About halfway around the world, there is a city in the Northeast of Tanzania called Arusha. After spending 2 years there alone with no family, one could easily assume that I am much more at ease being back home in the States where I spent most of my life. Would it come as a surprise if I said I constantly find myself thinking of my time there to find ease and comfort in my memories of my time there? I made friends who became family and opened the window to a whole other world, one that I did not know could make me feel so whole.
To the naked eye, Arusha may just seem like another bustling town, however, they don’t see the little things that work together to give it the blend of homeliness, elation, and a unique connection to nature. They don’t see the city's continues infrastructure growth, the roads quite literally being paved. They don't see how every Saturday the Mayor of the town and willing volunteers get together to clean the roads and streets to minimize pollution. They don't see the Maasai women coming together to discuss selling prices of their hand-beaded accessories before opening the Maasai market. They don’t see the different herds of cattle being chased all over town. I say this because I didn't see this for a while either. I didn't see this until curiosity got the very best of me and I started immersing myself in the community.
The community was a close-knit community, one where everyone knew shopkeepers' names, where to get the sweetest fruits, or where the best Chips Mayai (a common comfort food in Tanzania) was sold. The culture was enriching and full of history, and it was easy to be blended into it through the town folk and the community.
(A picture I took while on the way into the town center on a boda boda)
I went to an international IB boarding school that was in Arusha. The school was from 7:50 am to 3:30 pm Monday through Friday and every chance I got I would leave campus to go and find something to do in town or just be kept company by the constant buzz and hustle. I would just have to step out those gates and I would be able to hop on a dala dala (a mini car/bus-like transportation) or a boda boda (a motorcycle) and go wherever I would like for almost always less than 2 dollars (after negotiating of course). Whether it was to go and buy my favorite fresh fruits from the street fruit stand for a dollar a pound or to catch a movie with friends in the town center or even just to go out to experience its nightlife, Arusha never disappointed me. I do have to say my favorite thing to do was to go out to nature and experience what it offered me. It offered me silence and the sounds of hundreds of creatures simply living. Spending those moments laughing and breathing in fresh untainted air felt like mother Earth had swaddled me in a blanket of stars.
(Photo from a weekend trip to the nearby natural water whole)
I got to learn more of the inner workings and details upon which Arusha was running through school assignments. As funny as that sounds, it’s the truth. Since I did the IB diploma I had to write a detailed research paper for each class and an additional 4000-word research paper called the extended essay. I took Geography and Economics at a higher level and so I decided to have the topics of all three research papers be based in Arusha. For this, I had to do research and collection of primary and secondary data in and for Arusha. For Geography, the chosen topic was tracking the rate of urban stress from the CDB and out, for Economics, it was tracking the economic development of Arushas transportation sector, and for the extended essay, it was Atmospheric Systems and Societies/ the air pollution in Arusha. It was after doing these that I was inspired to pursue Urban Planning. This experience also allowed me to see Arusha through not just a personal lens but an environmental and professional one as well.
Arusha, the city just buzzing with life. The city that is nicknamed Cradle of Humankind for good reason. And the city that managed to make me feel at home when I was halfway across the world from all I had known. So every once in a while I close my eyes and go find myself back there feeling content and at ease even if it is just a memory of what once was.
(A photo of my friends and me after school watching the sunset at a nearby safari)
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