We are very excited to have our first visitors! My brother Bob, sister-in-law Sharri, nephew Sam and niece Anneke made the LONG trek out here to see us, and you know, lions.
We remember well the braindead feeling of jet lag when we first arrived in Tanzania, so we let them rest after I picked them up from the airport. Well, for a few minutes. Because we were excited and wanted to show them places and do things! So hopefully, they are OK after spending the afternoon with us driving them all over. In our bit-of-a-rush to do something, we kept forgetting things like phones in the car, etc. One of the things I kept forgetting was to get my International Drivers License and copy of my Resident Visa. I usually keep them in our car, but we borrowed the school van for the day, to make it easier to carry all 9 of us together, and for luggage. So I was paranoid all day that I'd get one of the infamous random pullovers from a cop and not enough of my documents. [hint: foreshadowing]
But speaking of luggage, wow wow wow. It was like Christmas! Bags of luggage just filled with nice things for us (oh, and enough stuff hopefully for Bob & Sharri!) Since we came with 15 bags of personal items from the States, getting just a few bags is like adding 25% to our material goods. That is sweet. Now, many items were shuffled around to make everything fit, so we haven't even discovered everything yet. But thank you to any and everybody who might have sent something. Our larder is full with rare treats. Steph will probably be baking for a month straight!
So the visiting Steens' itinerary was to fly in Sunday morning, and then fly out again Monday morning for a 3 day safari. We're still in school for a few days, so this worked out nicely. To make things easier, they stayed in a hotel Sunday night closer to the airport. So our plan was to bring them to our house, let them rest briefly, and then spend the afternoon "on the penisula" which has some shopping and sightseeing opportunities. After dinner, we'd bring them to their hotel.
One stop we wanted to make was a trip to the Tinga Tinga market. We've probably mentioned it before, but we love Tinga Tinga art! It's a Tanzanian original art style started in the 1950s of cartoony African animals. If you have small children and Netflix, you need to get them watching Tinga Tinga Tales! We discovered this art district alleyway just last week after looking for it many times. It is so cool...just storefront after storefront of original, cheap artwork. Once I figure out how to hang things on our concrete walls, I am going to town at this place.
When we arrived in this area, some ... enthusiastic...young men attempt to sell you bootleg DVDs. They literally have stacks and stacks of them. They'll randomly pick one out to sell you. When you say "no thanks," they just pull out another one and try that. They'll basically stick 5-10 in your face until you can get away. Well, last week I said no to them many times, but then I caught a glimpse of one particular movie: 12 Years a Slave. I spend much less time than I used to, but still some, reading about movies, and I am very intrigued to see this movie. I liked the idea that I could see a probable Oscar winner that many in the States didn't see. But last week, I passed on it.
Buying pirated movies is one of the ethical lines that I didn't expect to cross as a missionary in Africa. I certainly try to uphold copyright law in the States, and I try to teach my students as best I can why copyright law is important. I spend time in class and in personal conversations with them trying to convince them that stealing isn't right. It often feels fruitless. I want to teach students who are going to go into Hollywood and make important, ethical movies, or to go to Silicon Valley and create video games that allow users to face moral dilemmas. I don't want them to steal the very things they should be valuing.
Well, my standards have lessened, and I'm not exactly proud of it. Mostly, it is because pirated movies are the only way I've seen to buy a DVD here. They sell them at official looking kiosks, in storefronts, etc. Now, I don't for a minute think that I have some right, or any "need" to see a movie. But entertainment here is a bit lacking. There is no prime time. I love a good book, and I love a good board game, but sometimes some video is tempting. I especially feel bad for the kids, so we've purchased a few illegal kid movies. (The good news: we've also received LEGAL versions of these movies later.)
Everybody has to make this ethical decision for themselves. I don't think I should buy pirated movies, but I have. And so I think I'm in the wrong. I don't see a justification for it other than "I want them and they are available."
So yesterday, I did give in to temptation and I bought 12 Years a Slave. I was pretty excited...a good meaty, meaningful movie. I hoped it would move me, teach me, and get me to think. But tonight we went to watch it...it seems to start in the middle, is a very low quality (not filmed in the theater shaky, but low-res). And there is no sound. So, there was $2.50 of illegal activity wasted. Hopefully, I've learned my lesson!
This is getting pretty long, so more from yesterday's adventures coming soon!
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