Diversity of Dar

DIVERSITY OF DAR

This week, Dar’s diversity and cultural diaspora embraced me.  There is a plethora of different cultures in Dar -- you will encounter the magnificence of towering mosque minarets, the majestic bells of churches, the simplicity of Buddhist temples and grandiosity of Hindu mandirs.  You will see an array of individuals with differing skin colors and facial features conversing together in Swahili.

Mandir in the center of town

We started off our week with a trip to the Mwenge’s Woodcarver’s market. We learned a budget friendly traveler’s trick - find an item that is present in most of the stores and ask for the price at every store to see how much that particular store is overcharging you. The Market had everything from towering statues to embroidered javelin spears to intricately carved cutlery. We found a store that we fondly referred to as “grandma’s shop” -- a store that was run by two elder women who respectfully gave us reasonable prices. It was also our first tuk-tuk ride -- also known as bajajis in Tanzania. Even with the bumps of the somewhat paved side roads, the ride was a blast.

With a statue twice my size at Mwenge!

I visited my first African salon -- the treatment seemed much more herbal based and relaxing then what I am used to in the US. After my skin service, my skin felt incredibly smooth and had a certain glow that it never had before.

I decided to go back to my roots and explore Dar’s Indian heritage. That included a cumpulsory visit to India Street, a commercial hub. Like all visits to Indian places, it ended with me buying Indian mithai. Typical. In this part of town, I had the best ice cream sundae I had in my life. Visit Snoopy’s and get the Ferraro Sundae -- I promise, there will be no regrets.

Jessica and I went to the mosque on Friday for Jummah prayer (her first time!)  and like last time, it was soothing to see all Tanzanians of different ethnic backgrounds worshiping in unison and embracing each other after prayer was over.

Masjid Hakimi, by our apartment.

One thing that I will be eternally gratefully for is the diversity in the friendships that I have made in Tanzania. These friends have challenged me to push my boundaries and see the world through different eyes, whether it be trying Tanzanian “mix” beach side on Cocoa Beach, encouraging to sing my first karaoke ever or illustrating hurdles that dentists face in a different part of the world. Whatever it may be, the embrace of diversity from Dar has opened my eyes to how different corners of the world can allow you to unearth gems of discovery, both internal and external.