How to Explain Quailman to Tanzanian Villagers

Bean(s) and Flour Ball or Maharage and Ugali

We spent Halloween and Thanksgiving at MATI, which is where our entire group gets together for training.  First, I don’t know of an instance where 41 strangers get along so well, but that is our group-always laughing and having massage circles.  It’s truly amazing how like-minded and diverse we are. 

For Halloween I was a ball of Ugali and Jeff was Maharage.  We also had special appearances by the ninja turtles, Quailman, big spoon/little spoon, and a lion.  This made for an interesting experience communicating ‘kwa nini’ to the villagers.

Quailman, aka Eric

Step One:  Tell the villagers you are trying to look ridiculous

Step Two:  Remind them that you are rewarded the more ridiculous you look.

Step Three:  Explain that Quailman is really a drawn character on TV named Doug, who wears underwear over his pants-before Brittney Spears did-and has a crush on a girl who is named after a condiment. (This is when it gets tricky.)

Step Four:  Revert back to reminding the villagers that the more ridiculous you look the more candy you get!

As a result, the children loved the idea, the elders thought it was crazy.  I can honestly say I’ve never missed bite size butterfingers or Skeeter more.

The Ninja Turtles: Cate, James, Tanique, Maria and their LCF

Thanksgiving felt so unlike November.  The staff was so good to us and ‘tried’ to make mashed potatoes, green beans and cranberry sauce.  They even surprised us with a big sheet cake and candy.  We played football and frisbee, had a dance party, drank sodas, and by nightfall our stomachs were yelling at us with confusion at all the sugary American food.  I’m actually looking forward to Christmas in Dodoma/Ho-Ho-ma, my new home, with my new friends also in the region.  It feels nothing like the holiday season here.

…that could be partially because I’m sweating while I write this….