First Christmas in Tanzania

Last Christmas 2011 was pretty memorable only because it was the complete polar opposite of what Christmas isn't! One shouldn't be physically, emotionally, and mentally challenged in a life threatening way. I experienced freezing, starving, isolation, total discomfort and wished to any God that my frozen body wouldn't be found the next day.

I was stuck in the Nepalese Himalaya in high altitude as a friend and I "camped out" in the open freezing cold where no food, warmth or person were to be found.

It was in the late afternoon at 4:00 o'clock where we had to make an executive decision of either continuing on with our trek to the next village in hopes of finding lodging or discontinue and stay still for fear the sun would quickly set and we'd find ourselves dangerously trekking in the dark up high in the isolated Mount Everest in Nepal.

To back track backwards was senseless too as it would take a while to reach the last village and we'd be losing time.

We took a chance to play safe and mutually agreed to stay at the area right where we decided to finish for the day.

We found a spot unknown to us as its use or purpose but can only guess perhaps a small pen for a yak or a shepard? Very short walls made from a stack of stones created an enclosure of three walls. The wall was not solid as stones piled on top is only to create some barrier. On one side of the inside wall was a raised platform where my friend and I faced each other and slept on it. Needless to say, sleeping on freezing cold stone was not conducive to slumberland. We couldn't get comfortable as the length and width was too short and narrow...especially for 2 people.

We tried to make time pass fast and take our minds off our misery. All I have to say is that if you have to be stuck with someone in po dunk bum f*** Egypt, it better be with someone whom you enjoy conversations and can laugh about anything and most of all, censor nothing.

We talked about nothing and everything. We laughed at our stupid convo and the predicament we created; we're middle aged women but we're giggling and roaring like lame teens. For Christmas dinner, I gave her one bag of my beef jerkey while I ate the other flavor: turkey.

We tried to sleep but it was pathetic. We were pathetic. Freezing cold and stuck in the isolated Himalaya couple villages away from Everest Base Camp. I tossed and turned in my sleeping bag as my right and left hip bone ached from the hard cold stone.

The next morning at the crack of sun rise, we woke as we found ice frost on our sleeping bags. We barely slept, our fingers froze and we were having a painful time trying to dress, put away our sleeping bags and packed to continue on to the next village. I felt as if my fingers were breaking like frozen fish sticks.

It was definitely a most memorable Christmas. A world away from home in the freezing high altitude mountain in an isolated place on the globe. No food, no warmth, no family...at least my buddy and I will always share this true story.

That tale made for a good story so to beat that one would be pretty challenging. Challenges i like...so this year has it that I spent Christmas in Tanzania with the Southern Maasai in the Southern Highlands.

What I lacked last year, I made up for it this year with warmth, many people, and food. I'm still far away from my family but at least I'm not freezing or starving.

On Christmas Eve, I visited a Maasai village in the region of Iringa. I trekked 3 kilometers from another nearby village wading through two small body of water in the dark. Once I reached the destination, I found myself in the bushes with nothing and a hut house. The hut inside is dirt floor with nothing else. No furniture. A shelter only. The Southern Maasai men wore colors and patterns much different than their Northern counterparts. The women all wore identical colors: blue bottom and eggplant purple top with iconic Maasai beaded jewelry. What stood out was the gages in their ears. The earlobes have huge long holes where hang heavy long earrings with dangling chains.

That evening, children, men and women sang and danced in a circle. It was night time and basically unless there was a full moon to shine on us, you see nothing. I admire the communal living and socialization of one big community.

The following day, Christmas, I returned to them and I see the Maasai women gathered together sitting in front of a hut preparing food. Two women removed innards from a sheep. Some women cleaned rice and others picked out beans.
While the women cooked, men rested.
Christmas lunch consisted of pilau, white rice, several pieces of bite-size sheep meat and beans. Naturally, no celebratory meal is complete without a bottle of room temperature soda.

After lunch, it was time for a church service where preachers preached and a choir of children and women sang. The church seating was made up of random uneven planks of wood placed on the ground. You are only several inches off the ground.

After Christmas church service has ended, the Maasai men danced, or jump rather
in their white uniform rubber sandals, spears and dress. Their "singing and dancing" was a sight to behold. Long and lean, they are human trampolines who can jump effortlessly high and verbally created unique gutteral sounds: a most unique visual and auditory sensation.

It was an interesting cultural experience to witness a tribe living without much material possession but completely rich in spirit and tradition.

Christmas is meant for people to share in their love, value, and good will. The Maasai tribe, like other Tanzanians, are people of hospitality.