Conversations with Barnabas #2

Conversations with Barnabas #2

Welcome back to Conversations with Barnabas Bear. A couple of items up front, the conversation is fictional (hopefully that was obvious) but are pulled from some of my conversations and observations during my time here in Tanzania.  The main purpose of these is to help everyone get to know the people in Tanzania a little bit better while having a little bit of fun.  I would love some feedback on these so I know if I should continue and if so what types of conversations Barnabas needs to be having.  The stories are told from Barnaba’s point of view and because of that they are in English though I try to reflect some of the problems with the English translation.

Today Dad is busy building a new chair for the house.  It is apparently a complicated chair because he has been building it all day.  It is about 6 PM and the sun is getting low on the horizon even though it will be another hour before it sets.  This has been the first day in while since we have had rainstorms.  After about 3 PM the site goes into slow motion for the day because that is when they normally eat lunch then rest for a couple of hours.

Today however there is a good bit of activity over at the Pre-school building because the church is having special services to prepare for Easter.  While we are on the other side of the site we can hear them over the generator.  Normally some of the kids hang around on site during the church service waiting on their parents.  That is how the four young boys in the photograph above came to watch as Dad goes about building his new chair that he discussed in last week’s blog.

The one in the middle with his hand on his stomach is Shabani (Shah-bah-ne), he is 9 years old and is currently in standard III (third grade by US standard).  He was the designated spokesperson for the group as the rest giggle at his interactions with me and dad.  He started with the normal of “Good mornin’ Teacher” despite it being evening.  I responded, “Habari, jioni” which literally means evening news but is the common form of greeting to say How is your evening.  To this they all cocked their heads to the side like a dog who has heard a weird sound and is trying to hear it better.  Their facial expressions were about as cute.

All the other boys are now laughing and smiling especially as dad says, “Hatari” and shoes them away from his work area for a little bit.  Hatari means danger and is the name of a good John Wayne movie set in Tanganyika (the precursor to Tanzania before being united with Zanzibar in 1964).

I convince them to come over to the area a little bit away from his work as he is cutting metal right now and it shoots sparks everywhere and why he told them there was danger.  I ask Shabani again how his evening is going and this time he responds that they are just waiting until church is over. 

“Why are you and your friends not participating?”

“They are preaching now and it is very loud,” he responded.  I know what he means being a Methodist and preferring a sermon that does not involve screaming at the top of one’s lungs.  Dad always mentions that God whispered and got his message across.  1 Kings 19:11-13 has that story.

“So are you looking forward to school being out next week?”

A big grin crossed everyone’s face. “Yes it is great because it is still not harvest season and everything is already planted, so the only work I will really have to do is make the cattle and goats go to the field with grass.”

“How long does that take?”

“If I do it my way it will take most of the day because we will all take our cows to the same area so we can play while they eat, but my dad says it should not take more than four hours.”

“Do you ever lose a cow?”

“I have not lost one but some have wandered off to places they are not supposed to be and then those people keep the cows until my dad and the local man from the government come out to assess our fine.”

“I bet your dad gets mad about that.”

“Yes but it is not too bad, he does not mind if it only happens once in a while.”

“So you take your cows a lot?”

“Yes most days I get a break between classes like most of the kids to do chores at home and we are supposed to eat a meal then, but normally I spend that entire time with the cattle.”

“Don’t you have another break coming up in June?”

“Yes that is the one for everyone to harvest and then I will have to work the fields with the rest of my family for about four or five hours every morning and then do the cows in the evening.”

In the background I heard the church finishing up the sermon and start to sing again.  Dad also must be finished because he is cleaning up the work area and putting the tools back. 

Shabani leans forward after one of his friends whispered in his ear, “What are you?”

I laughed because I had forgotten bears were not common to Africa.  In fact, the story goes that Paddington bear was supposed to come from Africa originally until the writer learned that Africa has no indigenous bears.  So then he got moved to South America and another country I love, Peru.

“I am a bear, a fierce animal with great power that is common in the United States.”

“United States?  Oh you mean Americana.”

I had again forgotten that Africa associated the word America with the United States which of course is considered an insult in South America because they are also Americans just not USA Americans. 

Shabani is laughing now as one of his friends whispers another question in his ear, “You are a fierce animal with great power-you look cute and small enough to hold in one hand.”

“Well yes but the animal I am based off of is much bigger, I am just a fun version.”

They were all laughing now.  We said our goodbyes as their parents came to collect them and I told them I hope to see them again.