We, the people of Tanzania, are delightful. I say "we" since I was born in Tanzania and claim membership in the Wasamba tribe. "Mimi ni Msamba," I say in Swahili.which uniformly generates laughter since the Wasamba are, of course, dark skinned and also short. Since I am neither of those, my statement is absurd on the surface. On a deeper level, I do feel a close connection to the Wasamba and Tanzanians in general which is why we are here.
Relationships are very important to Tanzanians. If on the way to a meeting, they meet a friend, they don't say, "Hi. Can't talk because I'm on my way to a meeting" like an American would do (at least I do). They will greet each other and take the time to inquire about how things are going, how the family, kids, work, etc. are going. This is accompanied by a triple handshake - palms, thumbs, palms and then might not let go of the handclasp while they are talking. This friend is important so the friendship and connecting to that friend is more important than being on time.
Debi insists that she can't learn a foreign language and thought that she could get by with eye contact and a smile in lieu of a verbal greeting. Wrong. People will greet her. "Habari za asubuhi?" "How are you this morning?" The obligatory answer even for sick people in the hospital is "nzuri," "good" in English. If she doesn't respond correctly, they may repeat the greeting and then tell her in Swahili what her response is. "Sema nzuri." "Say good." Everything comes to a halt until she says "nzuri." People must be greeted properly. People who are sick can say "nzuri" and then clarify what is wrong or tell you that things are not good by saying, "nzuri kidogo." "A little bit good."
Having to constantly haggle over prices in stores and the market drives most foreigners crazy. I, for one, want to pay a reasonable price and get on with my day like I would in the USA. "How much are the carrots?" Where is the relationship there? It's nonexistent. Instead, you need to greet them and ask about how they are and how their day is going before getting around to inquiring about prices. The initially stated price will be too high and needs to be rejected. With further discussion, you arrive at a price you can both live with. The problem is this takes time and often the difference is less than a dollar so you need to talk a long time to save a small amount of money. I am incorrigibly American so find this process excruciating. My claim to being Msamba is weakened.
As I travel down a road, I am constantly being greeted. Children holler in English, "Good-a morning. How are you? I am fine." Adults also greet me, often in Swahili, which makes for a short conversation since I can't say much after the initial greeting. They will call out, "Habari za asubuhi. Pole na safari, mzee." "How are you this morning? I'm sorry about your trip, old man." It is polite to show sympathy to a traveler. It shows great respect to address a man as "old man." They are mistaking the increasing streaks of platinum blond in my brown hair as having gray hair so while I know they are being polite, it still sounds strange. My Msamba-ness is stretching thin.
No comments:
Post a Comment