Barjamot - Day 348

Date: August 1st, 2010
Distance: None
Country: Tanzania

I was thinking of leaving Barjamot today and heading back to Dar, I just never got around to it. Plus, I had a good time seeing hanging out with Megan. We spent a bit of time walking around Barjamot. When we went out a "crowd" as Megan described it formed around me. (It was only about six people.) I guess everyone here is excited by someone new. Then we had lunch at Megan's mama's house.

Afterward Megan showed me some of the projects the village was working on. They had a new health clinic, but no one was working there. There ins't a house for the doctor to stay at. (Right now that is literally just a pile of bricks.) There is also a new secondary school being built, but again, nowhere in the village for the teachers to stay. I didn't think housing in Africa was much of a problem. In little villages every family has a house or compound. If one mud hut is destroyed or melts in the monsoon rains, well they just squeeze into the huts that remain. I now see the problem is more with outsiders coming in to work in the village. How do you get a doctor to stay in a village when they have to cram into a mud hut with six other people?

From there Megan and I hiked up the hill behind the village. (This is apparently where she gets the best cellphone reception.) It had a good view of the village with its corn and hay fields. There is also the mountain. It is quite something. From my map I think it is about 11,105 feet tall. So it dominates the surrounding area. It really was a pretty afternoon.

In the evening I helped Megan cook some dinner. I am amazed at how quiet it is out here. No cars. No trucks. No kids running around. Just a few bugs chirping and the occasional bleating of goats. This really is "away from it all". I can understand how she said that it would be weird to go back to the U.S. after this. Everything moving and making noise.

Then again we also talked a lot about food. That is really the big thing you miss when you are away. At first you think it would be your friends and family you miss. But you can e-mail you family. You can Skype with your friends. You could even send a postcard if you feel like it. You never get a call from a cheeseburger though. Pizza never sends you a text message. Tacos don't friend you on Facebook.

Plus the food out here gets boring. It is usually Ugali (corn paste), Wali (rice), or Ndizi (banana). Usually this is served with a bit of Nyama (beef) in a broth and a side of overcooked spinach. Day after day. Every day. It doesn't take much time to long for the variety you get back home. I felt bad for leaving for home in a few days. I will get all the pizza and burgers and tacos I could want. Megan's own homecoming is a year away.

-Dravis