October 30

Chagua CCM, chagua CCM! I could hear it in my sleep--and it woke me at around 6 a.m. Tomorrow is election day and the Pentecostal church near my house decided that today they would sing Kikwete songs (they have those, ya know) loudly in a praise-chorus style. As I woke, I got ready to head out to town to use the internet, shop for souvenirs on my last weekend in Tanzania, go to the cafe, and do other mzungu things (as I described it to my host family). On this morning's dala dala drive to town I noticed all of the CCM and Chadema vans and trucks were in full swing, and people were decked out in full CCM merchandise. CCM has been heavily criticized for giving out free merchandise like hats, t-shirts, especially kangas (traditional cloth women use as skirts) and shukas (the fabric Maasai use as clothing). The latter two, are worn often by the poorer people in the villages like the Meru, the Maasai and other tribes where Swahili isn't the most spoken language and literacy is very low. Some criticize that this is an effort by CCM to secure votes with bribes to people who will not care as much about issues as they will having clothes on their backs. Also, in many tribal societies these are taken as gifts which are considered courteous that  if accepted should be returned--as in a vote. Also, the CCM party constantly reminds rural villages about their involvement in making water wells in very dry areas which has been a legacy of the party--however Chadema advocates having more sustainable irrigation and smart development. In fact, in the villages I was confused about the election for so long because all I saw in Longido, Eurondeke, and Namanga were CCM flags and Kikwete's face on every woman's shuka. It was clear that the rural areas would have most CCM votes.

Besides the noise pollution in the streets today, it was a usual quiet Saturday afternoon and an excellent day for bartering! Many wazungu must be afraid since the US government sent out an email to travelers that for the election, Americans should stay indoors or find refuge at the US Embassy in Tanzania.......in Dar. So, I was staying in Arusha for good. I think given the impossibility of escaping should something go wrong, we were all praying for a peaceful election weekend. The petty pushers and street vendors were desperate for sales today, so we opportunized the absence of our fellow wazungu to get some good deals. As a prude New Yorker, I actually hate haggling. I think it's disrespectful to someone's business (and occasionally my pride) to bargain for a lower price. However, in Tanzania its so easy and almost expected! Bargaining in Swahili usually helps my credibility and allows me to grab a lower price than most wazungu. However, today one guy made it pretty hard for me. I saw a sun hat for my grandpa, and after showing interest the street vendor told me it was 25,000tsh, roughly $16! I couldnt even haggle with that, and the vendor didnt even want to go for 10,000tsh so we walked away. After several minutes, he followed me down the street ''dada, dada'', and offered to give me the hat for 7,000tsh. It was like he had amnesia! I said, ok and bought the hat for 7,000tsh. Either I was right about desperation about a slow selling day, or this guy assumed I was a local and wasn't buying anything at that price. My grampa is going to be so happy!

I ended my souvenier shopping day calling a taxi home just at sundown. As we drove down the main road there was tons of rallying and people dancing in the streets hoping for a successful election in favor of Chadema. The taxi could barely move! There were hundreds of people in the middle of the road, banging on all of the cars---even ours with a Chadema flag on the antenna. This excitement was really unlike anything I'd ever seen in America. I'm beginning to reconsider my plans for tomorrow while elections are ongoing....