Church

Kikuyu saying: When Europeans came to Africa, we had the land and they had the bible. Now, they have the land and we have the bible.



The crew at Ndarakwai invited us to join them at the local Lutheran church on Sunday. Church here in Tanzania is no small deal. When we entered the building we were greeted by the sound of keyboard music (you know the really really cheesy settings keyboards have-- yeah those) and ladies dancing in colorful kangas and even a bit of Western wear. I was asked to give a speech in Kiswahili introducing the wazungus (white people) and saying thank you. I think they understood. Hope so. Then things really got going with more dancing, preaching and debate about contributions to the church. At first it was really cool to watch, but as the sermon drolled on in Swahili, I began to wonder what I was doing there and whether we should be there at all.

We were definitely a disruption. Though we came to observe respectfully, people were certainly observing us as well and thus less focused in their place of prayer. Secondly, I didn’t quite feel invited. Someone had invited us, but it wasn’t the kind of situation where the church members could have said no. In Tanzanian culture where hospitality is so important, this thought would probably be offensive to those church members, but I was just uncomfortable with the dynamic that brought us in the door—in what felt to me like a purely in and out tourist experience. Which is the third thing—I felt totally like a tourist, extracting what I wanted from the experience that was a reality for other people.

It gets at a deep discomfort that I have with being a tourist. This kind of issue isn’t unusual- lots of people aim to be travelers rather than tourists, to have real experiences abroad, to avoid being that bumbling person with a fanny-pack and camera glued to the hand. But what is so fascinating is that the self-conscious disgust is internal and frankly kind of strange to the Tanzanians I’ve talked to about it. Tourism in Tanzania is a cherished industry—most local people probably would have no idea why we struggle with it at all.

I’m not sure what this means. But is it definitely interesting. Sometimes I feel like this intensive self-consciousness is completely ungrounded and even presumptuous. But on the other hand, I wouldn’t want to travel without it.