This morning we left for Boma around 9:30am. We got on a dala-dala right outside our house and got off in town. We walked past the dala-dala circle (where there are a number of dala-dalas that take passengers to further places), and at this point we were confused. Adrienne and I expected to get onto one of those dala-dalas, but mama just kept leading us through town (at this point, we know nothing about Boma--no idea where it is, how long it takes to get there, what mama actually has there, etc.) Finally, mama stopped on the side of the road and we realized this is where we would be waiting for a second dala-dala to pick us up.
When the correct dala-dala finally came, stepping on was way more chaotic than usual. Everyone rushed to get on and the dala-dala quickly sped away while all the passengers were cracking up. I let out a bemused laugh to go along with everyone else, but I had no idea what all the commotion was. Mama informed us that where we had got on was not a real bus stop, and the police were coming toward the dala-dala--causing everyone to move quickly and the dala-dala to speed away. I turned around to see a lone policeman, on foot, with absolutely nothing he could do about the speeding dala-dala stopping at the wrong places and carrying far too many passengers. Although this is a pretty bad thing, I found it amusing considering lack of proper police equipment was one of the policy issues in my case study--and here was a perfect example to demonstrate that point.
With all the stops, it took us about 40 minutes to get to Boma. We got off the dala-dala dnt ehf rist thing I noticed was how dusty it was. Mama had warned us it would be dusty and told me to change out of my skirt before we left--but I didn't think it would be this dusty. We walked through the marketplace and mama bought some avocados and lemons, and then we continued to walk to mama's place. It took us approximately 20 minutes to walk there, and we discovered that mama has a lot of friends in Boma. Many people of all ages--kids, teenagers, women the same age as mama, old men--stopped to greet mama.
After the fairly long walk, we arrived at mama's shop. Mama has a small shop, much like what you would see in town or along the roads of KCMC; in her shop she sells coffee, tea, sodas, biscuits, alcohol, beer, and other little things. Mama also has a tree in Boma. A couple weeks ago, mama originally told us she had a garden in Boma--but further conversations hinted that mama really just had a tree with a couple flowers. So that was funny. It was a really pretty tree though!
We walked around behind the shop and there was the house--the very big house--that mama is building. She gave us a tour of the very unfinished house, and if she ever gets around to finishing it, it will be a very nice place. There were 3 bedrooms, 2 kitchens, a living room, and multiple bathrooms. It is much bigger than the place mama has in Moshi. Right now, there are no floors, walls, or windows, and only some rooms have ceilings. Mama keeps asking Adrienne and me to help pay for her to finish the house, so that gets a little awkward because that's not exactly appropriate.
After walking around and seeing mama's place, she made us lunch. She roasted corn--which kept falling off the pot and onto the dirty ground, and we were served it anyway. And she also made rice with these really, reallllly yummy beans topped with avocados, tomatoes, and cucumbers. It was delicious! When we were done eating, Adrienne and I were pretty tired so mama told us to take a nap. Sometimes mama stays the night in Boma, so she does have a bed there. Also, her shopkeeper, Lightness, stays in Boma most days and sleeps there.
When we woke up from our nap, we walked around a little bit more, had a beautiful view of the mountain, and then went back home. Back at home, we showered up, ate dinner, and just stayed in and relaxed for the rest of the night.
Also, I didn't have time to put the pics from Boma onto a USB--but here is a picture of Derike and Mesha rockin' Cornell Soccer shirts!
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