Besides the work at the vet, we also had a little bit of free time. I first spent it with the people I met on the Kilimanjaro trip. They live in Arusha and it was obvious that we would definitely meet again. Thanks to them, I also got to know life in Arusha in many different ways. Whether it was showing me the area, such as Lake Duluti, or the nightlife. Eating ice-cream in an ice-centre, eating among friends or being cooked in your own home. I started living among them. Especially after the time with the vet, because then I could manage my time freely.
I also soon had my own motorbike taxi. The people in Tanzania are known for their hospitality and openness. After a taxi ride, numbers were quickly exchanged and if I needed a ride or even some business, my taxi was on the spot. I had settled into Arusha and enjoyed sharing time with the locals.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned during this time, it’s that something unexpected always happens. Melusine was offered a painting on the street. That is not unusual. You get offered souvenirs etc. on every corner. But Melusine told the seller that she was much more interested in how these pictures were made. And so the seller invited her to meet him and he took her to the place where the pictures are made. She told me exactly that and asked me to accompany her. Of course I do. Take the chance!
The wrong salesman
Unfortunately, Melusine couldn’t really remember the face of the salesman and so we first walked with someone else who was also holding pictures. He told us he would take us to the Maasai market in Arusha where he had his booth. That sounded logical to us.
But while we were following him, the “real” salesman called to tell us that he was now at the arranged meeting point. Melusine and I looked at each other with wide eyes and told the supposedly wrong salesman that we actually wanted to meet someone else.
Where is he taking us?
After this little misunderstanding, we walked with the now correct salesman. Across the city, we found out that the place of action was not far from our doctor.
At first I was a bit sceptical because it took quite a long time until we arrived and he kept saying that we would be right there. This statement is also not unusual in Tanzania. At some point I asked myself, where is he taking us? But then he opened the door to a courtyard, the centre of which is a covered square with three drawing tables. At each table someone was sitting and working on a so-called wax picture. In front of the roof, pictures were hung up to dry. All around was a house in whose respective rooms the boss and his employees including their families live.
Make your own picture
After a short exchange, we were offered a workshop. We could make such a picture ourselves under guidance. We did not want to miss this chance. There is nothing like this in any travel guide and Davis, as the boss introduced himself to us afterwards, had never done anything like this before. So we shovelled the next Saturday free to do this workshop and what can I say, it was worth it. You can see how my picture was made in the video below.
In the meantime, the picture has arrived at my father’s in Germany. He was the only person I could think of to make this picture for. I can hardly hang it up myself, and thanks to my father and his stories about his experiences in Africa, I decided to travel to this continent in the first place.
