Chapter 345 Aid Group
Outside the port of Dar es Salaam, a Far Eastern ship was entering the port, and the people on the ship stopped to look at the city of Dar es Salaam curiously.
The houses are well-built, carriages and horses are crisscrossing, the roads are flat and wide, large and small ships are docked in the port, and people are coming and going on the dock.
"Brother Shiyan! I feel like the court has been deceived! East Africa seems to be peaceful and prosperous, with no signs of natural or man-made disasters!" Ander, deputy envoy of the Far East government's East African Kingdom Aid Group, said stealthily.
Li Ge was also stunned, but he said: "Brother Hou, maybe it's just because this is the East African Kingdom's facade. We haven't seen other places in East Africa yet, so we can't jump to conclusions. We will ask the East African interpreter (translator) later and we will know the answer."
So the two of them found Aryan, a translator at the East African Embassy not far away, and Li Ge said, "Mr. Aryan! I have a question for you, I wonder if you can answer it."
To be honest, Li Ge didn't like Aryan very much. After all, Aryan looked different from Westerners in every way. Instead, he had the appearance of a Central Plains person. When he spoke Chinese, there was a hint of Shandong accent. When he communicated with him normally, judging from his language, he should be a bumpkin from some remote place. However, he was a citizen of the East African Kingdom.
Isn't this a complete "traitor"? In the eyes of the Far Eastern officials, the East African Kingdom is a Germanic barbarian who is extremely unreasonable. They say they will cooperate, but in fact they threaten with force at every turn. Aryan works for the East African Kingdom and changes his nationality, which means he has forgotten his roots. Therefore, Li Ge and others usually do not communicate with Aryan except for official business.
In fact, they misunderstood Aryan. Although Aryan was indeed from Shandong, he was also a "top student" who received modern education in Hexingen.
Aryan had read quite a few books and was well educated. He particularly liked Hegel's Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Aryan's education was all Germanized, but he knew nothing about Far Eastern culture (mainly books) and could not even write Chinese characters.
After all, the students admitted to Hexingen School are basically orphans. Before arriving at Hexingen, Aryan had never been to school and didn't even have a name. From childhood to adulthood, he was only called "Danniu" in the village.
Since Aryan had no Far Eastern education experience, he naturally couldn't talk to Li Ge and others, and he didn't speak in a literary way. In addition, after the German translation, he almost communicated with the Far Eastern people in the original Shandong dialect, so it was indeed a bit weird.
But the fundamental reason is that Li Ge and others do not know German. If they were proficient in German, they would find that Aryan not only spoke fluent "Hexingen accent", but also had a polite manner of conversation. This is the gap between the two different languages. There must be a person who is proficient in both languages and cultures to act as a bridge to break this barrier.
Aryan: "If you have any questions, just ask!"
Li Ge: "We came to your country this time at the invitation of your government. Has our ship arrived at the Kingdom of East Africa?"
Aryan: "Yes! Look at the flag at the port, it's the lion and shield flag of the kingdom."
Li Ge: "Then East Africa seems to be slightly different from what your ambassador described! Your ambassador told us that East Africa's people were in poverty and plagues were rampant. I saw that this city of Da is quite prosperous. Why is it a little different? Instead, everyone is living in peace and contentment, and it doesn't look like there is a major plague?"
As the chief envoy of the aid group, Li Ge thought he was going to this wild land of East Africa to help East Africa fight the plague and provide reconstruction. Most of the people on the ship were doctors organized by the Far East government, who came to East Africa for free medical treatment. However, looking at the situation in Dar es Salaam, Li Ge felt that it was the Far East rather than East Africa that should be assisted.
Aryan: "Hmm! Did Ambassador Richard say that? I don't know. But I don't know if Ambassador Richard is right. I don't know much about East Africa myself."
Li Ge: "Aren't you from East Africa? How can you say you don't know about East Africa?"
Aryan: "Actually, I studied in southern Germany before, so I have never been to East Africa. Instead, I lived in the Principality of Hechingen under the Kingdom of Prussia in present-day Germany for a period of time. After graduation, I was transferred directly back to the Far East and worked as a clerk at the East African Kingdom's Embassy in the Far East."
Liger was confused by Aryan's words. South Germany, Germany, Prussia, Principality of Hechingen, Kingdom of East Africa, with so many terms, where exactly was Aryan from? Liger himself knew Prussia and East Africa.
Li Ge: "Mr. Aryan! Are you East African?"
Aryan: "I am German."
Li Ge: "What does the East African Kingdom have to do with you?"
Aryan: "My nationality is the East African Kingdom."
Li Ge: "..."
Aryan: "This is my first time in East Africa as well. Actually, I am also very interested in East Africa. Why don't you two take a look around with me?"
Li Ge: "..."
Soon, Li Ge, Aryan and his group dragged their luggage ashore.
The aid group toured the city of Dar es Salaam (foreign commercial district) like Liu Laolao visiting the Grand View Garden. This place is so special, with white, yellow and black people everywhere, and the various costumes are also very distinctive, especially some Arabs covered in white robes, which really opened the eyes of the aid group.
Everyone has seen Western clothes, but Aryan, the "fake foreigner", is wearing white cloth, which is something you've never seen before. It's easy to associate it with...
Liger: "Mr. Aryan, why do some people wear white robes and white turbans on their heads?"
Aryan: "They are Arabs, generally distributed in the Middle East and North Africa. For example, there are many Arabs dressed like this in Egypt, Ottoman Empire and Persia."
After leaving the Strait of Malacca, the ship did not stop and went straight to Dar es Salaam, so it was the first time that Li Ge and others saw Arabs in East Africa.
Aryan went on to say, "The Arabs once established a great empire that spanned three continents and monopolized trade between the East and the West. Currently, the Ottoman Empire is considered the successor of the Arab Empire."
Li Ge: "Then why are they all covered in white cloth?"
Aryan: "This is their living habit. Just like people in tropical areas don't need to wear cotton clothes, Arabs live in the desert, where the sun is scorching and the daytime temperature can reach 40 or 50 degrees. White can better reflect sunlight and reduce heat absorption."
Li Ge and others realized that it was not because of the death of someone in their family, but because of their customs. Li Ge almost thought that this was evidence of the plague in the East African Kingdom! After all, so many people in mourning were probably caused by the plague. Fortunately, he asked Aryan first, otherwise there would be a big misunderstanding.
In fact, Aryans don’t care whether it is a misunderstanding or not. He doesn’t care even if the Arabs are really like this.
The group continued to tour Dar es Salaam. After walking for half a day, Aryan finally said, "It looks like there's nothing to see anymore!" He pointed to the no-entry sign in front of him.
"What is that?"
"No passage ahead, which means there is no road ahead."
"But aren't there still streets and buildings over there?"
"I'll go over and ask."
So Aryan walked forward and a policeman was guarding here.
"Sir! Excuse me, why is there a no-passing sign here?"
"After this, it's the western part of Dar es Salaam, which is not open to foreigners..."
After a long time, Aryan finally figured out that the city of Dar es Salaam is divided into the external commercial area and the western city area, and foreigners can only move around in the external commercial area.
Aryan: "Actually, I am a diplomatic official of the East African Kingdom in the Far East. May I ask where the Dar es Salaam Municipal Government Office is? I need to get in touch with the Kingdom. Because I have been working in the Far East, I am not familiar with East Africa."
Police: "Go back from here and turn left at the first intersection. You will see government agencies such as the Foreign Commercial District Police Station and the Taxation Bureau."
Aryan: "Oh! Thank you so much for your help."
(End of this chapter)
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