Kuuliza si ujinga

It's been a busy, awesome week. Since I last wrote here, I've travelled from Dar es Salaam to Morogoro, Morogoro to Mpwapwa, Mpwapwa to Dodoma. From the coast to the mountains to the desert. It's a good break and a good chance to see a lot of friends I haven't seen in months.

Dar: went to an awesome Ethiopian restaurant. And to a movie! There must be a wormhole somewhere in Tanzania that transports people from Dar to America. The movie was at a theater in a shopping mall, and felt exactly like a mall in the U.S. Well, except that some of the signs at the clothing stores were in Swahili, and you're assigned a seat in the theater when you buy your movie ticket.

Morogoro: I saw my host family for the first time in six months! And it really did feel like coming home to visit family. I ate far too well, caught up on the family news (one host sister got married!), went out with friends and came back-by taxi-after dark. It's good to know that somewhere in Tanzania, there's a door I can knock on, at any time of the day or night, and be welcomed.

Also, I'd forgotten how beautiful the mountains in Morogoro are. I went hiking there for the first time. After living in arid Arusha region, they are incredibly green! Every slope is planted with vegetable fields or banana trees, everything that's not cultivated is covered with the native trees and vegetables. When you hike in the U.S., you're usually in the wilderness, where no one lives. When you hike in Tanzania, even in the mountains, you're often walking past peoples' farms and houses.

Mpwapwa: This is an area in Dodoma region. Dodoma is in the center of the country and is famous for being dry, flat, and boring. It's a false rumor. Dodoma may be dry, but Mpwapwa is mountainous and beautiful. We went hiking again here. The mountains unfortunately had very few trees, and for an obvious reason: there were charcoal-making fires everywhere. People climb up the mountain, cut down a tree, and set it on fire. The burning tree is then buried under sand and dirt, where it continues to smolder and turn into charcoal. Days later, the person who cut the tree will return to bag the charcoal, and drag it down the mountain to sell it. It's hard work. And it's devastating for the forests. But until people have a better, equally cheap fuel to cook with, it's a problem that's going to continue.

Dodoma: the parliamentary capital of Tanzania! It's hot. And dry. But the city is spacious and well-planned. I'm on the way to visit a friend's school, and will write more about it when I return.