Christmas in Tanzania

It is Christmas day in Moshi. A part of the market remains open with Swahili and Christmas songs blaring from speakers and pineapples, green oranges, sugar canes and tomatoes piled along the roadside for sale. Clothes are hanging off trees or fences, and shoes line the dusty sidewalks trying to attract a potential buyer. As this is Africa, you don't see the hustle and bustle of shoppers carrying presents or the mad rush of the "last-minute shopper". A new shoe or dress is usually the most a child will get for Christmas. An occasional festive light or plastic Christmas tree can be glimpsed in a store or restaurant, and some street vendors are selling evergreen tree branches (freshly cut from the national park) for decoration.

Most of the stores are closed and the streets are quiet as I walk back from the morning church service with the lively singing, clapping and drumming. I am a little homesick as I miss the company of my family and friends and the taste of turkey and stuffing, smothered in gravy and cranberry sauce. The traditional Christmas meal in Tanzania consists of grilled banana, pilau (black rice), ugali (corn mieze), roast beef or pork, and the special treat of chipatti (Indian bread). I plan to eat my Christmas dinner later at a buffet in an Indo-Italiano restaurant aptly named Deli Chez, and then pack for the six-day climb up Kilimanjaro mountain tomorrow by the Machame or more popularly known as the Whiskey route. I go where the conveyor belt of life takes me. Have a Merry Christmas where ever that may be.