Monday, May 08, 2006
Reflections on “Mzungu-ness,” Continued, or How the “Other Other Half” Lives
This past week afforded further glimpses into the lifestyles of other Americans here in Dar, which in turn led to further self-reflection on my current role (yes, more quasi-existential musings!), which of course I now feel compelled to share with you, my captive audience.
I’ve never been much of a patriot, and in general do not conceive of my being American as one of my defining characteristics. But I do always notice that I have a much stronger sense of national identity when I’m spending time abroad. As my world-travelling aunt put it to me early on in my stay here, “You’ll be surprised how happy you will be to meet another American, even if he’s a fascist!” Not sure about fascists, but I have found that the people I have clicked with most easily here have also been Americans.
However, I have retained enough discernment (some might say latte-sipping, East Coast liberal elitism) to recognize that there are some pockets of the American ex-pat community in Dar that will remain sufficiently foreign to me despite certain commonalities.
Take, for instance, the scene at the American Embassy this past Thursday. It was my first time inside the Embassy walls and an experience in and of itself. The Embassy is truly a fortress – a reasonably enormous compound with large white buildings, lush green grass, and a miniature version of the Capitol’s reflecting pool! The high level of security is understandable given that the former U.S. Embassy was bombed in 1998 by terrorists. However, some aspects of the Embassy are a bit more difficult to understand – for example the fact that every single thing within the walls is imported from the States, down to the grass seed!
The event which brought me behind the Embassy walls was the weekly happy hour at the Marine house (there are approximately seven U.S. Marines guarding the Embassy). Some of my friends are fond of going, especially because the happy hours usually feature the screening of a recent movie outdoors. (This is a treat since while Dar is home to Tanzania’s only movie theater, the options tend toward outdated action and kids’ movies and 4-hour Bollywood extravaganzas so can leave something to be desired.) This past Thursday, however, there was no movie being shown since three Marines were being bade farewell as they were leaving their post here.
The scene, as my housemate Michelle put it, was like a Midwestern barbeque. I was kind of overwhelmed by all the blondes… Lots of young families and Southern accents. It was also just a bit awkward to be participating in an emotional farewell for three people who I had only just met, one of whom is proudly heading off to guard the U.S. Embassy in Iraq. But, the happy hour was held the day before Cinco de Mayo, so we honored the holiday with the requisite margaritas and Mexican snacks. (Also a treat, as I know that the tortilla chips they were serving retail at the local supermarket for over 7 bucks a pop!)
This past Saturday gave me another chance to see how the “other other half” lives, when some friends and I went over to the house of a U.S. Embassy employee for dinner. I spent a fair amount of time gawking at the contents of his cupboards and refrigerator, which were stocked with American goodies such as Rice Krispie Treats and Kraft Mac & Cheese that are almost impossible to find here, or are ludicrously expensive. Embassy employees are allowed to ship over their worldly goods in huge containers, and it was clear that our friend had done some serious shopping at Sam’s Club before coming to TZ. As we admired the ocean view from the screened-in balcony on the third floor, enjoying some respite from the frigid A/C that permeated the rest of the house, I marvelled at the fact that this guy, like all of his Embassy coworkers, is receiving “hardship pay” – a bump up in in his salary to account for the fact that he is having to “rough it” here. (I suppose 7 dollars for a bag of tortilla chips is a hardship of sorts…)
Our friend is sufficiently savvy of this irony, it seems, and has been known to refer to his experience here as “Africa Lite.”
So, I suppose the point of this somewhat snippy set of anecdotes is to comfort myself that while I am reaping some benefits of my mzungu privilege, I am experiencing a bit more of the “real” Tanzania than many of my compatriots – namely, annoying fluctuations in my power and water, a lack of air-conditioning at home and at work, squishy dala-dala rides, and to top it off, no hardship pay to offset the cost of ridiculously expensive Mexican food!
I’ve never been much of a patriot, and in general do not conceive of my being American as one of my defining characteristics. But I do always notice that I have a much stronger sense of national identity when I’m spending time abroad. As my world-travelling aunt put it to me early on in my stay here, “You’ll be surprised how happy you will be to meet another American, even if he’s a fascist!” Not sure about fascists, but I have found that the people I have clicked with most easily here have also been Americans.
However, I have retained enough discernment (some might say latte-sipping, East Coast liberal elitism) to recognize that there are some pockets of the American ex-pat community in Dar that will remain sufficiently foreign to me despite certain commonalities.
Take, for instance, the scene at the American Embassy this past Thursday. It was my first time inside the Embassy walls and an experience in and of itself. The Embassy is truly a fortress – a reasonably enormous compound with large white buildings, lush green grass, and a miniature version of the Capitol’s reflecting pool! The high level of security is understandable given that the former U.S. Embassy was bombed in 1998 by terrorists. However, some aspects of the Embassy are a bit more difficult to understand – for example the fact that every single thing within the walls is imported from the States, down to the grass seed!
The event which brought me behind the Embassy walls was the weekly happy hour at the Marine house (there are approximately seven U.S. Marines guarding the Embassy). Some of my friends are fond of going, especially because the happy hours usually feature the screening of a recent movie outdoors. (This is a treat since while Dar is home to Tanzania’s only movie theater, the options tend toward outdated action and kids’ movies and 4-hour Bollywood extravaganzas so can leave something to be desired.) This past Thursday, however, there was no movie being shown since three Marines were being bade farewell as they were leaving their post here.
The scene, as my housemate Michelle put it, was like a Midwestern barbeque. I was kind of overwhelmed by all the blondes… Lots of young families and Southern accents. It was also just a bit awkward to be participating in an emotional farewell for three people who I had only just met, one of whom is proudly heading off to guard the U.S. Embassy in Iraq. But, the happy hour was held the day before Cinco de Mayo, so we honored the holiday with the requisite margaritas and Mexican snacks. (Also a treat, as I know that the tortilla chips they were serving retail at the local supermarket for over 7 bucks a pop!)
This past Saturday gave me another chance to see how the “other other half” lives, when some friends and I went over to the house of a U.S. Embassy employee for dinner. I spent a fair amount of time gawking at the contents of his cupboards and refrigerator, which were stocked with American goodies such as Rice Krispie Treats and Kraft Mac & Cheese that are almost impossible to find here, or are ludicrously expensive. Embassy employees are allowed to ship over their worldly goods in huge containers, and it was clear that our friend had done some serious shopping at Sam’s Club before coming to TZ. As we admired the ocean view from the screened-in balcony on the third floor, enjoying some respite from the frigid A/C that permeated the rest of the house, I marvelled at the fact that this guy, like all of his Embassy coworkers, is receiving “hardship pay” – a bump up in in his salary to account for the fact that he is having to “rough it” here. (I suppose 7 dollars for a bag of tortilla chips is a hardship of sorts…)
Our friend is sufficiently savvy of this irony, it seems, and has been known to refer to his experience here as “Africa Lite.”
So, I suppose the point of this somewhat snippy set of anecdotes is to comfort myself that while I am reaping some benefits of my mzungu privilege, I am experiencing a bit more of the “real” Tanzania than many of my compatriots – namely, annoying fluctuations in my power and water, a lack of air-conditioning at home and at work, squishy dala-dala rides, and to top it off, no hardship pay to offset the cost of ridiculously expensive Mexican food!
# posted by Ruth @ 10:31 AM 
