Day Nineteen

Late Saturday night, the Sabets decided it was time to do our baking for Naw Ruz. I thought that was a little unusual since it was three days away, but I consented anyway. Dr. and Mrs. Sabet made baklava, and May and I made some kind of banana bread cake. It proved to be an interesting experience, but it all turned out very well. While we were waiting for our cake to bake, May and I played a game of checkers. She almost beat me, and the only reason she lost was through a mistake that she made and not some kind of grand strategy that I’d pursued. She seemed a little upset that she didn’t win but she didn’t complain.

Last night, we had a mini-celebration for Naw Ruz within the family. Hossein conducted this Persian tradition that I can’t remember the name of where you gather seven things that begin with the letter “S” in Farsi. We had fruits, cookies, juices, and teas and took pictures together, celebrating the beginning of the new Bahá’í year and the end of the Fast. The Sabets gave money to their children, and we all stayed up a bit late enjoying one another’s company.

This morning, we went to the beach! After passing through the fish market (blech), we took a ferry to a rural part of Dar es Salaam called Kigamboni. Although the beaches are crawling with people on the weekends, we were fortunate in getting to go on a weekday. There were only two other groups of people on the beach, so we were able to have a banda to ourselves. Hossein, May, Maasai (friend of May), and I spent most of our time in the water. We were even able to convince Mrs. Sabet to get in the water, too. I couldn’t have been more fortunate to be at such an historic event! I took quite a few pictures at the beach, which you can see on the Flickr account under the Naw Ruz section. Dar es Salaam seems to have amazing beaches, and the water is a color of blue I've only seen in pictures.

This evening, we went to the National Centre for the Dar es Salaam Bahá’í community’s Naw Ruz celebration. It was filled with many choir performances and dramatic skits, some performed in English and some performed in Kiswahili. There were somewhere between 150 and 200 people present. At the end of the program, one of the friends was giving a performance and began encouraging the crowd to participate. Suddenly everyone was on their feet dancing and clapping. The youth materialized out of nowhere and headed to the front of the room to lead the clapping and dancing. Talk about audience participation! The spirit was wonderful and joyous.

The Patels, a Bahá’í family who are caterers, fed everyone at the event. Imagine cooking for so many people! As I understand it, they are frequently moved to make such enormously generous gestures. I was able to speak to Mrs. Patel for a few moments, and she warmed to me after I shared that a friend of mine was from her state, Gujarat. In fact it seems like almost all of the Indians in the city are from that particular state, which seems unusual. I spent most of the evening speaking with Susan, a Bahá’í from Lebanon, who’s been in Tanzania for 25 years or so. She has such a wonderful accent!

I’m exhausted! I hope that everyone had a wonderful Naw Ruz celebration in your respective communities. I missed being home for the holy day, but it was nice to celebrate it Persian/African style. Alláh’u’abhá!