10/12/09
(Photos from the Awards Show 1.Wyclef Hosting MAMA, 2.Akon performing, 3.Jackie and I in the crowd, 4.The End)
This past weekend, I was invited to join some friends on a trip to the MTV African Music Awards (MAMA) in Nairobi. Of course I couldn’t pass up this opportunity. So on Friday afternoon, I left Arusha with three friends on a shuttle bus. Jackie, Johanna, Idi and I rode 8+hours down a dusty, bumpy road. The trip really isn’t that far, but the fact that we have to drive on a rocky road makes things slower. Tz is experiencing a severe drought this year, and so the land is extremely dry. While people would try to shut the bus windows to keep the dust out, it was impossible. At times it was difficult to breathe from the dust trapped in the bus. The other bad thing was that I had to sit on the isle seat, which is a folding seat. The back support didn’t stay up, so for 8hrs I was basically sitting on a stool trying to keep myself from bouncing out of the bus.
When we finally arrived, I was covered in dust and starving! Idi’s friends picked us up from the station and thankfully took us to Kenchick Inn-a fast food chicken and chips restaurant. While waiting for the rest of our food, Jackie, Johanna and I managed to scarf down an entire heaping plate of masala chips-YUM! I think that was the best meal of my life (maybe not best, but most satisfying for my starvation). While I was feeling better from the food, I was soon sadly disappointed to find that there was no water at Harry’s house for a shower, not even to wash my face. A ½ bottle of water left over from the bus ride was my only water source. After a long, tiring night the four of us crashed at a hotel in downtown Nairobi. For those of you who have been to Nairobi, you’ll understand the setting and the drastic difference between Nairobi and the rest of Africa. Its a very modern, ‘western’ city compared to the rest of the continent. However, even in the modern city at a modern hotel-there was no water to shower:(
Saturday night the four of us met up with a few other friends from Arusha to go to the MAMA show. The event was fantastic! I was quite impressed with Wyclef as a host, and all the talent that performed. East Africa swept the show winning a good majority of the awards. It was awesome to see the songs I hear all the time performed live. Akon was definitely a favorite among the crowd, and those of us from Arusha were so excited to see a Tanzanian song performed live, however you could tell by the rest of the crowd’s reaction that is hasn’t been played much beyond Tz.
The ride back was much better as we caught a ride with a friend. Riding in a personal car cuts off about 2-3hrs of travel time compared to a bus. Unfortunately though, there were many of use scrunched into an SUV, so there were four of us in the back seat. Thankfully Jackie has the same American standards as I for safety, even though we were scrunched we shared a seatbelt.
Even though it was short trip, Jackie and I were very glad to be back in Arusha where the people are kind and the water flows freely in the shower!!
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