It's not so random as it seems -- but I met a Rwandan Ob/Gyn with whom we plan to collaborate on my flight from Nairobi to Moshi. He had just been at the FIGO conference in Cape Town and was now headed Arusha for a tropical disease conferences -- and was coming from Kigali because he had met one of my bosses there!
So we made a plan to meet up in Arusha for the day on Wednesday as it was Nyerere day, a public holiday in Tanzania. I dala'ed into town and found my way to the Moshi-Arusha bus, the latter being is no small feat! You just show up to the main bus stand and ask for the Arusha bus/wait to find the loudest man yelling 'Arusha!' and get onto that bus.
Apparently the Moshi bus stand is the worst in TZ, according to the Lonely Planet, but it wasn't that ridiculous -- I mean, who doesn't expect people hawking a trip to Tanga or Mwanza, just in case you wandered to the bus stand with no travel plans in mind but were easily convinced? :) Turns out it was super easy, 90 minutes, 2000 shillings ($1.75), and an old Japanese/Chinese bus later, I was in Arusha!
Apparently the Moshi bus stand is the worst in TZ, according to the Lonely Planet, but it wasn't that ridiculous -- I mean, who doesn't expect people hawking a trip to Tanga or Mwanza, just in case you wandered to the bus stand with no travel plans in mind but were easily convinced? :) Turns out it was super easy, 90 minutes, 2000 shillings ($1.75), and an old Japanese/Chinese bus later, I was in Arusha!
Because my friend, Steven, was Rwandan and I knew the UN War Crimes Tribunal for the Rwandan genocide is in Arusha, I asked if he could organize for us to attend - which he did!! So we met his friend who works at the War Crimes Tribunal, which was clutch because I had forgotten any ID! So his friend convinced the security guard to let us in on one passport :)
The accused was testifying in the case being tried that day, which was really interesting because he kept fighting with his own defense counsel! We didn't get into the intense genocide questions, but it was really incredible to witness this court. Visitors aren't actually in court, but we sit behind 2-way glass and watch the court proceedings, so it's quite up-close-and-personal.
The accused was testifying in the case being tried that day, which was really interesting because he kept fighting with his own defense counsel! We didn't get into the intense genocide questions, but it was really incredible to witness this court. Visitors aren't actually in court, but we sit behind 2-way glass and watch the court proceedings, so it's quite up-close-and-personal.
Steven didn't really want to talk about the genocide, even though he must have lived through it as a teenager, and he kept leaving the viewing of the court case. But his friend taught me a lot about the roots of the war and how Rwanda has pulled itself together so quickly -- and I had no idea Kagame was a Tutsi! Again -- being here just makes me realize how little I know about African history -- first with my realization about my sorry knowledge on apartheid, then my cursory knowledge on Hutus and Tutsis -- so little time, so much to read!
Interestingly, Rwandans speak 'Kenyarwanda,' which is essentially French, Swahili, and some other Bantu language. As a result, the French UN translator was really good, and I listened to the majority of the court case in French.
I took pictures of the UN signs but the guards caught me and made me delete them :/
Anyway, I couldn't stay there ALL day -- I don't know how lawyers ask a series of painstakingly detailed questions day in and day out. So we left, and lo and behold, there was a diplomat car for us! I'm still confused how we scored that -- all Steven said was citizens of the East African Community are taken care of when they visit other countries, but he totally evaded how he got such treatment -- and we met his friend from the East African Community and went to the craft market. It was hilarious, they got charged 'diplomat' prices -- so it's not JUST us mzungus that get ripped off, although apparently the market people were discussing my presence with Steven and his friend and decided to charge us more. Ultimately we bargained them down and got some beautiful scarves for a mere $2.75 each!
Driving through Arusha town was amazing -- it's SO nice there!! I think there's actually a movie theater, actually cute shops, and an actual downtown to walk around. Really! Then we went to lunch at some new, swank resort that had just opened. The food could have been a bit better and they didn't have Fanta passion (even Moshi has Fanta passion!!), but the setting was gorgeous -- poolside with palm trees ensconcing the whole area. I'm definitely going to have to take the bus to Arusha more often!
We hung out a bit longer before heading to the airport -- I went with Steven since it was half the distance to Moshi and twice as fast as taking the bus. But, because I didn't take the bus when it originated, I ended up on a can-of-sardines bus, sitting on the metal rod separating the conductor from the stairs into the bus, with one foot on the floor, one foot on a 10kg bag of rice, holding onto someone's bucket, listening to some kid who was high sing the most profane rap lyrics. It was totally hilarious -- that would have the picture of the day, if only I could have managed it. Of course everyone asked me where I'm from, and lately no one has guess the US. Canada, Great Britain, some other European countries, and Southeast Asia have all made the cut though -- who knows.
So it ended up being an absolutely fun day! Who would have expected the diplomat car treatment, but it was quite nice :) And of course I capped off the evening with some guacamole that I made for Monday Night Football -- which was a great game -- and some Ndovu, good Tanzanian beer.
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