Adieu

Initially, I was going to title this post as “Transition”, but the more I thought about it…”Adieu” has become more and more appropriate in describing the past couple of weeks.  “Adieu” directly translates to “to God” in French, but it is more commonly used in the expression “to bid adieu” to someone or something that is leaving.  In this case, it is bidding adieu to Eric, the PCV that I have been sharing a house with for the past couple of months and am replacing.  Also, I figured it was appropriate for the mood I have been in.  I have been missing France a lot lately and realized today that I had been referencing my study abroad experience in Toulouse, France more often than a couple of times just this past week.  I was even in the mood to watch Chocolat recently despite the fact that it meant I had to watch a movie about a ton of chocolate, which is more expensive and not in abundance in Tanzania unless you are in Dar or safi dukas.

Anyway, the main theme for the prior weeks has been a variety of send off dinners and parties for Eric’s leave to America and my welcome to my new home at Mwatisi.  A little less than two weeks ago, we (Steph, Eric, and I) went to eat dinner with the Mwakibambo family in Kandete village.  It was so sweet and it was so hard to watch Eric say bye to them.  I first need to interject with a short blurb about this amazing family.  They are quite possibly the most loving family I have ever met in Tanzania apart from my homestay family.  Mama Paulina and Baba Mwakibambo treat you like you are one of their own children, even if they meet you for the first time (Steph and I met them during our shadow week), and truly love you.  They both know English quite well and are so hospitable.  They also have one son (Lugano), who has two daughters (Sekela who is in Form I and Neema who is an adorable little girl in primary school, not sure what Standard).  Everyone treats you like you have always been around and being around them just warms your heart.  Needless to say, I can only imagine how difficult it was for Eric to have to leave this family.  I am sure I will feel the same way if not moreso, because I will have known them two full years rather than Eric’s span of knowing them since he met them at the end of his first year.  Luckily, Eric was able to go back to see them by himself later that week.

Eric, Steph, and me with the Makibambo family in Kandete

The next night, we three were invited to Mr. Chabwi’s house for dinner.  Chabwi was the awesome MC at the Mwatisi graduation and I have gotten to know him more because he is one of the founding members of the Kandete Community Center (KCC) project that Eric started working on with some of the Kandete community.  [I will be taking over that project now that Eric will be state-side, and I will expand on this in a later post.]  We had DELICIOUS “kiti moto” [pork], rice, pilau, beef stew, “mboga” [vegetables], bananas, and apples.  And then Steph, Eric, and I all received matching gifts from our local “fundi” [craftsman (in this case, tailor)], who is the chairman of KCC!  It was super sweet of them to give Steph and me a dress made of the same kitenge they used to make Eric a shirt.  :)

Then after being stuffed, Mr. Chabwi got us all a car and drove us straight to our homes, which was quite thoughtful of them.  We dropped Steph off first, but then on our way to mine and Eric’s house, the gas ran out and we were stuck on the road for about two hours in the cold waiting for someone from Kandete to bring us more petrol before we could continue on.  Eric and I fell asleep waiting in the car that was a nice barrier to the cold air outside, until our savior (piki driver) arrived with a tank of oil.  Once again, we were off and on our last leg to our house, half-awake half-stumbled our way to the house, and plopped ourselves onto our beds at around 2:30am, which is SO passed our bedtime of usually 10pm.  But truly, it’s the thought that counts!  :D

Then that weekend, was the big bash for Eric’s Going Away Party and my Housewarming Party!  It was so great and lots of our friends, both Peace Corps and Tanzanian, showed up to celebrate, play games, have bonfires, play music (Eric’s handmade drums and my ukulele), and eat terrific food.  OH, THE FOOD!  I am sure you can tell by now that I am obsessed with food…but anyway, that weekend, Eric and I pulled all the stops.  I had travelled to Tukuyu the weekend before to get a bucketful of avocados, a bucketful of potatoes, pasta, and a few other things, and Eric and I ordered chapatti, beef, and rice.  Here was the menu for that weekend:

Friday (Dinner):  Spaghetti and tomato sauce, toast
Saturday (Breakfast):  Peanut butter sandwiches, bananas
Saturday (Lunch):  Hashbrowns with green peppers and onions, eggs, toast
Saturday (Dinner):  Beef and veggie tacos using fresh meat (I spent over an hour grinding up in our meat grinder), guacamole, super delicious salsa, cheese (brought by PCVs from Mbeya), chips (brough by Marin), chapatti (as soft tacos), rice

It was SO successful!  Everyone loved our tacos!  Heck, I loved them.  But a disclaimer to this though was that I will not be able to eat like this every day, let alone every weekend.  This called for only special occasions and this was one.

Then after that weekend, NECTA exams for the Form IVs started and Eric had to start packing.  That was when it started to hit me – I was REALLY going to miss him.  He was a great housemate and although I was planning to live alone in country for two years, I never expected to grow so close to a person in just two months!  When he said goodbye to the teachers and the students that week, some tears were shed and I almost cried as the students sang him the school song.  It was truly heartbreaking, and I also realized that if I was close to crying now, I wonder how I will be after two years.

During the school’s goodbye though, the craziest thing happened – it started to rain.  There was a light sprinkle when the students started singing and by the end of the song, it was a steady rain.  As Eric finished his speech, the rain was coming down pretty hard and the students started to leave to go home.  It was as if the sky was mimicking the sadness felt by the students.  Very poetic actually…  Once all of the students left and the school was quiet again, the rain stopped suddenly.  We walked up the hill to go home, he finished packing, and the house was becoming emptier by the minute.  :(

Eric will be missed dearly by everyone, and I am glad I was able to say bye to him one last time in Mbeya this past weekend before he went on a bus to Dar.  I am now currently back at my site and am left with a slight emptiness that is new.  I am super happy I have the dogs (Amani and Orion) and cat (Felix) to keep me company, but it still feels like something is missing.  I am sure it may feel that for a little while, though luckily, I am going to be extremely busy taking care of Form IV NECTA lab practicals this week so I may not even notice hah.  I know it may take some time to get used to living alone now, but I am also looking forward to making what used to be “his house” and “our house” to become “my house” and finally “my home.”

Eric – I bid you adieu and thanks for being an awesome housemate and friend.  You will be missed dearly, but we had some great memories.  I wish you the best of luck and karibu kila mara!  Let the good times roll!