Greetings and welcome back. I’ve just returned, this past weekend, from my visit with the Maasai of Lesoit (city)village. Though I’ve returned there’s no way I could not share my experiences there. Especially after being welcomed in the manner I was. The people I’ve met have had a large impact on my understanding of the world. To be stark, it is among my greatest pleasures to share with you the time I spent there.

My class at MS-TCDC where I was studying Swahili ended June 21^st. I saw the group I had grown fond of slowly disperse over the following weekend. After many bitter sweet goodbyes the weekend came to a close. Chris and I found ourselves the last to depart from the institution which now felt growingly unfamiliar now that our friends had left. The plan now was to meet up with Mrs. Askew(Chris’s mom) Tano( Her driver) and Frank(The chairmen of Cha ng'ombe) to travel to Tangeru  and visit Chris and his mother’s past home. Afterwards we would travel to Lesoit village to live with the Maasai for my remaining two weeks in Tanzania. However, before we would leave Arusha for our trip to the coast we planned to visit the O’neals.

The team with Charlotte O'neal (4th from the right)

Pete O’neal, who opened the chapter of the Black Panther party in Kansas City but left with his wife after being convicted in the United states. They moved to Tanzania in 1972 and later established The United African Allegiance Community Centre (UAACC). Their Centre now is home to 23 children it provides education in English, computer skills, and film making free of charge. There center also includes a music studio, and an art room. Upon arrival we relaxed and bought some sodas until Charlotte O’neal appeared. We talked briefly with her (I’ll post a separate article for the O’neals) then went on a tour of the center.   

A wall saturated with paintings, the ostensible philosophy created here by the O'neals

Chairman Frank  giving an orphan from the UAACC his shot at the basketball court

Family friends of  Mrs. Askew and Chris

We left for Tangeru Saturday and Arrived Sunday afternoon to tour the Coastal city and meet the many locals from Chris’s past and enjoy the Muslim/Indian cuisine. The town was riddled with Bicycles, due to the large investments in bikes from the Chinese. Tangeru gave the small town feel that Ann Arbor used to, but the community felt so much closer. Weddings would be a neighborhood event with streets closed off due to the immense amount of people dancing in celebration. Funerals, Mrs. Askew explained, would be a similar occasion, neighbors and family from  all-over would come to physically support those  in mourning.  Chris and I constantly found Mrs. Askew reminiscing on days past. I was humbled in the presence of her stories and friends which welcomed me into their homes treating me like family. We all ate more than we could handle the night we spent in Tangeru. Mrs. Askew’s phone rang and buzz in glee of her and Chris’s return to their past home the entire evening.

Chris, Mrs. Askew, and I in front of Chris's childhood home

2nd dinner with more friends of Mrs. Askew and Chris

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Another wall at the UAACC done by a student from the Center

In the morning we joined some of the family friends again for breakfast, and I heard many more stories of Chris’s childhood. The afternoon brought a bittersweet symphony of goodbyes as we packed the car and looked towards Lesoit village. After stopping to say goodbye to a few more familiar faces we committed the rest of the day to the bumpy roads leading us into Lesoit. As we travelled over rolling mountains I was reminded of my friends and family back here, it was the first time I really had felt homesick during my stay in Tanzania. I occupied my mind with thoughts of our destination but could not completely shake the feeling… Home truly is where the heart is.