vacation postponed

A series of weird events have changed this weeks plans a bit. Zanzibar and Stonetown have been regrettably postponed.

Luckily, I had great help in lessening my disappointment. Our friend Alfred took us to a Tanzanian wedding on Saturday! We traveled in style in Alfred’s big safari jeep, bouncing along the rocky road with the windows down. Its amazing how fast people drive over rocks here. (By the time we got out of the car my hair was actually stiff from the dust and dirt.) With four young women in the back seat the bumpy road was a bit painful… the door handles and window rollers (is there a name for those things??) slammed into thighs and the seats were not so padded. We are realizing that it is definitely not everyone’s experience here to drive through East Africa in such a vehicle. Driving for close to an hour into the country, we passed a lot of “maasai jeeps” (donkeys) and people on foot and bicycle. I was thankful for my “rough” ride.

We ended up having to ask for directions several times, which of course always adds entertainment to any type of road trip. Which allowed me a few snapshots out the window and a lot of quizzical looks from onlookers.

The four of us “muzungus” stood out quite a bit. When we first arrived, they had already been at the wedding traditions for four hours. We had made it just in time for the beginning of the reception. The bride and groom arrived in a decorated car, and sat in the backseat patiently crammed in with the maid of honor and best man while the brass band played festive music and all the women danced in circles around the car. What a welcome. The emcee announced their arrival in Kiswahili and our friends ushered us into a sitting area where we could watch from a distance the ceremonial blessing of the bride and grooms new house. When that was done, the wedding party proceeded to form the receiving line. The line of guests was so long that we were told to eat first before getting in line. Behind one of the buffet tables stood a server wearing a Starbucks apron.

We sat behind a flowery hedge as we ate the delicious meal. The receiving line was on the other side of this hedge, we couldn’t see them without standing up first. Every once in a while, we saw strange things pass by the receiving line and we would stand up to see. The first time, it was a queen-sized bed being carried on the shoulders of several people. The next time it was an assortment of living room furniture: sofas and end tables. Upon standing, we also saw several goat gifts being walked by on leash. Finally, several people carried in roofing metal.

Eventually, we were led to cut into the line (just a bit awkward) where we gave hugs and blessings to the bride and groom. We laughed as Alfred was still putting together the card while in line.

Last night we were able to use the generator for the first time, so we had lights despite the power outage (no hot water or cooking abilities though). This morning we went to a very boisterous and welcoming church. And afterwards, the sun finally came out a bit and we sat by the Arusha Hotel pool chatting with a girl from London.