You hear stories from time to time of missionaries who become pluralists relativists. I can see how it happens. It might be that you go into another culture with the idea that you’re bringing something unique, only to discover that it’s already there. Red Twin tells me that it’s a […]
A lady turns up at our gate. She’d seen us at Mama Velo’s wedding near her home. She wasn’t a guest at the wedding and doesn’t know Mama Velo but somehow she’s tracked us down. She asks for money. Primary education is free in Tanzania, but all children require a […]
Our house mama had something a bit like a second wedding this weekend. We were honoured to participate and excited to learn about this aspect of Tanzanian culture. Every wedding may not be exactly like this, but here’s some of what we observed:
1. It is cold. I think this is because all white people come from Europe. People often ask us if we are coping with the heat. They are very surprised when we tell them that Australia is hotter than Tanzania and when they worry about us getting burnt because of […]
To finish off the Cooking with Tamie series (I hope you’ve enjoyed it!) here’s some of what I’ve learnt about Tanzanian cookery. All Tanzanian food is cooked with a lot of oil and salt. Most of these dishes are cooked in saucepans. Very few people have or use ovens. Food is served […]
For all my talk about cultural differences in parenting just being different, without attaching judgemental labels, it breaks my heart to see the way kids react when they see a picture book. Last month was the commencement service for the university and a number of children from the neighbourhood attended. […]
Going into town for us is a matter of negotiating cars, 4WDs, carts, bikes, motorbikes and pedestrians where there are no traffic lights, zebra crossings are nominal and there aren’t really any footpaths. You can’t use a stroller and Elliot won’t tolerate being on my back anymore so there have […]
Meet Jesus at uni 