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Devin Cannady's Greetings from Africa: A Princetonian's Summer Abroad
July 14, 2016 | Men's Basketball
Rising sophomore Devin Cannady's third blog entry from Tanzania.
Greetings from Africa: A Princetonian's Summer Abroad
Part 3
Tiger Nation,
I'd like to welcome you back for the third portion of my letters from Africa. It may have only been a week and a half since my last check-up, but plenty has happened in that time span that is worth sharing with you. As I mentioned in my last post, my first-semester final exam was last Friday, so I've officially finished a semester of classes abroad and have begun my second semester. With that first semester under my belt I'm basically an experienced veteran when it comes to studying Swahili now, so I'm looking forward to finishing these last couple weeks of class on a good note. However, these past few days have consisted of less work in the classroom and more of my interactions with natives and the life experiences I gained from them. Let's get started.
First off, the biggest change to my daily routine is that I am now living with a host family instead of staying in a hotel with the rest of my classmates. This marks the first time that I will be living under someone else's roof outside of my mother's, so I didn't know what to expect when I walked through their front door. Once I arrived, I realized that their home lifestyle had some similarities to the home lifestyle in the states, but a majority of the things that I take for granted are things that they don't have. For example, if I want to take a shower I have to heat the water over a stove, pour it into a bucket, and rationalize what I have to clean myself. The majority of houses here do not have running water, and to me it seems like a hassle to do these things every day, but to them it is the way of life and not a daily struggle. Although I've actually gotten pretty good at this way of showering, I doubt that I will urge my family to cut off the water when I get back home (it would save some money though)! Overall, the family that I am staying with has helped my confidence with my basic Swahili conversations since that is what they speak for the majority of the time at home. In addition to that, they have also exhibited the importance of family meals and if I'm not home for dinner at a specific time they won't eat until I arrive. On the bright side, I have never missed a meal and always leave the table with a full stomach; they serve a decent amount of rice, beans, either chicken, beef, or fish, and some of the freshest fruits I have eaten in my life.
As a man of faith, I have encountered many people in the states who show their praise through different denominations under the pillar of Christianity. Rarely, if ever, have I been in a culture where the majority of the people who worship are Muslim, let alone during their holy season, Ramadan. Nonetheless, this experience has given me a new perspective on the way people worship God. I am currently a Non-Denominational Christian with an open mind to how God is directing my life, so for Him to bring me to East Africa in the holy season of Ramadan, I took that as a sign to sit back and observe. I commend those who have fasted during this season because after only a few hours of a light meal at the beginning of the day I was already starving, so I could only imagine the perseverance that went into abstaining from food for 12 hours each day. A huge takeaway from being around these people is their dedication to praying multiple times each day, sometimes in public places, showing their love for God. This spoke to me more than most other things that I have seen here given that most of these people who are praying have significantly less of the nuanced things that we have in life, such as: transportation, clean clothes, and enough food and money to facilitate their everyday needs. It is easier said than done, but I have found myself complaining about something that at the time seemed important when in reality I should be thankful that I am in the situation that I am, because MANY people have it worse off than me.
They call it 'one of the new seven wonders of the world,' and I second that saying with all my heart. I have been to plenty of zoos during my childhood, but nothing compared to the magnificent landscape and freedom of the wild animals that I saw during my trip to the Ngorongoro National Game Park. As with all of our other organized trips, we would stop at historic sites to learn more about Tanzanian culture, and this trip included of some of the most interesting information. First, we took a tour of the East African Community, an international center of diplomacy, giving me a better insight on how the countries involved intend to maintain peace and security in East Africa. Our next stop was personally my favorite; we had the opportunity to get a first-hand look at how the Masai people went about their nomadic ways of living and they welcomed us with open arms. They are the most interesting people I have met here. A part of their culture is to wear red or blue shukas to distinguish themselves from the rest of the population and they typically have large holes in their earlobes as well as tattooed faces. To end the history side of the trip, we went to the location known as Oldupai where the oldest human bones have been found and traced from time period to time period. Standing on top of the elevated land looking into the gorge, I envisioned what that same land must have been like for our first ancestors, an amazing feeling to be standing where they once stood. A few miles further into our journey is where I got my first taste of the wildlife that graces our green earth. From giraffes to elephants and from zebras to the king of the jungle, I witnessed, for the first time in my life, these animals living peacefully in their natural habitat. It was simply breathtaking.
In any language course you either choose or are given a name that is used in that particular language. My name in this course, given that I am a long time Lion King lover, is none other than Simba, which when translated from Swahili means 'lion.' I find this name fitting for me in one way in particular: without the courage to branch out and try something that was completely different from anything I had ever done before I would not be writing this letter today. I would not be able to share these memorable experiences, and I would not be growing as a complete person the same way that I would have grown otherwise. Courage comes in many different shapes and sizes and can be displayed in many different areas of one's life. I happened to make a courageous decision in regards to my academic career and I've seen amazing things happen in other aspects of my life as well. I say this so that maybe a reader who is on the fence about a decision like this has the courage and confidence to simply act and experience the amazing rewards that come with it.
Until next time,