A Gift from Aruben

Written on June 7, 2008 from Dodoma, Tanzania
By Philip Arscott

Today Jake, David and I went into Dodoma on our own for the first time. It turns out that it is a relatively short walk to downtown, although taking the roads makes it seem much longer. Right upon entering the city, we ran into a VEF beneficiary that we had seen the day before, when Noel drove us into town for some groceries and to show us around. They were displaying their goods to us: African paintings, wood carvings, and jewelry, all very beautiful but it was too early in our excursion to make any purchases. Aruben, the leader of the group, (I assume because he was spearheading the conversation) assured us that when we wanted to see more of their goods to come to a corner about 200 yards away. We promised to stop by before we made the return journey, and then ventured into the bustling market.
The streets lined with shops and kiosks, is quite a site. Anything you need from hand-carved wood bed frames to flat screen TV’s were ready for purchase. We wandered around for a little, enjoyed a soda at a café, but really just took in the sights, smells and sounds. We did have a few things on our list to purchase, most important were the mosquito nets needed for the nights we would spent out in the villages. Every twenty feet or so we would hear people shout “Caribou!” or “Welcome” and many people would stop us to shake our hands, welcoming us to their side of the world. Although few of the streets are paved, the capital is alive with business and music coming from every direction. The colors of the fabrics hanging from the tailor’s shop to the finished traditional shirts reflect the lively atmosphere I’ve experienced thus far in Tanzania. One of my favorite things to watch is a man preparing sugarcane for sale. Looking like an enlarged bamboo stick, the cane does not look very appetizing until the skilled seller slashes at the stick with a long knife, revealing the sweet meat inside. I will have to purchase one of the bags of sugarcane pieces one of these days, when my sweet tooth is calling.
We wandered a little while longer and after making a loop of the market, we purchased our mosquito nets and headed for the corner where Aruben was waiting. He seemed surprised that we kept our promise but was ready to give us a bargain. They had little carved sticks that hid dull knife blades, beaded jewelry both wood and stone, and African paintings that they offered at a much better price than some we had already purchased a few days before. After a couple sales to each of us and a little bargaining, we said that we must head back before it got too late and miss dinner. Aruben then pulled out three beaded bracelets for us and gave them to us as a gift. Although we had made a purchase it was a very generous gesture, and we tanked him very much and promised we would see him again in the coming month. We caught a taxi for the journey home which cost less than $3, and I was quite content with meeting such a nice VEF beneficiary on the streets of Dodoma so early in our stay in Tanzania.