A New "Normal"

In my last entry I said that life here seems normal. I feel that I should clarify and say that it is a new “normal”... Today on my five minute walk to work I realized that the sights I see would be completely foreign and even shocking to some people back in America.

When I step out of our back gate, I first see our five year old neighbor. She is wearing an old raggedy piece of faded gray cloth that is tied around her neck as she pours water into a small pot, which is resting on three rocks with burning wood below. She is starting to boil water for her breakfast. I say ‘za asubuhi,’ she simply smiles in response, and I continue walking.

Next, I walk about fifteen feet on the dusty dirt road and on my right I see three women dressed in their traditional clothes, two kangas wrapped around their body, one brightly colored cloth on top and one around their waist. They are working hard on their bustani (garden) with a jembe, which looks like a flat, sharp piece of metal attached to a long wooden handle. I wave to them, and greet them saying ‘za asubuhi’ (how is your morning). They reply ‘salama’ (peaceful). I say ‘shikamoo’ (I respect you elders, you have to say this to anyone that is older than you), the women respond ‘marahaba’ (I accept that you respect me) and I continue on my way.

As I walk a little further, I see three little boys who range in age from about three to five years old. They are sitting outside their mud/clay home, which is two houses down from ours on the left. They are all naked, one is sitting in the dirt staring and waving while screaming ‘dada Mary’ (that’s me), the other is squatting and taking a poo right in the front yard, while the third little boy is pushing a goat which is grazing on the grass next to their house. Mind you they are all naked! I just wave, smile, and continue.

As I walk a little further, there is one mama sitting on a wooden tree stump in front of her house making the local pombe (alcohol) out of coconuts that grow above her. We see each other kila siku (every day) on my way to and from work. This morning I greet her with ‘Habari za kazi’ (how is your work), she replies, ‘nzuri’ (good). She is in her 50s so of course I say, ‘shikamo,’ and I get a ‘marahaba’ in response. Side note: One time Moss and I tried her coconut pombe and it was disgusting! It tastes like bottled fizzy B.O., with a touch of coconut flavor. Moss and I actually make our own wine these days and it is amazing. I will have to share that recipe, but I am getting side tracked here. So, after I greet the pombe mama, I continue walking.

At this point I have to walk over a small hill and on the other side I see two watato (kids) waving at me from a distance and yelling ‘dada Mary, dada Mary’ at the top of their lungs. They are adorable and always get so excited to see me. I give them a good, long wave and continue on.

I am almost to work now, but right before I enter the big metal gates of the training institution, I see two wanawake (women) carrying big 20 liter buckets full of maji (water) on their heads. This skill has always impressed me, most of the time they don’t even use their hands to help balance the buckets. I smile at them and continue walking into the gates. I have arrived and I am now sitting in my office typing away.

So that is a typical journey to work, and it is now a regular part of my new “normal” life!

Life These Days

Pole (sorry)! I apologize that I have not blogged in forever… My only excuse is that life is finally starting to feel normal (yaa), and I don’t know that I have anything interesting to say about it. So I will just give you a little update on our life these days.

Moss and I are doing well. We are feeling settled into our house. We got furniture and it’s starting to feel like a home. The local fundi made us bedside tables, a coffee table, and the lovely sofa below.


We have also been working on the garden. I say ‘we,’ but we all know who the true gardener is… We planted squash, beets, onions, various greens, watermelon, muskmelon, herbs, and catnip. The pumpkin plant in our back yard has also taken over, and we have 2 pumpkins growing. We are very excited about that and I look forward to making a yummy pumpkin dish.


So I never thought I would be able to say this, but life really is starting to feel normal, things aren’t so strange and foreign anymore. Our language skills have been improving and we are getting to know the people in our area; they don’t call us ‘muzungu’ (white person) half as much. Most people actually know our names now, and that’s a huge step. In fact on my daily walk home from work, I have about 3 or 4 little kids run up to me with excitement saying ‘dada (sister) Mary, dada Mary.’ They are pretty cute! Since most Swahili words end in vowels, Merritt is too difficult to say, and so everyone in our neighborhood calls me Mary and most people call Moss, Mossy.

Lately I love giving our neighbors zawadi (gifts). I really enjoy how simple little things make people so happy. We gave our mama next door some fruit from our fenesi tree and it made her day. Later we brought her a loaf of bread and her little 5 year old granddaughter did a mkate (bread) dance. Holding the bread in the air and turning in circles- it was adorable.

Moss and I have been busy with work. Moss has been working non-stop on a research project for the marine park. He finds it pretty interesting so that makes his life more enjoyable. It is almost the end of the semester at my school so I have been finishing up my classes and writing exams. Here are my students taking their Health Promotion exam.


Outside of work we have had a lot of visitors. 2 weeks ago we had 8 other volunteers stay out our house for one big slumber party. It was fun to have them all, but it sure was a lot of people. We celebrated Moss and another volunteer’s birthday and spent most of our time on the beach or playing various card and board games. Volunteers love to get out of their small villages and spend time in town because town offers better food, drinks, shopping, electricity, and running water. Moss and I feel pretty fortunate to live in town and have so many resources.

Well I just wanted to say hello and that life is going well here in Mtwara. Moss and I miss everyone a ton and want to say THANK YOU SO MUCH for all the goodies we received from our wish list and beyond.

We will definitely work on blogging more… it would be fun to do a Tanzanian food/cooking picture blog or a Swahili lesson blog. If you have any other ideas or want to know about anything specifically just ask and we can write about it.

XOXOX