My driver thought I was young, in my 20s like him. I get that a lot. He has 2 boys, 10 and 6, and he wants at least 2 more kids. I asked him where he is from. First he said Africa, so I said which country? He said Tanzania. He told me he still has a sister there but his dad died in 2018. His village is very difficult to get to, and hardly ever has drinkable water. It has also been hit hard by #covid_19. He explained that the village is on an island. I didn’t realize that Tanzania had an island or islands, so after our ride I looked up the info, and there’s actually many islands of Tanzania. [Having lived on Mackinac Island in Michigan where only bicycles and horses are allowed, I at least knew what it meant to be on a rock surrounded exclusively by water and have some limited means, though our idea of inconvenience doesn’t even begin to compare.] I actually have very limited knowledge of Tanzania, only because my aunt was there for a short time as a teacher. I know from my own studies that it is a largely Muslim country; when that is the case, music centers around one instrument when it is played, and it is usually for the purpose of prayer.

He works many hours here, 2 jobs, so he can send money there to help. He missed his home very much, but he wanted to make a better life both for his own small family, and for everyone that he sent money back home to. He said, “But it’s okay.” I said it really wasn’t okay and I am sorry that it is so difficult. He said, “But I am a man, and I am going to be strong.” Up to that point he was smiling and cheerful, but when he said that, he was utterly sad.

Flower Goddess Art Print

Tanzania Travel Poster

Indigo Batik Bedcover

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