A New Year...

01/01/10 –

So the start of the New Year is upon us and it seems that nothing has changed. Like the U.K., Tanzania has New Years day is a public holiday. The Professor has told me that to some families, New Years is a bigger deal than Christmas. Initially I was somewhat surprised by this, but after considering the religious demographic of the country it became clear why it was the case. It is a universal celebration; well as far as the Roman calendar goes!

I had a very relaxing morning of listening to the occasional spits of rain on my roof, and passing the time by reading Plato’s The Republic. It is a very tough book to read, not for the faint of heart. I’ve been plugging away and have read maybe 20 pages!

A meeting was scheduled with Hon. Kagasheki for 4 o’clock, and that was my only appointment for the day. We were meeting to discuss my payment, my travel and living arrangements when I get to Dar, and a more detailed discussion regarding the work that I will be doing.

Arriving at his house at 4, we had to wait for just over an hour before he turned up. He had got caught by a voter with a problem and a three and a half hour meeting. To pass the time the Professor gave me a lesson in agriculture where he made me guess what food was growing where. It turns out that I have no idea about growing food. When Kagasheki arrived we finally began discussing what needed to be done. So after a great deal of talking, nothing was really clarified, but I did get paid, and it is looking likely that I will be heading to Dar via the Serengeti National Park, and Arusha. However it will be my responsibility to pay the driver of the car, and to put him up in a drivers quarters when we stay in the Serengeti. A small price to pay I suppose.

After a cup of tea and a bit more circular discussion, the Professor and I took off to go and meet his cousin. His cousin’s grandson was 13 years old and has been at an English speaking school for his entire school life. He had excellent English, and was a very intelligent kid. Or so I though until I asked him what he wanted to do when he finishes school. His response was that he wanted to be a pirate. I don’t know how much schooling you need to get before you become a pirate. At least he has dreams. The Prof’s cousin, who I think was called Jimmy, was very friendly and quite welcoming. He showed me around their plot of land, where they had chickens, pigs and one cow. The poor cow looked very lonely...I think it needs a friend.

We arranged to meet Mary, the woman who fed me grasshoppers, in a bar in town. So we plodded along and Jimmy joined us. Stopping at the bar for a while, we had a couple of beers and a snack, and Mary eventually turned up about an hour after we had arranged to meet. The wind picked up and they decided that it was getting cold...it wasn’t...so they went inside and invaded the personal space of a couple who were waiting for their dinner whilst watching football. As it normally does conversation fell into Swahili-mode and I was left watching the football. Apparently Jimmy had said something along the lines of him being drunk and he needed to go home. As he was being driven by the Professor this meant that the evening was cut short, and I think that Mary was less than impressed. I had gotten to the point where I was too tired to care really and was glad to be heading home.

A quick bite to eat was had, and I took off to the land of sleep. I still think that I have been shocked by the work that I will be doing and my system is yet to adjust. I’m sure I’ll get some sort of rhythm or routine soon. At the very latest it will be when I am in Dar!