Shopping with Olivia
This morning, after breakfast at the Bishop’s house, our friend Daudi Ndahana, picked us up to take us to the Bible College.
The Bible College is where Bill was, with the very generous financial help of a private foundation, able to install a solar-powered internet café/computer lab 5 years ago. Every year he likes to do an on-site checkup on the system, cleaning off any viruses, verifying that everything is running well and seeing what might need to be replaced or upgraded. This year we picked up 10 new sets of keyboards and mice in Dar es Salam to replace the original keyboards and mice which have gotten sticky with 5 years of use and Kasulu dust. We have started a running list of other bits of equipment and supplies to either be ordered and shipped out to Kasulu when we return to Dar, or, if it is small enough and unavailable in Dar, bought and mailed from the U.S. when we get back.
Daudi took us to his house for lunch where we met his three eldest children for the first time. The oldest is awaiting the results of her exams, to determine whether she can continue her education to the next level. The middle two children attend a catholic boarding school which teaches in English (essential for continuing to a University level education, and difficult to learn well enough if you wait to start it in secondary school, which is where the government schools start it). They are home for the Christmas break. Their youngest child, Frank, is our Godchild, although he did not remember us and was a little frightened of us at first.
Olivia and her daughters made us a lovely lunch: rice, potatoes, beans, chicken and stewed beef. A tasty shredded cabbage dish with carrots in it, among other things.
We had hosted Daudi, Olivia (and Frank) in our home when Daudi was traveling to and from Nashoda House Seminary in Wisconsin for an advanced degree. As a thank you, they presented Bill with a shirt and me with a dress in matching fabric that Olivia had made. We wore them to dinner tonight at another old friend, Daniel’s house.
When I was last in Tanzania five years ago, our friends at the Bible College had presented me with a rather elaborate white with gold colored embroidery tie skirt and blouse. A friend of ours, who had come with Tanzania with Bill about 3 years ago had a more traditional “every day” skirt and blouse made while she was here. I had decided before we came that I would like to try to do the same. I know that I will feel more comfortable wearing something less elaborate back home and I would like to be able to wearEast African ”couture” at mission events. I asked Olivia to assist me with this.
So after lunch, even though we had heard thunder and it was starting to spit a little rain, Olivia and I set out to purchase cloth. This was an adventure: Olivia has forgotten some the English that she learned during her year in Wisconsin. I speak NO Swahili, with the exception of “asante sana” (think you very much).
We went to the section of the market where most of the cloth and clothing sellers have their shops. A shop is really what we would consider to be a booth, maybe 6 feet wide by 4 feet deep. The cloth in this particular shop was all cotton, printed in various patterns, hanging from racks that completely cover the walls of the shop. You do not actually enter the shop, which is fronted by a counter but point to the various patterns which you want to see better. The proprietor lays them on the counter, you make your selection and tell him or her how many lengths you need. Olivia helped me to pick out a good pattern. Total cost for the fabric: 19,000 T shillings.
It was now lightly raining, so Olivia and I shared her umbrella, walking past other fabric shops and some tailor shops, crossing a street and going down another street of mixed shops to an open-fronted tailor shop the was maybe 10 feet by 10 feet, held four treadle-powered sewing machines and as many people. The seamstress and Olivia and I discussed what my skirt and blouse should look like, the seamstress took my measurements and asked if I would like some machine embroidery on the neckline. I agreed and paid the fee. Cost for making my skirt and blouse with the embroidery: 15,000 T shillings. My new outfit will be ready Wednesday afternoon. When I got home to the compound I did the math: total cost for the skirt and blouse at today’s exchange rate: slightly over $20.00 USD.
Tomorrow we will spend time meeting with the Bishop. Good night.