During my first trip to Tanzania, one volunteer brought a book that she loved as a kid. She read it to all of us and I thought it was adorable so when I went home, I went on hunt for the book ‘I Love You Through and Through‘ which was about loving someone during every aspect of life!
I just got done with a four hour motorcycle ride through rural Musa where I got to see a number of my favorite physical features of Arusha. Brown, dry, barren fields complimented by the vivid colors of a Masai blanket waving in the wind. The profile of Tanzania’s rolling hills under the warm glow of the sun, and a perfectly clear view of sun kissed Mt. Meru over my shoulder everywhere we went. Musa is the village my favorite driver, Victor, grew up in. He mentioned during my last trip that he wanted to take me for a cruise to see more than what I’m exposed to on a regular basis and I only just got around to it.
There aren’t many people here I would trust to just take me somewhere. Actually, there are only three other people I’d let just whisk me away without knowing where we’d end up. Isaac, Elizabeth, and my friend Hans. And Victor. I texted him to pick me up and take me for a cruise, so when he showed up I got on the back of his motorcycle and without exchanging any words, we were off. Where? I had no idea and while I thought about asking, I just couldn’t be bothered. I didn’t think he’d rob or kill me, so I wasn’t worried. We started in the direction of Kisongo, the location of the new Hill Crest and where I spend several hours almost every day. ‘How am I going to pretend I don’t know this area, he’d be so sad to know I am here all the time’ was all I could think on the 20 minute drive. I took a sigh of relief as we passed both roads to the construction site. A bit further, we veered to the right and just like that we were out of town and off the paved road. He stopped several times along the way to let me soak in the beautiful sights of the village that seemed to never end. To the right was a picturesque view of Mount Meru, Africa’s 5th highest mountain, and a gorgeous one at that. On my left was a hill with tiered crop plots which yielded only dry maize stalks.
We approached a huge ditch and that’s when I panicked, ‘oh no this is the end he’s going to kill me and take my bag for sure nobody knows where I am or that I’m with Victor or who Victor is and my phone is dead oh no oh no oh no I’m dead I’m dead this is it he’s going to kill me this was all a lie I knew it bye world xoxo’ He said “this used to be a road but the rains destroyed it. Now cars can’t get through.” and we made our way up and down this giant ditch and in my head I was rolling my eyes at everyone who is so wary of every local being out to kill them ;)
At the top of the ditch, Victor stopped. We could see as far as forever into the hills. To the left he pointed out the town center. There were a handful of kids in school uniforms and traditional Maasai women with buckets on their heads coming up this enormous hill directly in front of us. He told me that the “buildings” there were town center and a well. In town center was a small market, a school, and Tanzania’s version of a pharmacy. He told me what we hear all the time in the US, some women are walking three hours for that water. But seeing it on TV is completely different than watching these women walk by me two feet away. Where I work, there are a generous number of wells dispersed around the community so women don’t have to walk more than about 30 minutes for water. I like to really look at the Maasai elders here. Their dark skin is contrasted by the white beads in their earrings and necklaces and their wrinkles display a lifetime of labor. You can even see the miles they’ve walked when you look at their feet, it’s amazing how much can be gathered just by looking at the people here.
To the right of us was a dirt path about the width of the motorcycle tires that had previously passed. He pointed out a rectangular fence made of thorn bushes way off into the distance to the far right. He said that was his childhood home and I knew we’d be on our way there shortly. I was looking at everything around me, soaking in the mountains, children, donkeys, and crop fields. About 20 minutes later we stopped to speak to a woman on her way to fetch water, and Victor introduced me to his “beloved mother.” She was warm and welcoming and made sure Victor took me to the house for tea. 15 minutes after that, we pulled up to Victor’s childhood home. It was beautiful, and not traditional Maasai at all. A brick house with a solar panel and quarters for chickens in the back that his mom sells for basic living expenses. An old friend of his was there tending to the cows, and his sister in law came to greet us as well. I so love the never ending warm welcomes of Tanzanians. He explained that he left home when he was 12 to continue his education in a secondary school in town. We talked about the lives of traditional Maasai, much of which I already knew but it’s good to hear other opinions about the lifestyle. We went through a coffee plantation and stopped at the top of another hill so that I could look at everything. Shortly after we passed a valley so deep that I couldn’t see the bottom. What I could see was the changing soil from top to...out of view. The color changed the deeper it got, it was so beautiful. In a scene like this, it was hard to keep my mind off of anything but my love for Tanzania. I was thinking about everything I’ve experienced here and how much I’ve grown thanks to Tanzania. All I could think was that I love Tanzania, through and through. I love it when it’s sunny and when it’s rainy, I love it when it’s busy during the week and calm on Sundays. I love it even though I disagree with the culture sometimes. I love that the waitress at this cafe just asked me to pay for the food I haven’t received yet because she wants to go home. I love that I have had the chance to realize how important education really is.
I appreciate Hill Crest more each day now that I really understand what the kids are being provided. Not only an understanding and ability to speak English and add numbers, but my kids are being placed a step ahead of most. They will eventually be able to choose the life they want to lead whether it be a bus driver, a teacher or tending to sheep and cows. What’s important is that their home situation won’t dictate their future, they will be the ones doing it, and the new building will provide our neediest students a stable environment to grow and learn. Hill Crest has an amazing future and this boarding campus is essential to the growth of Hill Crest and our students. We have finally started making upward progress as the foundation has been dug and completed. Every day we are laying more bricks and the future of Hill Crest is finally something to see. A year and a drop out of college later is finally giving me some results! But we aren’t done fundraising and have a long way to go before we can complete the project. I sure do love Tanzania, and I sure do love my kids. And that is what makes leaving behind my friends, my family, and my degree behind a bit more bearable. On the way back to town from the cruise through Musa, I had a perfect view of Mt. Meru with Kilimanjaro right behind it, jamani! I love you through and through, Tanzania. And if you’re wondering if I ever found the book, know that I don’t think I need it anymore :)
Thanks for reading, keep spreading the love <3
