Assembly Adventures

Now that I've moved into my new house, I'm trying to get it furnished.  This is not as easy as you might think.  A lot of my furniture is being made piece by piece by a local carpenter.  He does nice work, but you never know how long it will take. 

Since my bedroom does not have closets, a wardrobe was high on my priority list.  I'm settling in, and I want to put my clothes away!  I decided to look at the pre-fabricated furniture available in town.  Apart from the time factor, I was not sure I wanted to draw up plans for something as complicated as a wardrobe.  That's how the carpenter works--you draw it, he builds it.

I actually found a wardrobe, and I enjoyed chatting with the lady shop owner... and anyone else in the shop at the time, who were naturally curious.  Their fascination increased when I declined to have someone come to my house to put the wardrobe together.  "How are you going to have it assembled?" they wanted to know.  "Oh, I'll do it myself," I replied.  This was evidently unheard-of.  They couldn't believe it.  Grinning, I convinced them I was serious, and they told me where to find the warehouse to pick up the long, flat boxes of parts.  (I was using a taxi for this trip, so the driver hired a porter with a big push cart to come along.)  The shop owner told me I could come back when I needed assembly help.

My house helper was equally surprised when I brought the pieces home and explained my intentions.  I didn't know what the big deal was.

It is true that pre-made furniture around here is not like what you get at home.  I was amused to see the instructions.  Here is the one and only page:

If you examine it, you'll find that although the different bolts are all given labels, the labels are not all to be found in the diagrams.  Another challenge I discovered was that many of the screw holes were missing.  I spent a lot of time in careful measurement, and a lot of elbow grease forcing in the screws with my cheap screwdriver.  A friend with a drill helped me with the doors.  (You might think this would be a good reason to have the shop guy do the assembly, but I can practically guarantee that he does not have a drill, either.)  When it was finally done, I was pretty proud of myself.

The next time my house helper came, she was full of admiration.  Admiration for the wardrobe--definitely a "rich" person's item--but also admiration for my skills.  She proclaimed me a fundi, the generic term for a craftsman or repairman, and later boasted to an actual fundi that I would do better work than he was doing... he was having trouble with a door handle.  (I protested, wanting to save face for the poor guy, and also not sure I wanted to tackle the problem now that he'd taken everything apart already.)

I'm wondering if all this astonishment stems from childhood differences.  I grew up playing with Legos.  From babyhood on, Western children get all sorts of toys that require fitting together and other types of spatial thinking.  Kids here don't have toys, period.  I see homemade toys, every now and then, but not many.  Maybe I shouldn't take for granted the ability to read and follow basic diagrams!

A Tanzanian Wedding

This was my first time attending a wedding in Tanzania, and I went full of curiosity.  The bride and groom, Diana and Pius, both work in our translation office.  They were married in a little church in a village outside Musoma.  In an interesting twist, the wedding was not held in Diana's home church.  She had specified that she wanted to be married in the church of a neighboring village--because that's where she was baptized as a girl.  So her family, friends, and even her pastor all travelled in taxis, etc., in order to hold the wedding in this special place.

I enjoyed the experience, and overall I was struck by how the many of the same traditions seem so different in this context.

For example, the bride was preceded by a group of bridemaids in matching dresses.

However, time is perceived far differently here.  The bridesmaids stood in the doorway for some time until everyone was ready.  (I should also note that the wedding started a good couple hours after the time printed in the invitation.  I think the rain and extra travel contributed.)  Eventually the bridemaids started their march (sort of a dance-march) down the center aisle, and after them came the beautiful bride.

Diana was stunning!

After Diana reached the front of the church and joined Pius, they were both seated in chairs facing each other across the "stage" area.  A very nice practice, in my opinion, especially if the pastor's message runs on the long side.  And here in Tanzania no church event is complete without a performance from the choir.  After songs and sermon, the bride and groom stood and came together to say their vows.

You may notice the camera men in the picture...  Often there were as many as four or five guys snapping pictures (in addition to the guy with the video camera).  This was another cultural difference; the photographers stood right in front of their subejects, blocking the audience's view in the process!

The tradition of the wedding cake is practiced here, too--during the service!  Pius and Diana fed each other small morsels of cake (all very ceremonious, no fooling around!), and then each of them cut slices and served their in-laws seated in the front row.

To complete the ceremony, the two newlyweds exited down the center aisle... again, that slow, swaying dance-like procession.

Everyone filed out after them and entered immediately into the reception area--the church yard.  There people stood and chatted while those in charge of the food bustled around preparing giant pots of meat, pilau (rice), and cooked bananas.  It was quite a while before the food was served, but no one seemed to mind... or even think anything of it.

So now I've been to a wedding here.  I left thankful for the invitation and prayerful for this couple and their new life together.  May they be an example of a godly home among their community.