Dar es Salaam Diary

So this past Saturday I attended my first high society event here in Dar - the St. Patrick's Day Ball, hosted by the Irish Society of Dar es Salaam.

Not having expected to be attending such posh functions when I packed to come here, I didn't have anything appropriate to wear. Fortunately, I live around the corner from the amazing Mama Tina, tailor and fashion designer extraordinaire! She charges a bit more than most tailors (there are a ton all over town) but definitely worth it, and still pretty reasonable. So, I went to her a few weeks ago and explained that I needed a ball gown and I needed it to be green. Luckily for me, she had just finished making a wedding dress for a Midsummer Night's Dream themed wedding, and so had a swatch of gauzy, green fabric. I loved it, and so we set about designing my dress. The whole thing was a bit of a process, involving numerous fittings and pin-pricks, but I was very happy with the end result (even if it was only delivered an hour before I had to leave for the ball!)

I wasn't the only one who made use of Tina's services. See the photo below for additional examples of her work.

As for the event itself, it was a lot of fun. Since I've lately felt that my social life here is kind of like high school (everybody knows everybody else, and thus, everybody knows everybody's business...) the ball really felt like the prom. Tho one did not need a date to attend (lucky, since the women in the young ex-pat crowd far outnumber the men here!)

Anyway, it was quite fun to see everyone all dressed up, and then we also got to enjoy Irish step dancing, a band that had been flown in from Ireland, a Tanzanian group that played all your wedding/Bar Mitzvah faves (no 'Shout' thank goodness) and plenty of good food and drink. A bit too much drink for some... at some later point in the evening a teenaged member of the Irish band was seen swaying on the dancefloor, wine bottle in hand, with a significant amount of that wine on his neon green T-shirt. He was next seen lying on his back in the middle of the dance floor. Like I said, visions of the prom...

Despite having a good time, I do not think I will become a regular on the Dar ball circuit. (Yes, there is such a thing! The English, the South Africans, and even the Americans all throw their own...) Part of the fun of this was the sheer novelty/absurdity. Plus, think of all the new dresses I'd have to get made!!