A diet almost devoid of vegetables may be the dream of many kids — but for William Jans, it was just hard on the system.

Women of the Maasai, a Tanzanian tribe, don’t let vegetables ‘contaminate’ the vessels they cook their meat and ugali in — vegetables are for cows, they say.

“That made for some trials,” said Jans, who lived with them for a while — travelling through the African country.

He overcame, though — and was even honoured by the tribe with a goat slaughter. He was given some of the spinal cord, an honour normally reserved for elders.

“I ended up having it for breakfast,” he laughs now, looking back on the experiences.

It’s just one of a jumble of stories that will come out in his multimedia show Tales from Tanzania, coming to the Comox Valley next week.

For two and half months, every three years, Jans embeds himself in a different culture — capturing his experiences with video and photos, which he then winds together with his enthusiastic storytelling and props, brought back from the adventures.

“It’s everything but the smells,” said Jans — which considering some of the places he’ll talk about, could be a good thing.

Tales from Tanzania is his most recent presentation in a series that has included travels to Tibet, South America and Burma.

For him, travelling is about getting immersed — learning languages, traditions and everyday life of communities far different from our own. He learned Swahili for this trip — his ninth language.

“I get low to the ground really quickly — I’m fortunate,” he said.

In Tanzania, that means being offered dentistry work by the Datoga people, who remove their bottom two middle teeth as part of a tradition that includes facial scar adornments around their eyes. He also learned some of the Hadzabi’s language — made up of clicks and pops.

His shows are intended to show people some of the amazing experiences that are out there. Some of his motivation is to encourage others to get out and see themselves, some of it is to show those who can’t make it to those locations on their own — but mostly, it’s to bring people together.

“We’re all the same, and we all just want to be happy,” he said.

“If you’re willing to step out a little but — it can be wonderful.”

Jans’ live shows are hailed as humourous, touching, visually appealing and incredibly entertaining. By tying together different media, he creates a well-rounded experience — one that’s sold out in many performances across the country. 

“It’s as fun as the audience wants to make it,” said the outgoing Jans. “It’s not a lecture — I joke and say it’s a media extravaganza.”

He said he’s heard great things about the Comox Valley’s interest in Africa, and he hopes this is another way to educate the community on the area.

Tales from Tanzania will be held at the Stan Hagen Theatre on Nov. 14. Doors open at 7:30 p.m. and the show starts at 8 p.m. Tickets are $21 at Blue Heron Books, $22 online at www.wjrphoto.com or $24 at the door.

For a chance to win two tickets, visit www.wrjphoto.com/live-shows-tanz.html, click on Tales from Tanzania in the right hand menu of the live shows page — and scroll to the bottom to find the Comox Valley Record’s logo to enter the contest.

reporter@comoxvalleyrecord.com