I found this post this morning. I wrote this on the plane headed back to New York: My head is swimming and my heart is churning. I could never have imagined the relationships I would form and the people whose stories would touch my life over these past few weeks. I was adopted by two families upon arrival, with no questions asked about why I should deserve their love, time and assistance. My homestay family, Mama Mbogo. I am grateful for her blunt honesty and genuine-mom-ness about her. She fed us til we were stuffed, checked to make sure we were okay, and provided me a safe place to reside regardless of how long I stayed. As much of a character as mama is, she is sincerely a mom to everyone who enters her home, and I enjoyed her advice and conversation. To Adam, thank you for introducing me to the breadth of Tanzanian music (bongo flavor!) and helping me learn Swahili. To Mwamvita, a sweet young woman who I have struggled to relate to and understand. Her position in the household has been mystery to me: live-in maid, seamstress, cook, sister and in many ways daughter. Mwamvita you are so bright and so talented. I wish only that you will pursue dreams bigger than you could have ever imagined. From the kitchen to the classroom, or even having your own sewing business one day. Then my second family, the lovely ladies at the gender centre. Persis, also a mama in many ways, greeting me as twiga mtoto and smiling from a deep sincere source of happiness. Habasi, the partially deaf driver who is so sincerely patient and kind and full of laughs. Dr. Rose who was both our client and our caretaker, thank you for bringing us here. For sponsoring our stay, our meals, our travel. For connecting us to the incredible work being done at the university, and allowing us to interview and observe not as pesky outsiders but as respected parts of a research team. We admire so greatly what you have done and what you aim to do. In spite of all the political struggles in academia, never lose sight of the young women who might not even BE in that university of it weren't for your work. Gracie, Shani and Furaha- you three have become such close friends. I sincerely hope I will see you all as soon as possible. Gracie- you have the sweetest smile and laugh. I love that you dubbed me twiga mtoto and I loved that we spent so many days just giggling. Shani- your effortless style and grace compliment your intelligence and poise. While you are always rocking fantastic outfits, I know you to be a smart, ambitious young woman who will go great places. Furaha, how much I will miss you dear. It is impossible to sum up the amount I have learned from you and grown to love you over the past several weeks. You are indeed a gem. As both a friend and a coworker, i felt so lucky to work with you. You have that spark, which is difficult to describe, where you can handle a stressful situational flawlessly and predict the needs of the next moment, yet make everyone else feel calm. You handled all our personalities, questions, and new perspectives with intelligence and grace. You were both our protector and our enabler: taking us to fun places but making sure we got there safely. I have shared so many memories and stories with you. From chats about boyfriends to classes and exams to gender issues. I can tell already you will go amazing places. And I hope one of them is to the US to visit us. New York, Texas and California welcome you. Karibu sana!! I am so thankful for the people who have opened their lives and shown me such amazing things I would never have known or seen had I not met them. I can say without a doubt that this capstone assignment was more than a project, but a connection to some of the most incredible people I have met. I hope to see you again soon... And maybe next time I will bring Tumbili! ;)
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