We were leaving Ndanda on Tuesday morning. Joseph was feeling very guilty about leaving his students for so many days, so he was busy with last minute class room duties. Before he left for the school, he took us over to the small park across the street from his house, where the local woodcarvers met in the morning to try and sell their wares (I have no idea who they were selling them to, as there are very few non natives living in the town, and the ones that are there are aid workers.)
Joseph asked us what we wanted, and we tried to spread out our purchases among all the vendors (there were four or five). Finally we came to one vendor, with whom Joe had a history. The year before he had bought creche sets for all his aunts and uncles. He brought them home in Sept 2008. One set was not complete, and he told us that the carver had promised to fix it for him when he got back. Well apparently that never happened. Also, we found out, Joe had lent the man money, and he never repaid. So that morning, Joe started arguing with him over the the wart hog we wanted to buy. Bargaining is a way of life in tanzania, but Joseph was not very good at it. Finally he threw up his hands and said "I'm out of here" to Ray and I and walked off. So Ray and I walked off from the wart hog. An hour later the carver showed up at Joseph's door and told him (in swahili) that he did not want him to be mad at him, and would he take some carvings for no payment (Joseph really had already paid for them!) Joseph took them, and the wood carver went off happily.
The animal carvings are displayed on our front windowsill, where the dogs happily knock them down every time they bark at something out front.
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