The Boys at the Tanzanian Hotel
Zipporah Kirubi
For an instant, I considered standing up and walking away from the hotel. I stopped laughing, looked around and ran my fingers over my watery eyes. The acrobatic performance, in a hotel restaurant in Arusha, was great but nobody from our group was cheering. I thought back to the beginning when everybody was so anxious to see the local boys perform. The entertainment was at its most comfortable in the hour before they started imitating wild animals. They made weird faces and jumped with agility of monkeys. I was cracking up the whole time, but it was clear that as the night was growing older, my group was getting irritated. This group was traveling around the world, and we had come to northern Tanzania for a series of wildlife safaris.
There were two other groups having dinner in the same open air restaurant, who appeared to enjoy every moment of it. On the other hand, some people in our group had decided enough was enough, and they opted to walk away. Those who remained became less interested and payed more attention to their plates. I was shocked and confused. Their sudden reaction amazed me because I had no idea why anybody with right senses could not laugh at such a hilarious performance. Little did I know that things were on a short fuse in my companions’ minds. I was determined to enquire what on earth was wrong. My mind went completely blank when I saw everyone in our group leaving all together even before the boys were done with their performance. I had to follow, but I left halfheartedly.
Our group had been travelling around the world studying Biomes. We were nineteen students and three professors. The students were quite diverse and from different backgrounds. One student came from Japan and another one from Vietnam. The rest were from different states in the U.S. I am a Kenyan who has lived in America for five years and have been lucky enough to take advantage of such a wonderful opportunity of exploring the world on one expedition. We had been in many countries prior to Tanzania. Many were the times we had been lectured on how to react when we encountered cultural challenges, but that sole incident at the hotel was beyond our control. I had been out of Africa for a long time, but I still held to my roots tightly. East African culture was well known to me, and I had never thought of disapproving it or considering it inappropriate.
Since I had decided to find out what had really made my fellow students act so unpredictably, I wracked my brains but nothing interesting came up. I simply could not explain the sudden turn of events. I quickly caught up with the group and tried to consult one of the students who was very open minded. She was willing to share her thoughts though she found it extremely hard to express herself for fear of offending me due to my African background. I had to make her feel comfortable by telling her that I had mixed feelings over the whole issue.
My American experience had introduced me to the history of African Americans. They are still attached to what happened to their ancestors. If the boys at the hotel performed in the U.S, then that could have been a different case. According to the student, Africans were considered as animals during slavery period. When the boys were making those animal faces they were confirming that Africans have animal characteristics in them. Honestly, I had no idea such a thought was troubling many of the students. I had to disagree to agree.
The boys at the hotel were not aware what their audience was thinking. They were there just for entertainment and not for judgment. The history of slavery had greatly affected African Americans but not Africans. Since gaining independence, most Africans have been enjoying freedom, and they do not dwell on things that happened long time ago unlike Americans who can be too sensitive. They connect everything that is present to the past.
The student’s eyes widened as the truth hit her. She had waited cautiously for me to finish talking. I had breathlessly explained my point of view, telling her what I had felt for so long and not quite believing I was able to express it openly. I pointed out the misunderstanding, and the student appreciated my openness with gratitude and astonishment. She frantically nodded her head and mentioned how well she now understood what had just happened and wished she had not walked away. I instantly smiled and went back to my dorm room, though I wanted to let others know that they had misunderstood those boys at the hotel. I stood no chance.