Cover those knees please!

So I know I just posted something but I've learned that I need to take advantage of any internet time and put as much online as possible. I've lost count of the number of times I've lost a blog post or email because the connection was lost or the power went out! Power was out for about 6 hours Sunday and since then the internet (which had just begun to work again) doesn't work. Some friends and I rode the dala dala to town to write emails and have dinner. After exiting the dala dala we talked about what an amazing trip it was. We all had a seat as soon as we got on, it didn't run out of gas, we weren't sweat on by random strangers. I actually felt like I belonged this time too because a woman gave me her sack of bananas to hold while she was standing and later a boy made himself comfortable in my lap and put his head on my shoulder. I've seen Tanzanians do that with other Tanzanians but it was my first time being able to help while riding.
There is a group of Americans on a short term trip to Tanzania staying at the language school. The other day I saw some of the girls walk by in shorts. It seemed shocking at first. It was one of the only times I’ve seen a woman’s knees in the last four months….the only other times I’ve been at the swimming pool or the ocean. It made me realize how I’ve gotten used to the Tanzanian way of dressing. Women are supposed to always have their knees covered here. Typically women only wear skirts or dresses although that has changed in the cities, especially Dar. One of my Tanzanian friends also saw the girls in shorts. After seeing them he had a lot of questions for me about how short shorts come in the U.S. and if everyone wears clothes like that! It is customary for women here to have a kanga close at hand at all times, even when relaxing at home. That way she can wrap the kanga around herself and be ‘presentable’ in seconds in case an unexpected visitor arrives. A kanga is a piece of fabric with a saying in Swahili and a pattern. For one of our culture classes we were shown the styles for wearing a kanga and told their importance within society. This is passive culture. Confrontation never happens directly. Women will use the message of their kanga to communicate their feelings to friends or family that have done something to cause them problems. Chuma even told us that a married woman will make the bed and then throw the kanga across it with a message of what her husband has done that has angered her. If a husband and wife have had an argument the husband will go to the store and find a kanga with an appropriate message asking for forgiveness to present his wife. Women also wrap themselves in kangas to work in the fields or go to funerals. I have 2 kangas. On one the message is something about how a there is no discord in a place where basic needs are met. The other kanga I bought because it was blue and had a pretty pattern. I didn’t really pay attention to the words until I returned home. I can’t remember what it says but I know that it wasn’t as nice of a message!