Changing Perspective

As I'm nearing the end of my time here, I find myself thinking a lot--reflecting on my time here and my life back home in America. I remember when I first arrived and saw how different things were... The initial drive from the airport to Bagamoyo (about an hour long) on the unpaved, incredibly bumpy and eroded, dirt/sand roads, while seeing goats and chickens and cows walking around definitely made me wonder "Why the heck did I want to do this again?!?" Everything just felt so different that I wasn't sure if I would adjust, or if I even made the right decision.

I remember my thoughts as I walked into my room at home-base for the first time... seeing my twin bed, my mosquito net, and my fan, and then realizing that I had just tracked tons of sand and dirt all over the floor and on my bed (from my shoes, feet and bags) and saying to myself “Ok Aisha... try to have an open-mind about this...”

I remember my surprise when I realized that all of our food was pretty much stored outside and that cooking and food preparation for the most part is all done outdoors too (look at some of the pics from the Swahili Cooking post)…

Then there was the instance I almost got attacked by a rooster (ok, I might be exaggerating just a little here, but I swear that rooster was charging right for my shins!), and the time I got chased by a cow (this picture is evidence!)... There’s waking up every morning at the crack of dawn to the sound of above-mentioned rooster... Having to dodge lizards and GIANT beetles during the day and BATS at night... Feeling like it is at least 150+ degrees outside (although it's probably really only 80 something most days) and not having A/C... at all... Having to walk everywhere in the scorching hot sun and feeling like I will never stop sweating... not even at night... not even in my sleep...

Hand-washing my laundry and trying to time the hang-drying between the torrential downpours... Not being able to brush my teeth with the convenience of clean, running water, and feeling like I never quite rinse all of the toothpaste out of my mouth (The home-base has running water, but none of the water in Tanzania is drinkable, so I brush my teeth by filling up a cup with water from the cooler and taking it to the bathroom... more cumbersome than it sounds)... Not having hot water (for showers)... Not having reliable electricity and not having consistent, reliable access to email/internet (there were several times I was in the middle of uploading pictures or blogging and the power went out and there are times when the internet is down in the whole town for days at a time)...

I remember trying to convince myself “Ok... I can ‘rough-it’ for a couple of months… this certainly isn’t going to kill me...”

I think about all of these things and they make me laugh now... none of these things concern me anymore and to be honest I don’t really miss any of the conveniences any more. None of these things have anything to do with happiness, and I realized I shouldn’t let any of them affect my mood; there are so many things in life that are more important.

It’s so easy to focus on things we don’t have. Especially in American culture cause we’re bombarded with commercials and billboards and ads telling us all the “new & improved” things we need. Or we see/hear what someone else has then discover that we “need” it too. I’ve never considered myself a materialistic person, but I can certainly admit that I too have gotten caught up in the “what do I need next” mentality at times. I don’t always realize just how many blessings I already have in my life because I’m sometimes so busy focusing on my next goal. Even here in Tanzania, when I initially felt like I would have to adjust to life without so many conveniences, I realize that I have a pretty posh life here compared to the average person in this community. I’m really not “roughing it” at all...

I have a mosquito net and take anti-malaria meds daily. Many people here do not have either. Although malaria is curable and really shouldn’t cause as much devastation as it does, many people here die from it because they don’t have access to (affordable) health care. Several volunteers have gotten malaria (the meds don’t prevent it, but reduce the chances of you getting it) and none of them has been sick for more than a couple of days because we can afford the treatment for it...

I have running water here, which is something that many in this community don’t have. I can recall a conversation with a friend who said he spent the entire morning just going to get water for his and his roommate’s shower...

I eat 3 (very tasty, healthy, and well-prepared) meals a day and have as much filtered water (from the water cooler) to drink as I want. I don’t have to worry about eating contaminated food or drinking contaminated water. A couple of times I have felt really awkward leaving from hanging out with friends to go and have dinner at the home-base (meals are served @ specific times), knowing that they wouldn’t have a dinner even close to what I was having...

As a girl growing up, I didn’t have to deal with what the girls here have to go through just to be able to go to school. I had access. In fact, I was encouraged by pretty much everyone in my family to go to school and learn everything I could (especially by some of my older relatives who did not have the opportunity to have a formal education in the segregated, Jim Crow South)...

This experience and my interactions with the people in Bagamoyo make me realize what’s really important in life. Sure it’s nice to have nice things, and it’s nice to have conveniences (like hot water, A/C, etc) but life should be more about people, more about relationships, and more about how we can make things a little easier for someone else.

People here appreciate life. They don’t let anything prevent them from enjoying life despite the things they may not have. People here appreciate friendships and community and they make time for each other... they make time for friends and family no matter what. When walking around town, I always stop no fewer than 3 times to have conversations with people I don’t know and have even found myself a few times sitting in peoples homes having conversations (in my broken Swahili!). People often welcome guests into their home and it’s extremely rude to refuse, even if you only stay for a few minutes. People have often interrupted what they were doing just to help me find directions to walk somewhere and many times they have just walked with me.

When it’s time to leave, I’m really going to miss it here... I came here to volunteer and have learned some really valuable life-lessons in the process...