Church and Dala Dalas

By Sarah Sevcik
Tanzania
July 21, 2008

Sunday morning I went to a Lutheran church on the edge of town, near the Secondary School where Peter lives. Thankfully, Peter joined me, and I was excited that he’d be able to translate for me. However, when we arrived at the church, we noticed the men were separated from the women and children. Shoot. Thankfully, I was warmly welcomed to sit by the women, and during the 2-hour service I was able to follow most of what was going on. Of course, I didn’t understand the words, but the structure of the service was familiar, with everything from the prayers and the sermon to the Lord’s Prayer and taking an offering. The music, sang by a young man’s choir, was my favorite part. I just closed my eyes and listened to the voices, understanding only the word “mungu��? (God) and the intense dedication of the singers.
At the end of the service, we walked outdoors, still singing, and gathered around in a half-circle. Then came the auction. Apparently, after the service, items are auctioned off in order to raise money for the church. On Sunday, three “original Bic��? pens were the prized items! The pastor started low and increased the price until someone said they were willing to buy the pen in honor of another. The third pen was bought for 500 shilling and given to Teacher Peter. :-)
After church Peter and I took 3.5 hour hike to the edge of the Ngorongoro Conservation area. We walked through fields of wheat and fields of sunflowers, eventually reaching a coffee plantation and then a field of tobacco. Everywhere we walked, the beauty was so great it nearly took my breath away. Then, it was time to come back home to greet a bunch of our friends who just finished climbing Kili. To get home, I needed to jump on a dala dala.

The public transportation system in Karatu is the dala dala. A dala dala is essentially a 15-passenger van. However, it isn’t full until stuffed with 30-35 people, a few of whom are hanging outside the open door. Thankfully, I have not needed to prove that my arm muscles are strong enough to handle such an outdoor ride, but that doesn’t mean I lack adventure inside the van. Indeed, when traveling back from church, I was nearly leaning my head in a man’s lap while arms and even legs were tangled all around me. Meanwhile, a standing woman dug her elbows into my neck and shoulders as her way of holding on. Actually, I didn’t mind—it felt a bit like getting a deep tissue massage!

Speaking of dala dalas, Peter and another Peace Corp member are using the dala dala scenario in writing a math textbook for the secondary schools. For example, one question might read, “You are trying to make money for your dala dala business. Each person pays 500 shillings to ride. You can put up to XXX kilos on the top of the dala before it is too heavy and falls over. If more than XXX people are in the dala, it will cause a riot. How many people and kilos do you need in your dala to make at least XXX shillings if the price of gas is XXX shillings and you travel 10 miles?��?