14.12.2008 Steps towards civilization have been taken. Living in Dar es Salaam is the best way to get used to going home. There are some disadvantages but I think I can survive.
Since I came to Dar I have been hanging out with my friend. Her brothers live here in Dar but she has only been in Dar ones. Now I have been hanging out with her for three days and we have had a blast.
We are living two totally different lives. It is like I am introducing another world to her. First day I took her to a Supermarket with two floors. We rode the escalator for half an hour. I think we entertained others as well as ourselves.
Saturday was the Lucia day. Living with Ulla-Maj who is Finnish-Swede has another advantage; we were invited to Swedish ambassador’s residence to celebrate the Lucia. You know it is that Swedish custom where one blond girl wearing a crown of candles, Lucia brings the light to the world in its darkest time. Well, it isn’t so dark here in Africa but we got the point.
It was a cocktail party at the Ambassadors house. Most people were Scandinavian but there were also some locals and people from diplomatic community. We took my friend along. She was so stunned when she was introduced to the Swedish Ambassador, and later again when she hugged the Ambassador’s wife. I, on the other hand, didn’t feel a thing. You remember that we are like old best friends. We shared a special moment with his wife earlier at the hospital, when we both had hard time giving a stool sample when suffering amoeba. Funny how different things bring people closer to each other. Anyway, we didn’t tell everybody how we knew each other.
The food at the party was mainly snacks; well it was a cocktail party after all. I didn’t mind. Our waiter realised quickly that we enjoyed the food and he kept on coming to us. I ate seven traditional Scandinavian pastries (pulla). I miss mom’s pulla.
Later that night we continued to another party. Finnish community celebrated post Christmas (pikkujoulu) at Onnela where we live. We had a buffet dinner with free drinks. That was already nice but the best part was the live band. The band consisted of five local members, one Finn and two local dancers (mamas with big figures). They played some Finnish songs, some local hits and then amazing mixtures of Finnish children’s songs changed into Swahili language with a different storyline. I enjoyed especially Peppi which was translated into a song about guy looking for a meaning of life.
The party lasted until morning. We danced a lot but got tired at midnight. We decided to go home to sleep which didn’t make a big difference. Music was played so loud that it was like we were still at the pool with other guests. We didn’t sleep that night at all.
Since I arrived to Dar my life has changed. The down side is the money spending. I used to live with one Euro per day in Mwanza. Here in Dar you can’t do anything with less than 10 euros a day. My volunteer year is coming to an end, so my budget can’t afford it. I have to stop eating I guess.
Another thing is the social life. We have been in three different parties, visited friends, and gone out to eat. Things which I didn’t think that I missed that much. Now that they are back it would be hard to go back to bush again.
TV is also on 24 hours a day now. I never watched TV in the bush, partly because I didn’t want to concentrate on Swahili language and partly because there wasn’t anything I was interested in. But here, with the satellite, I have been catching up the news of the world by clicking between BBC, NBC and Al Jazeera, but also I have been watching some movies. It amazes me how quickly you get back to all bad habits you lived without for a year.
Anyway, I am happy to be in Dar. I am enjoying my last days in the sun, doing my final shopping of African handcraft which I don’t need, and eating lots of ice-cream to get back to my figure. The last one isn’t that hard after all – well to be honest, none of it is.
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