Nyabange: Party Central

For the past month, I have been unable to experience uninterrupted sleep due to the 24 hour parties happening in and around our village. At first, they were mostly restricted to the weekends but now they are occurring in the middle of the week. According to the staff and students, the parties began about a year ago as a means of raising funds for a good cause or the party host. They usually consist of numerous guests, alcohol, and a set of very large speakers that blare Tanzanian music at all hours. As we are located on a slope, the wind carries the music up or down to us with such clarity you'd think it was coming from your neighbour's home. Even my precious ear plugs have done little to block out the noise. None of the villagers bothers to ask them to turn it down because in all likelihood they'll want to host a party themselves some time down the road and the police don't deal with noise disturbances.

Well, after four weeks of the incessant boom of the bass, I needed to get away. My host family was also gone for five days over the weekend to attend my host father's university graduation in Uganda, leaving me without a reliable source of food and company. I managed to get myself invited to several of our staff members' homes for meals and was promptly spoiled with the best they had to offer, including sodas ('pop' to North Americans). On Friday after class, I headed into the 'big city' of Musoma to stay with Hazel and Rachel, two of my fellow teachers and members of the area's SIL Team (part of Wycliffe Bible Translators).

And what a weekend it was! On Saturday, I played tour guide to a small group off MCC VIPs in town with our country rep, Mike. They wanted to see the MTCEA campus and meet with our principal, Theo. All of a sudden, I felt more like a local than a guest and I surprised myself with how much I knew about the area. I even managed to find my way down to the lake with eight people in tow. The locals we passed along the way couldn't help but stare at the line of 'wazungus' that trudged past their homes. I don't think they'd seen that many 'wazungus' at one time!

My other highlights included: Girl's Night with fondue and pedicures, English movies (Sweet Home Alabama and the latest version of Sense & Sensibility), 'mzungu' food (lasagna, tacos, granola and yoghurt,…), running water, a flush toilet, hot showers, no blaring music, uninterrupted sleep… how much time do you have? I don't think I spoke more than a handful of Kiswahili all weekend and, on Sunday morning, we had our own Worship Service: we sang along to worship songs on Hazel's laptop and listened to a great sermon on Rachel's I-Pod. The wonders of technology! It was great to have a short respite and recharge for the coming week(s).