajui kabisa kwamba ninaongea Kiswahili, na pia, wazee wengi hawajui kiingereza. Kwa hiyo, wakiniona hawasemi chochote ila labda “hello” ama “good morning”. Lakini nikiwasalimia kwa Kiswahili, ni kama nimewapa zawadi. Halafu kitu kingine wanapenda sana kunipa hadithi zao za maisha, na mimi ninapenda sana kusikiliza zoefu zao. Halafu sisi sote tunapata fursa kubadilishana mawazo na uzoefu, labda wananikaribisha nyumbani siku nyingine. Inanifurahisha kwamba kila kitu kimetokea kwa ajili ya Kiswahili.