Tanzanians are very religious people. About half are Catholic or Christian and the other half are Muslim. For the first couple of weeks I would walk down the street and the people would stare, which I didn't find uncommon because I am a mazungu and there aren't many of us; however, when I met some other mazungus and would walk down the street with them, people were less curious. Then I started walking home with one of the profs,Elias, at the school I'm working with and it would happen again.
What could be the cause of this out-of-the-ordinary attention?
Finally on the second day of walking with the prof, he starts laughing really really hard and I couldn't figure it out, but like usual I was just going to ignore it. After he caught his breath he said 'Levi, do you know why people come up to you and bow and pray? Why the children stare more than normal? Why the sick and the elderly approach you?
THEY THINK YOU'RE JESUS!
So, obviously I learned how to say 'May God bless you my child' in Kiswahili!
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