Christmas in Tanzania
So the festive season is approaching a close, and this one
has been a very different Christmas to my 32 previous ones! Whilst it has not been my first xmas away
from home, it has been the first one for a long time where I have not been working,
and certainly the hottest Christmas I’ve ever had!
Christmas in Tanzania is nowhere near as big as it is in the
UK, those local families who celebrate Christmas here (many are Muslim so do
not!) do so by going to church then having a meal with their families. It is
mainly a low-key affair, with none of the big build up that starts in September
and very few of the customs we are used to in the UK.. No Christmas trees,
tinsel, crappy Christmas music, silly paper hats, or the Queen’s speech (which
I heard was in 3D this year??!)
Saying that, us wazungus still managed to have a
semi-traditional Christmas but with a Tanzanian twist! The Nyangao volunteers (Sandra, Claire and
myself) went to Mtwara to meet up with the other volunteers who are based there
(Kayley, Paul, George) and Louise who came down from Dar-es-Salaam for a Tour of
the South.
We stayed at “Cliff Bar”, a lovely secluded bar and
guesthouses surrounded by trees and close to the beach, and is run by Mama
Mtupa, a fantastic lady originally from Poland but has been in Tanzania for
decades.
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| Guest house at Cliff Bar |
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| Christmas Breakfast |
Christmas Eve was spent swimming
in the tropically warm sea followed by drinks and food at another bar close
by. For Christmas day, we started with homemade
bucks fizz (Sparkling wine from Dodoma mixed with passion fruit juice), scrambled eggs and some fresh mango. Our Christmas dinner at Cliff Bar consisted
of prawnsi, kuku, wali, chipsi, mchicha na kachumbari (prawns, chicken, rice,
chips, spinach and salad) washed down with a generous helping of Safari
Lager. Like all good Christmas dinners I
ate about 3 plates full and felt uncomfortably full!
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| Christmas Dinner.. TZ style ! |
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| VSO Christmas.. .(Silly Hats Optional) |
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| BAH HUMBUG ! |
After the traditional
post-dinner lull, we went to the local ex-pat hotel to steal their Wi-Fi and Skype
home. It was great to speak to my
friends and family on Christmas day and made me wonder what previous volunteers
did without the wonders of technology we have today!
In the evening, we all went to Kayley and Pauls house in
Mtwara and had a bonfire (because it wasn’t hot enough already!), much to the
puzzlement of their Tanzanian neighbours (Chizi Wazungu!). And the highlight of the day……..CHEESE….. Bought
down from Dar by Louise, and washed down with a good bottle of Dodoma Red
wine. There was a shared silence as the
cheese platter was bought out and held aloft like a holy grail….. but the
silence was soon replaced by mmmmm’s and aaaaah’s as we tasted our first cheese
in months. If you ever need to make a
volunteer happy…. Give them cheese!!
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| Cheese, Crackers and Wine..... must be christmas! |
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| Louise enjoying the Cheese! |
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| "Oh my.... cheese" |
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| Standing around the cheese altar |
My boxing day was spent in a similar fashion to the rest of
the holiday, swimming, relaxing, and a few beers. I did miss our traditional Boxing Day
get-together at my house with all my friends, but I did manage to Skype them,
so it felt like I was there. By the
looks of it, it was a good party but obviously not as good as it could have
been as I was not there ;)
After a great 3 days in Mtwara we all headed back to Nyangao
to show the delights of village life to the “city folk” of Dar and Mtwara! I’m not sure Nyangao was quite prepared for 6
wazungus wandering round the market, but I’m sure we gave them something to
talk about for weeks! Everyone wanted to
be introduced to the “Wengi”, and especially to Paul, the “Mzee” with a big
beard (think Santa!).
As no Christmas is quite complete without a Christmas
Pudding, Claire (The new volunteer in Nyangao who arrived a week before Christmas)
kindly bought a Christmas pud and some custard with her! Thankfully the electricity held out long
enough to cook it but went off as we were eating…. So another Tanzanian twist
to Christmas… pudding by candlelight!
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| Christmas Pudding by Candle light in Nyangao |
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| Now it is Christmas..... pudding and custard! |
For New Year’s Eve we are going to Lindi, to have dinner in
the Italian restaurant which serves probably the best pizza in Tanzania! (more cheese!).
So that’s been my Tanzanian Christmas! Hope you all had a great time with your
family and friends… it has been a bit strange not to see everyone, but on the
other hand I have had a fantastic time here with a bunch of lovely people, and
lots of sunshine! Wish you all the best
for the New Year, I hope you all have a happy and productive 2013.
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