Mzungu Maasai

Today I want to talk about some of the interesting things that I see on an almost daily basis. An interesting fact about Tanzania is that each village has their own market day of the week. The town where I live, Kisongo, also has stalls set up every day along the main road, but their market is in the middle of the town which I would have never known if my friends hadn’t taken me to “eat local” last week. That is an experience unto itself! There is a butcher/chef’s area where you go and pick out the kind of meat you want (typically goat) and what cut: foreleg, back haunch, etc. Then they cook it for you. You can also order side dishes like ugali (a hominy mixture that is sort of the texture of bread dough but safe to eat) and tomato/cucumber/onion salad. Then there are little rooms set up inside and outside where you can find a table to sit and eat. These little places also offer drinks: sodas, water, and even beer, wine, or harder stuff if you want it. Once the meat is ready, they bring it to you. Well, first they bring you warm water and soap to wash your hands because you eat almost everything here with your hands and everyone eats off the same platter. Then you dig in! These types of places are much cheaper to eat in than a restaurant like Kisongo Lounge will I like to eat kuku (chicken).

You see so many different things as you drive along the road here! I see a lot of donkeys who seem to be wandering by themselves sometimes, but you also see them hauling water jugs. It is very dry here as the rainy season has not yet begun (although it did rain at my place the other night which brings unwelcome critters: baby mosquitoes). Because it is so dry, the people and animals have to walk a long way to get water, so they bring the donkeys to carry many jugs which will last them longer. Some walk up to and over ten miles one way to find water! I always see flocks of sheep, goats, and cattle on my drives. I wish I could take better pictures of them, but I’m in a moving vehicle on an iPhone, lol. The Maasai love bright colors, so their clothes really stand out against the dry, dusty land. It’s really exactly how you would imagine their ancestors looked one thousand years ago, but then you see them riding on a piki-piki (motorcycle) in their Maasai clothes talking on a cell phone, and you remember it is 2025.