A Third Shower
Scott and I spent our first night in Arusha. We went in early Saturday morning for a basketball tournament and spent the rest of the day, night, and next day in the big city (which Lonely Planet has recently called the 8th worst city in the world). We each took two showers in the Paulsen Hotel. This was a huge shock to my body, which has gotten used to taking one bucket-bath a week.
On our daladala ride back home from Arusha, it started pouring. The rain thankfully subsided once we reached Monduli and got dropped off at the daladala stand. We picked up a few groceries (our weekly standards – peanut butter and toilet paper) and started walking home. Ten minutes into the walk, it started raining again. We rain under a shelter normally occupied by students of a nearby secondary school. We thought we could wait it out and even contemplated playing some cribbage to bide our time. As the rain got heavier and the wind picked up, the shelter proved fruitless, so we decided to make a run for it (or a cautious walk for me; I have a phobia for slipping, especially in mud).
It would have been great if we were wearing xtratufs or had some raingear, but we weren’t and we didn’t. We were wearing sandals and summer clothes. So we got drenched and muddy and Scott kept yelling back, "Are you coming?" and I couldn’t stop smiling. Sometimes it’s amazing to be caught in a rainstorm in equatorial Tanzania carrying a package of toilet paper.
At one point during our sprint, when Scott was about ten yards ahead of me, I heard a young woman yell out to him, "Pole." 'Pole' means sorry and it’s often used to express sympathy to someone who’s doing something that may not be that desirable. As an American it takes some getting used to because it’s used very liberally. I’ve had someone see me at school working and say, "pole," or I’ll be walking home from town and someone will say, "pole." Obviously doing my job or taking a nice stroll are not things to pity me for, but walking home in the pouring rain could qualify. As I passed the young woman myself, she switched to English and said, "Sorry, sorry," and I saw the reason why she was outside herself. She was standing under a drainpipe taking a shower. By the time Scott and I reached home, we were about as wet as if we had taken one ourselves, except of course, ours was not on purpose.
On our daladala ride back home from Arusha, it started pouring. The rain thankfully subsided once we reached Monduli and got dropped off at the daladala stand. We picked up a few groceries (our weekly standards – peanut butter and toilet paper) and started walking home. Ten minutes into the walk, it started raining again. We rain under a shelter normally occupied by students of a nearby secondary school. We thought we could wait it out and even contemplated playing some cribbage to bide our time. As the rain got heavier and the wind picked up, the shelter proved fruitless, so we decided to make a run for it (or a cautious walk for me; I have a phobia for slipping, especially in mud).
It would have been great if we were wearing xtratufs or had some raingear, but we weren’t and we didn’t. We were wearing sandals and summer clothes. So we got drenched and muddy and Scott kept yelling back, "Are you coming?" and I couldn’t stop smiling. Sometimes it’s amazing to be caught in a rainstorm in equatorial Tanzania carrying a package of toilet paper.
At one point during our sprint, when Scott was about ten yards ahead of me, I heard a young woman yell out to him, "Pole." 'Pole' means sorry and it’s often used to express sympathy to someone who’s doing something that may not be that desirable. As an American it takes some getting used to because it’s used very liberally. I’ve had someone see me at school working and say, "pole," or I’ll be walking home from town and someone will say, "pole." Obviously doing my job or taking a nice stroll are not things to pity me for, but walking home in the pouring rain could qualify. As I passed the young woman myself, she switched to English and said, "Sorry, sorry," and I saw the reason why she was outside herself. She was standing under a drainpipe taking a shower. By the time Scott and I reached home, we were about as wet as if we had taken one ourselves, except of course, ours was not on purpose.
posted by Siapiau | 6:23 PM
2 Comments:
They also say pole to mean slow down, like "pole, pole" can mean take it easy if you're rushing somewhere, that could have been what that woman meant, since you guys were running in the mud.
- Anri
reminds me of a class discussion in Nigeria, in 1964, when a student asked me why I had "those spots" all over my skin. (Freckles!) When I had finished my long involved explanation of melanin,the sun, different skin types, etc., the student said, "sorry, so sorry." Very funny, especially since I agreed with him!
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