Showing knees and shoulders are big
no-no's in Tanzania.
Tanzanians are also perpetually
freezing apparently. Men wear parkas on days where I sweat in a
tshirt. Baby's get dressed in snow suits for the first year of their
lives regardless of weather. And women.... I'll get to women.
Did I mention I live in the dessert,
and not the kind that gets really cold at night. This is Tanzania.
I get up close and personal with what
women wear working at the clinic. This is what a typical woman wears
on a typical day, at least while she is pregnant. First, underwear.
Then these things called skin tights, that are basically elastic
shorts. Then a skirt. Then a moomoo. Then a kanga wrapped around her
waist and one over her shoulders, over the moomoo. But no bra. That
would interfere with breastfeeding.
Kanga and kitenge are fabrics that come
in all colors and patterns that women get made into clothes or wraps,
etc. Some are beautiful, some are strange, some are rare, some you
see everywhere you go. The most infamous kitenge pattern, in my
opinion, is The One with the Fingers. For some reason, women here
seem to love it! I see it everywhere! And it is terrifying! Bizarre!
I do not understand so many things
about Tanzanian style. Or how they can feel so cold.
Tanzanians, most of the time, will
pitch a fit if you try to open a window on a bus. The wind- its so
cold!
One thing that is awesome about
Tanzanian style is the shuka. If I were to walk around America
wearing a plaid blanket, people would look at me oddly. Wear a plaid
blanket here and people think I'm awesome! Maassai and similar tribes
wear shuka, a different color and pattern for each tribe, as well as
variations for men, women, and different age groups. I think PC
decided to send me here because they facebook stalked me, and decided
from my pictures that I would be the sort of person who would relish
wearing a plaid blanket as an article of clothing.
Moral of the story: Be careful what you
put on facebook.
Miss you Kat! Please post more.
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