So I left Mwanza on Wednesday, four days ago, but I want to write about everything I did in my last moments there. Because it’s important to me, and stuff. I had this overwhelming feeling that I was running out of time, and so I didn’t end up organising a goodbye dinner, since it was all so last minute.
I met Inga to go fabric shopping and I bought a bunch of kitenge and batiki scarves to give to people, but I didn’t take any photos of it. I did, however, take a photo at Inga’s apartment, which has a brilliant view of the lake.
The view
And here is Inga herself, in all her glamour and glory:
Inga is the best
After we had a drink at her house, we went to go to first Ryan’s Bay to meet everyone for a drink, and then Villa Park for supper. At Villa Park I had the ‘chicken foil’ (10,000tsh/$6.35), which was pretty good, but there was of course many bones. I also had chai masala (1,500tsh/$0.95), but it took about a decade to get to our table, and everyone had already finished their drinks and started eating by the time it arrived. It is very nice though, but it can be a bit sweet…
Forever chai masala
We went home in a taxi with almost everyone (David, Kim, Christoph, Christoph’s mum and her friend, and I). I sat in the front on David’s lap, which I was worried about because of his injured ankle. I ended up sticking my head and left side out the window so I didn’t bang my head on the ceiling, so I looked like a daladala conductor. It was a bit chilly at night, but it went okay.
So cold
On Saturday, we went to an island, which is owned by a man named Chacha. We went to Rock Beach, which I hadn’t been to. It has a Chinese restaurant where we lounged waiting for the boat to come and pick us up. Of course, the pick up time changed to about 5:30-6:00 rather than 2:30 as initially planned, but it was ok.
View from Yun Long Restaurant at Rock Beach
Also, when I was climbing over the railing to get in the boat, I broke a lamp with my mad roundhouse skills. Oops. It shattered. I felt bad.
Oooooops
The sun was beginning to set as we went off to the island. The boat ride was very nice – I’d never been on a boat before. I also took video, but the internet at the airport (Kilimanjaro) is a bit too slow to upload it.
Boat!
Boat sunset
Making waves
We also had a fire on the island, which was nice, though we stayed a bit longer than I wanted to, since our host was MCing the party, and asking all sorts of awkward questions to everyone, and insisting they answer.
the fire
The next day, I had to go to the airport to get my parents in the early afternoon, though I had to go to Inga’s to fetch the things I’d left there on Friday (fabric and other things). I ran around like a madwoman and eventually got to Nyerere road to take a Kishiri-Airport daladala. Unfortunately for me, many were going to Ilemela (close but too far from the airport). I eventually got an Airport daladala, but it broke down about 400 metres from where I got on, and they insisted that I had to pay anyways. I said no, since I didn’t even go one stop, but caved and gave the conductor half the price (200tsh/$0.13). Eventually another one came, but I was 15 minutes late. Then I got a ride back with my parents to Tilapia, where they were staying.
I took this sweet bird pic before we left Mwanza
We basically hung out, and went around a bit in Mwanza, but didn’t do very much of consequence.
I was sad to leave everyone, since I didn’t properly get to say goodbye, but I really was panicking at the end and worrying about getting everything done. On Wednesday morning I left, and we went on safari to the Serengeti. I will post about my safari with my parents another day, after I sort through my thousand plus photos.
It isn’t all tasty cake and weird perspective shots here, I swear
I’ve had a lot of interesting moments in the last week, and a lot of them could fall under the category of “This is Africa” (TIA for short) moments. I mean some of them are small and relatively normal, like nearly every single person I see saying hello in some form or the other to me…
I say hello in the coolest way possible
the scaffolding where my construction worker friend works
The best part about the construction worker who always shouts “EY RAFIKI” (hey friend!) after me, amongst other incomprehensible things, is that he is always doing some construction thing that completely defies safety regulations or even the basic principles of efficiency. It is literally all done by hand. When they needed to take cement or bricks to the upper floor, men stood in the scaffold and passed it up to each other. I now understand why the apartment floor was so slanted, but it’s really the best they can do.
Last Friday I went again to Igombe for my last set of customer interviews, which went really well. The mamas there, and those at the kitchen in Mecco were really helpful – roping in customers for me to talk to and harangue. I also got a really, really good mental map drawn by someone who dreamed of being a cartographer – they were saving up for school. In any case, the way there isn’t so bad because I got a lift, but on the way back – after stopping for a chunk of bread and some soda (600tsh/$0.38). One of the daladalas was leaving Igombe stand, and I didn’t want to wait for another to fill up – there isn’t really a schedule per se. The conductor waits until the daladala is full (or sufficiently full if it takes long enough) and then leaves. I hailed the conductor and we ran on – my translator wasn’t convinced there were seats, but there were at the back. The name of the daladala was “Tilapia Express”. The driver was a maniac. We’d taken the roads at about 20km/h max, but he was going much, much faster. I thought we might die. We started racing with another daladala (these daladalas are also bigger than the usual ones, since the distance is farther), and won, though we had to swerve to stay on the road. Every time we hit a bump everyone sailed up in the air, and I laughed like a crazy person. It was also very, very dusty.
I had to cover my mouth. Also, crazy eyes.
Inside the daladala from Igombe to town
Oh, and they have donkeys at Igombe
I was happy to be back in town, albeit two or three hours after I said I would be. It went well. Caren and I went to Masai market and the covered market to buy touristy stuff for her and I decided since I hadn’t really done much tourist type stuff to join her. I had also found out earlier that a man I’d met, Jan, was going to go on safari on the Saturday, though it didn’t end up working out, it would have been nice for Caren to go. Instead on Saturday we hung out with a bunch of people and went to Masai market, before finishing up and going home. On Sunday morning we finished up all the shopping Caren wanted to do and then went to the airport. I skyped with my parents after getting back in town, then I visisted David, who’d dislocated his ankle and was back early from travelling. Despite this, he made pizza and it was pretty good.
There were also adorable, adorable puppies. The first puppies I’d ever seen up close. I got to chase them out of the kitchen since they were so cute. Photo totally accurate.
On Monday I spent most of the day at home, since I felt kind of dizzy. There wasn’t any meeting, but I managed to arrange most of my remaining interviews, thankfully. I learned how to make pilau, which is a sort of rice-meat-potato biriyani thing. It was nice to sit outside with the house staff and make it over a charcoal fire. I liked how they put a lid on the (huge) pot and then put coals on the lid for a sort of convective (???) effect. I will post the recipe soon – once I find the spices involved.
Appetising! Low Light Photography is the BEST
On Tuesday I did some interviews and went shopping at the market for fruit and vegetables. I also made burritos again, but I feel like I failed due to feeling really tired. I am so exhausted. I didn’t even make salsa. I used ground beef. Etc.
Making tortillas in a pot is really hard.
The next day I did more interviews and then made more food. I’m a pretty boring person sometimes… except when I invent something of abject culinary genius. That thing is fried bread x guacamole x bacon x maple syrup. Guacamole = avocado + salt + lime + hot pepper + red onion. I forgot cilantro and felt like the worst, then I realised, whatever. And I ate it. Fast. It was delicious.
GENIUS on a plate
Thursday, or rather today, was delivery, and was my last time delivering to all the kitchens. I went with a mission to say goodbye, and also to give one mama the shoes she’d asked for, which I couldn’t give her since I was wearing them. Saving on baggage weight is easy if you give some things away. 🙂 I met my cat friend again at the office, and he tried to get another biscuit out of me. I think biscuits might be bad for cats, so I didn’t give him another, but I did give him a lot of fuss. Then I washed my hands hardcore. I took a shakey bad video too, but I don’t feel like including it, since it wasn’t very good… like the quality of this blog is ultra high in the first place…
My old cat friend
We went off and collected the probiotic and I carried a bunch of heavy boxes down the stairs. I started wondering how they got the deep freezers all the way up on the 2nd (or 3rd to North Americans) floor – PS this floor dilemma is haunting me for all the rest of my life. I have to always double check that people understand what I mean. It is horrible and I can’t think of a viable solution. But I digress… they carried the deep freezers up as things usually are done here – with a bunch of people. Though I suppose they are lighter when they are empty… TIA.
We went off to the first kitchen and when we got there, we ate some chapati and drank some yoghurt. When we were finished, Cele, the driver, couldn’t start the van with the key. We sat there for some minutes until Christina managed to mysteriously start the car, and the problems were solved. We delivered more probiotic.
We briefly went to another country – Ghana
Also I was watching daladalas even though I feel my collection is pretty good… and I finally captured it. The shining glory of all daladalas – Fort Jesus. Fort Jesus implies safety and an impregnability that I like in a daladala, especially given that most of the drivers apparently are chewing khat all day.
I also managed to take some photos of this sweet wall art either done by a child or a deranged artistic genius on the way to Mahina.
We also encountered a random pile of stuff in the middle of the not at all bumpy road
In any case, the delivery was done and I promised to bring “mzungu pilau” to work tomorrow, so I hope they will like my weird breakfast pilau I’m going to make. This evening I visited a friend to chat for a while, and then I went to Tilapia to check on my parents’ reservation, which they could not find, so I had to make another one, for my mum’s desired 1st floor (2nd floor, North America) lake view room. Now I’m a bit worried the tour company either didn’t book it or booked it under an insane name, since three rooms were booked under a really weird name mishmash but I thought I’d rather risk it and pay $25 if I was wrong. On the way to do this I had yet another TIA moment – the pikipiki man was taking me through the roundabout and another pikipiki almost took us right out. We basically bumped sides, but the pikipiki man I had was a) not drunk or high and b) fairly competent) so we didn’t crash really or fall, but we did both yell at the other pikipiki guy who then proceeded to follow us a little bit asking me to marry him. I don’t know how I attract this situations – I was told it’s fairly unusual for that kind of thing to happen. But it did. And it was weird.
please stop asking me to marry you, Tanzanian men. I promised my advisor I wouldn’t marry anyone, especially not anyone who sees me as an open bank account or a road to the Westttttt
Seriously. Anyways, it’s past midnight and I want to sleep.
So I took (stole) a bunch of photos from Caren of moments past.
Straight strollin’
We’ve been having a lot of good times by our little house, which I realise I haven’t posted a full picture of. So here it is.
Ignore the random object in the foreground
Ducks with rice drying in the garden
We have three adorable little rooms. I love it there.
This is the kitchen/living room/my bedroom, and that is me making some fried bread.
I realised that fried bread apparently isn’t a thing in Canada? So I made some for Caren and she was intrigued, moderately grossed out, and then in love (once she tried it). Caren also has this innate ability to take photos of me making ridiculous faces.
Ridiculous
Faces
\ Oh man…
So I wanted to also share some photos of the fourth of July party/my infinite roach trauma, since Caren actually took photos and I didn’t.
Delicious American cheeseburger
Lighting the fireworks. At this point, my trauma had begun – the roach mountaineer was making its ascent of the Everest of roaches, a fairly tall white girl
So I have malaria and amoebas, but I am doing fairly well. I am walking, but I get tired faster – Christina said it’s because of the amoeba medicine, which causes fatigue. I took my last dose of malaria medicine a few days ago when I was in hospital with Caren getting her receipts.
I also bought a sweet Blue Jays hat
The story of my sweet Blue Jays hat is also the story of my going to immigration, which was to say the least a bit crazy. I had to pay them $50 US and then I had to wait almost 6 hours for the precious extension stamp for my passport. I spent the majority of it hanging out at Mama Zagaluu’s shop with Jane, the taxi driver. I ate a bunch of random street food, and then when I was finishing up and going to leave, I saw a man walking by with a stack of hats with that Blue Jays hat on the top. I tsssed at him and held up my arm (perfectly acceptable in Tanzania, I think…) and he came over and I asked him how much. He said 4,500tsh ($2.88) but I shook my head and was like mm-mm no way, 2,000tsh ($1.28). He repeated himself and I was like nu uh, 2,000; then I said his price was too much and I’d give him 2,000 right now if he’d sell me it for that price. He assented; I gave him a 5,000tsh ($3.20) note, and then I got my change. Victorious, glorious bargaining. Mama Zagaluu and Jane complimented me on my mad bargaining skills.
My face during bargaining
My face after a successful bargain
Today I took Caren on delivery so she could see more of Mwanza. It was a good time.
Carrying heavy stuff as usual (10 bottles full of probiotic culture). The face is because the bottom of the box is wet with god knows what and the box smelled (rotten milk blech)…. Also pictured – sweet Masai sandals
I like visiting the mamas. Today we saw some of the milk boiling and it was so much Caren had to take a photo
40 Litres of milk. Man.
I also like going to the kitchens and meeting the Mamas’ children, though they often just stare, especially if they’re younger.
Check off ‘photo with child’ from the To do list
Oh and an important announcement. I have officially found myself in Tanzania. I feel so much better now.
Here I am 🙂
Hehh just a bad joke, sorry guys.
Anyways, I’m starved, so I’m off to get some chapati and tasty food.
Today has been a pretty lazy Sunday. I woke up and lay in my giant bed all morning playing Animal Crossing. I finally have planted palm trees all along my seashore, and have finished financing my first public works project (a bridge). I have screenshots, but I’m lazy and didn’t bring the cable to upload them with. An-y-ways, the sun is starting to set so I should get to the point.
Getting to the poiiiiiiiint is haaaaard
On Friday, I went out with David and Tim. We started at a place called “Coconut Bar” which was practically empty except for some older Tanzanian men sitting at the bar, and scattered amongst the tables. They had already started on a (small) bottle of vodka mixed with bitter lemon. I had a glass, and then we ordered one more bottle, which was one more glass each for us. The total for that and the four bottles of bitter lemon we used was fairly inexpensive: 18,000tsh ($11.70), at least by Canadian standards. Afterwards, we went to the Lake Hotel, at which David ordered us some beer called “The Kick” which was footie themed and had a ball on it. It was really gross, so I gave mine to David after only having a little bit. Then we left to meet some people I knew at the Tilapia Hotel, and the drinks there were really expensive by Tanzanian standards, so I had only one gin and tonic, which cost 7,500tsh ($4.89) – 1,500 of that ($1.00) was for the tonic, which they gave to me in the bottle. It was a bit weird. We decided to leave, so we took a taxi to Club Fusion, paid entry (10,000tsh/$6.50) and danced for several hours. It was really fun, though it was a bit crowded. I drank mostly water, and then we ended up leaving the club at around 4. Rather than disturbing Mama Mary (our landlady), I stayed at Mama Kilala’s house, where David and Tim are staying, since they had a spare bedroom. Unfortunately, I forgot about the mosquito net, so I am literally covered in mosquito bites.
Me but in reverse
Saturday I spent feeling sorry for myself in Mama Kilala’s house and eating tasty eggs which David made (scrambled with spinach and onion and other things). It was ok. Then I went home on a pikipiki and felt better. However, I started to feel worse, so I had to lie down for a while. Eventually I just kind of passed out. Caren made pasta with butter, which I do quite like, so I ate a bit of it, only so I could take my Malarone pill and then sleep. Sleeping seems to have helped it a lot, though I do have waves of stomachache right now, that come and go every twenty to thirty minutes.
This morning I felt much better and made pancakes for Caren and I – apparently she didn’t know how to make them. I like how she is a different sort of cook than me – she measures everything exactly, so there’s very rarely any waste. Me, I do things more by feel, and sometimes I make far too much. The pancakes were pretty good, and I am glad I bought lemons (3 for 100tsh/$0.07) so I could have lemon and sugar. Then we lazed around until about one, when we visited Mama Mary for lunch, and sat with her relatives. It was interesting, though a bit awkward, since one of them was using What’s App and sending photos of us talking to people to others we didn’t know. To be honest though, I’m sure there’s tonnes of random photos of me around, so I don’t really care that much. It turned out that the lunch was still being made and so we began to make our excuses since we had to come to Gold Crest to Skype with our families. Mama Mary insisted we take some food, so we ate it before we left and only were about fifteen minutes late. She made pilau (spiced rice with some small vegetables and whole potatoes), fresh chicken (I heard it being slaughtered in the morning), watermelon, and chapati. She also gave us some samosas that she made, which were fresh and very nice. After we called Moodie and he was, of course, late. Then he tried to rip us off for the taxi price, which is starting to irritate me, so I feel like we need to find more taxi drivers. I explained to Moodie that my friends and I had taken a taxi from Gold Crest up Bugando Hill (which is pretty far) for 4,000tsh ($2.60) so it wasn’t fair for him to ask us for 5,000tsh ($3.25) just from Isamilo to town. So we paid him 3,000tsh ($1.95) and he was fine with it. I’m impressed by Caren’s unimpressed face. It’s pretty epic, and it helped us bargain.
Not taking that, Moodie. 5,000tsh ($3.25) within town? It’s 3,000tsh ($1.95)
I am not certain what we’ll eat for dinner, but I hope it will be tasty. We still have samosas left and some of the chicken from today. Maybe I’ll make egg noodles and onion and green pepper to go with it.
And since I didn’t take any photos in the intervening days, here’s a photo of me looking ridiculous with my favourite phone case:
I miss you phone case and late night dim sum and long nails
Isamilo (Ee-sa-me-low) is our new neighbourhood. It’s pretty awesome. We have animals of all sorts in our yard. I really like it here… I also have a giant bed.
My extra large bed-cave (half)
I’m getting used to the roosters which crow every so often, especially in the morning. It’s much better than the noise at Mlango Mmoja (the apartment). The only other thing that makes a lot of noise is the fridge, which occasionally sounds like it’s going to explode. We also felt an earthquake the other night, which Caren said was from a 5.7 earthquake in Uganda. I was lying in bed and felt the shaking and somehow I knew it was an earthquake from the last one, which I felt in Toronto some months ago.
Mama Mary, our landlady, showed us her animals yesterday and I took a few little videos:
I’ve also been finishing up interviews. I’m mostly talking to customers now, but the mamas still ask me to help them out. One of them asked for my shoes, and I promised them to her once I’ve left (I did not really intend to bring them to Britain with me anyways). Another tried to teach me how to carry things on my head, which I failed at … miserably. POSTURE UP.
I was only allowed one hand. Also, new kanga
I also got dressed up in the apron again, and got to look like a giant yet again – Caren told me I should stand behind in photos so I don’t look so ridiculous…
giant. this kitchen mama always likes to dress me up
I’ve also been taking many more daladalas. The other day I took one on my own and conducted – I hung out the window and pointed at people and shouted the destination (NYEGEZI! NYEGEZI! BUHONGWA! MJINI!). I still had to pay, but it was good fun. I took a really short video inside of one, but it isn’t very good:
I also collected two more daladalas (click to enlarge):
Kissing fire
Mr. Peace/Robin van Persie?
I also ate chipsi mayai way too many times this week. My favourite time was after I did interviews at one kitchen. We asked for two Fanta Passionfruit. We got a Fanta Orange and a Sprite. And then nobody had change. Classic Tanzania.
How street chipsi mayai comes. In a black plastic bag without any carcinogens. And chilli sauce.
Yesterday Liza had a Fourth of July party, which was really great. I made these little cashew-tea masala-honey pastries and everyone really enjoyed them. Liza made these amazing cheeseburgers, which probably were the best hamburger I’ve ever had. We also had some other snacks and such, and talked with lots of nice people. Liza even found some little fountain-fireworks, which we lit. While the fireworks were going, I felt something weird on my shoulder, so I turned to look and it was was what I thought was a giant beetle, but Liza realised it was a GIGANTIC COCKROACH. Quite literally the largest cockroach I’ve ever seen. It was at least 6 or 7 centimetres long. AT LEAST. I WAS HORRIFIED ON SO MANY LEVELS. Liza acted quickly, knocking it off of my body and then squashing it relentlessly into the dirt until it was dead. I then felt really, really grossed out. I still do feel a little disgusted, but luckily, in some respects, it was just a garden-cockroach rather than an indoors one.
Initial reaction to a giant cockroach on my shoulder
All my feels
Oh god why
The cockroach
My feels about walking outside
Feelings continued
All I wanted to do after
After I got home I made a cuppa and cried a little.
Anyways, just want to let you all know I’m doing really well apart from what will thusforth be termed the “giant cockroach crawling all over my body unbeknownst to me until I felt it on my shoulder” Incident.
Tilapia elephant butt. also my trousers are way too short.
So the post title is kind of a lie. I’m going to go through some photos Caren just gave me. There’s me on the morning after her arrival after a delicious and tasty breakfast wherein I ate entirely too much breakfast food.
There’s also a series of photographs of me squinting at my laptop at Gold Crest
On multiple days. Though this one is more so my “I’m right” face.
And here we are on the roof. Again. SELFIE.
Remember how disappointed Caren was about her ‘egg roll’?
I was actually really happy about my pizza.
Caren also captured the four step pikipiki process.
One: Negotiate price and put on helmet. Get stared at.
Two: Mount pikipiki from the left side, since the exhaust is on the right side and that is not good for your legs if you touch it
Three: Put your stuff in front of you so it doesn’t fall off/get stolen when you’re riding
Four: Ride away with fantasies of being Lady Gaga in the Judas music video
So there it is. There’s nothing to it. Rides in town cost 1,000tsh ($0.65) but rides further away but still within Mwanza (like to La Kairo, a really nice Indian restaurant we went to for David’s birthday on Saturday) cost 2,000tsh($1.28). Saturday was really nice. I had a really amazing palak paneer (7500/$4.80) and garlic naan. Next time I’ll get the cashew-paneer which was really nice – the others let me try some of theirs. After we went to La Kairo, we went to the Yacht Club, where I hadn’t been before. It too was nice, but I think we were only let in since we knew someone who was a member. We met Inga there, and then about half of us went by boat, and the other half went by car to a party called the “Full Moon” party. The place was quite far out of town, and though I’d been there two weeks ago, it looked almost completely different. They’d put in basically a full beach nightclub, complete with thatched umbrella pavilion things, a bar, and two fire pits – one with a chimney. It was ‘bring your own drinks’, which would have been nice to know beforehand, but the others were more than willing to share, and the bar was giving out free alcohol, but no mixer. I brought some water, so I drank mostly that, and a little Konyagi. I also met a really nice man named Joseph, who has lived in Tanzania for almost 5 years – his 5 year Tanzania anniversary is one day before my birthday. I was tired and was tempted to leave with him and his friends since they were taking a boat (much faster) back, but I didn’t want to take someone else’s place. So I stayed and then stared at the stars on the beach for a long time, danced a little bit, and then sat around before we finally left at about 3:30. I snuck inside the apartment at about 4:30, and noticed a man sleeping on the ground floor under the stairwell. Luckily, he didn’t wake up. I was very sneaky.
Like a little bird
On Sunday we went to where David and Kim are staying for a little birthday barbecue. I like going up on Bugando hill, the views are nice and it’s fairly quiet.
On the way there with Ajit and David (who is hiding). No, my arm isn’t in a sling.
I actually, after all the food and cake, staged an impromptu dance lesson, since the Germans are always asking for repeat performances of my contemporary moves (they’re pretty sweet). There’s the last performance I did just below:
I can’t find any of the folk dance, since that’s what I was teaching (mostly) to the others.
So the feet go like this
Body straight, annoyed dance face full on
They almost got it (left to right) Kim got the jump, David got the pointed foot, and Christoph got the straight leg (almost). Combine them and you might have a decent folk dance.
Then they wanted to learn fancy contemporary moves, so I taught them the roll, but the adorable dogs that Mama Kilaulau (sp?) kept were getting in the way… not always unwanted, though.
Dags
Anyways, we tried to get home early since we were moving the next day into a little cottage of our own, since we want to give the other girls some breathing room (though I have to return tomorrow since I forgot the most important thing: the cards my parents gave me before I left… and my skipping rope). It was also Canada Day today, so we wore festive tattoos.
Feel the Canada
It also meant that everyone in the market today shouted CANADA at us rather than MZUNGU. It seems a fair strategy in the end.
Carrying down the fan with all my muscles
I called the taxi driver but he was taking a while. “WHERE IS HE?!”
Then we all piled in a taxi and got the key copies made and repaired by hand this time so everyone can get into the apartment who is there now. We also bought a padlock for our little cottage and grossly overpaid (48,000tsh/$30). Our driver, Zagaluu, told us that he could have gone in and bargained for us. It would have been helpful to know… :\\\\
Once we arrived we had to leave almost right away since we were meeting with the professor at NIMR, and that meeting was productive – I found a transcriptionist and a translator, but it will cost about 3,250tsh/page ($2.09) in total, which is a bit more than I wanted to pay, but the best we could do with the time and who was available, though I actually bargained the transcription to 1,250tsh/page ($0.80, included in above) so I felt ok about it. Then when we got back home, Mama Mary, our landlady, fed us ugali, beans, and cooked greens, and gave us a whole papaya to eat.
PA-PAY-A
Then we went out and spent a stupid amount on taxis, groceries, and other stuff (I bought another kanga, will take photos another time…). We are stocked up now and probably don’t need to leave our tiny fortress until three weeks from now, though I have to interview tomorrow. Mama Mary also brought us dinner though – pilau, beans, and soup with beef in it. It was amazing. I haven’t had such good pilau and beans for a long time – the flavours were perfect.
What she brought plus the plate
Plate close-up. So good.
I’ve just been unpacking and sorting out my massive bed – it’s seriously huge. I don’t even know what to do. It’s a cave-upgrade.
Previous/perilous cave of two months and some days
The dogs are barking outside like crazy and playing with each other. It’s cute but a bit scary to be honest… Two of them look a bit like hyenas. One was playing with (well, chewing on) a rock, and then the other wanted to, so they had a huge fight over who could chew on the rock. It was a bit weird. But now they’ve quieted down a little bit, it’s ok. I feel safe because we have them, though I’m a bit worried about coming home after dark…
So I’m sitting in Gold Crest sipping an iced rooibos (3500tsh/$2.25) and chilling with my new bff I can have more than one… Caren. This week I finished more interviews – I have one more kitchen to go (in terms of talking to the mamas) and then maybe 30 more interviews (though the majority of these will be fairly short). I am waiting to talk on Skype with mum and dad, but there’s another few hours to go until they’ll be awake.
On Sunday Caren and I did the Gold Crest sunset thing, and we did it again on Wednesday for karaoke, and my brain is a bit scattered, so I can’t reeally remember which day these are from:
Mayor’s Cup at Nyamgana (?) stadium
A blurry picture of a kite. Caren got a better one.
Obligatory sunset pic
Yet another sunset (from the apartment)
I had a hamburger there again (12000tsh/$7.75) and asked them to put avocado (parachichi) on it, which greatly improved the dryness issue. My favourite part of asking for things here is that they’ll generally say yes (like the avocado) and sometimes they bring you something that you just might not expect…
Burger
Vinegar which I asked for. In a bowl. It’s fine.
Caren was reminded of this when we ate at Pizzeria and she ordered an egg roll. I think she might have been expecting something like a contained roll type thing. But what she got was different.
Egg roll reaction (actual reaction). Caren and I took happy/sad photos with her food
Wizened by this experience, Caren ordered a regular sandwich on Wednesday at Gold Crest, and was clearly much happier:
Caren with her regular sandwich at Gold Crest
Anyways back to interviewing stuff (since mum wanted to hear about it…). I did three kitchens this week. I especially enjoyed getting to the last one, which I did on Friday, which was in Mahina. To get to Mahina, you have to go on a bicycle taxi or a pikipiki. We elected for pikipikis on the way there (after riding a cargo bajaji (three wheeled motorcycle truck) part way after a daladala).
The kitchen’s sign
Inside of one daladala
Looking out a daladala window
Inside the daladala sweatin’
The cargo bajaji (a really flattering shot)
The interviews went really well in general this week at each kitchen, though I’m starting to worry about the viability of the program, especially given the dismantling, or rather shoving under the Foreign Affairs carpet, of CIDA. It seems that the balance is quite delicate, but it’s starting to lean one way, and may eventually fall. I’m glad that the participants opened up to me, and in one case, I hardly even asked any of the questions set out in my interview checklist. Sometimes it is just better to let the person talk, especially if they seem to have a lot to say. Even if I didn’t ask another question, that participant kept talking about it, and told me a lot about the history and current state of affairs. I can see all the narratives for my thesis coming together. I know I have to try to right the balance (the participant asked for my help), but I’m afraid that I won’t be able to do very much.
On the way back, we walked with a streetleader, who took us to his house on the way back to Nyakato National (where the daladala stand is). He fed us a lentil-bean-cassava stew type thing (though it was very thick). It was very, very nice. His house was big, and not quite finished, but my translator told me that people often construct incrementally here. The walk to Nyakato was quite long, but I was excited since I got to see the more rural parts of Mwanza by foot rather than in a daladala or a car. I didn’t take any photographs, but I got to go through fields and houses and over a river by some rocks. I felt adventurous.
I also bought another kanga, whose saying I’m still a little unclear on, but everyone says it’s good. I need to study harder. I chose this kanga because of its aesthetic, though I did make sure it didn’t say “Mungu” (God) on it, since I didn’t want to have anything overtly religious…
I’ve been spending a lot of time at Mama Zagaluu’s shop, chatting with her and I really do feel that my Swahili is improving, though. I can mostly get people to understand me on (nonabstract) concepts.. I ran around a lot last night asking about hotels for the girls coming from Rwanda (though they didn’t need them in the end…) and eventually I was understood. We had to go pick them up at Nyegezi stand which is pretty far (as far as the airport is, but in the other direction), at around midnight (which luckily turned into 10:45pm). The interesting part about booking the taxi is that Swahili time is different than Western time by six hours, so midnight is actually 6:00, but you would say “saa sita usiku” (six at night) and then for noon, you’d say “saa sita mchana” (six in the day). It’s hard to get a grasp of when you’re asking people to do things, but it worked out.
Some crazy happenings actually went on about the taxi – we’d asked Jane, who was back from taxing around the country (Musoma, Shinyanga, Geita, apparently) to drive us in the morning. We had a series of visitors in the time leading up to our departure to Nyegezi. First, Jane came to our apartment in the late afternoon to tell us she was still there (and she also told me when I was at Mama Zagaluu’s shop that she was waiting there until the time to go). Then later, after dark, Baba Zagaluu, Mama Zagaluu’s husband, came to our apartment and told us that Jane, the driver, had gone home and that he would take us to Nyegezi instead. We were confused, since Shannan had just been outside to buy water, and Jane had told her she was still waiting no more than five minutes before Zagaluu’s evening visit. Then we said ok to Zagaluu, and he left. Shortly after that, Jane came back to our apartment, visibly upset, and we explained (well mostly me, since my Swahili is a bit better than the others) that we were still using her to drive us, since we had asked her in the morning, and that it was bad for Baba Zagaluu to have told us that. So then I made her some tea (well I set the kettle on and then Caren made it), put out some sweets, and then we went outside to explain to Baba Zagaluu that he should go home and that we promised Jane we’d use her. I told him next time we were going far, we’d ask him. So then everything was ok, and Jane had actually gotten a new car, which mean it was much more comfortable than the older one. Interestingly, like all cars here, it was Japanese, so the radio stations were still preprogrammed onto it – J-Wave, NHK, and so forth. We finally got the others who came on the bus from Rwanda, and drove back to the apartment. They’ve actually arrived here at Gold Crest too – one of their wallets was stolen from their bag as they walked through the market. I think Rwanda has less crime, so they were not expecting it. It had her cards in it, so it probably will lead to a lot of inconvenience, since she won’t be back in Canada until September. I’m glad I haven’t had anything stolen yet *cross my fingers, punch wood, salt over the shoulder, etc.*
We’re meeting with Mama Mary later to sort out the house and hopefully we can go tomorrow, since the apartment is getting really crowded, and a bit uncomfortable. Now I’m just waiting for mum and dad to get on Skype, sipping (hot) rooibos now.
Want to talk to mum and dad. Tea. Sadness. Scarf.
I can’t wait for them to get here. I’m excited for our safari together and then being in England. I’ll be glad for a break from working too. Distractions are nice… Speaking of which:
By my friend
My friend showed me this piece he did today, which I really like. It reminds me I have to find a board so I can stretch my watercolour paper, so I can paint. I’ll look in the market, I guess.
OH YES. MARKET SHOPPING AND MY AMAZING BARGAINING SKILLS
Anyways, I have exhausted my mind, so I won’t write any more. I did actually Skype with mum and dad, which made me feel a little more awake and happy. I got to see both of them on video thanks to the wifi here. Mum brought Brutus but he looked really unhappy, fuzzy and adorable.
Contemplating the deepness of his existence
Brutus is just like Henri, le chat noir:
Anyways, I’m going to listen to Envy (song below) and read more exciting articles on the forefront of geography.
So Caren and our advisor came to Mwanza yesterday. Our advisor has already left back to Dar in order to go to Lilongwe to see our other colleague there. I was pretty excited to see them. I think it’s actually the fifth time I’ve been to the airport, not including trips out to Igombe… Before I met them I decided enough was enough and I needed some sandals that were easy to slip on and off. So I bought some Masai sandals and learned how bad I am at bargaining (Caren has promised to help). I ended up paying 23,000tsh($14.70) so I saved only 2,000tsh ($1.28) off of the outrageous 25,000tsh($15.98) he asked for initially. It’s as if the market men know somehow that I’m really really terrible at bargaining and exploit it. I tried my best, countering with ten, then twelve, then fourteen, then fifteen, then seventeen, then twenty… It didn’t work. I should have just left but I decided to grab them anyways:
And I wore my fabulous new Masai sandals
We ended up meeting a local professor at Tilapia for dinner, which was, as usual, very nice, though the service there is always a bit squiffy. My chai masala (7000tsh!/$4.47) took far too long for them to make – everyone else had finished their tea and coffee. I understand it takes a little extra time to heat the milk and add spice, but at the same time, it shouldn’t take that much longer… I had the vegetable jalfrezi again, which had extra paneer this time, which was extra delicious. It came in a little holy candle pot affair:
Holy pot
We also breakfasted at the Tilapia. I love breakfast. I especially love the types of breakfasts we have in the West. I don’t know what it is. I’m just a breakfast person. I ate so much breakfast. It was ridiculous. I had bacon, sausages, a Spanish omelette, toast, a “croissant” (croissant-shaped roll more like), fruit, baked beans, rice krispies… so much breakfast. All for me. It was amaaazing.
Breakfast Kingdom
After breakfast, our advisor showed us the room, the photos of which I am posting here mostly for the benefit of my mum.
That’s right mum, you don’t need to pack a kettle
It was a really nice room. Huge in fact.
Giant comfy looking bed
And the view was phenomenal:
Window view (bars are de rigueur for Tanzania.)
Outdoors view
Caren and I are now lurking at our (well my) usual spot: Gold Crest cafe. I’ve had an iced rooibos (my new crack), a cup of black tea, and black forest gateau. So creamy. I would almost rather have the swiss roll from Victoria Fast Food, but it’s too much work to walk all the way back there, plus they don’t have wifi (#thirdworldproblems). It’s all pretty good. Today was a Sunday food day. No fast day for me.
Lurking. Charmingly.
Also I’m planning to take her to the roof to see the sunset, since she hasn’t done it yet. I will probably take more photos, even though I must have about thirty or forty of that one sunset view. It’s just so nice. I love the sunset.
In totally weird and unrelated news, Caren brought me some things from my parents: a copy of Animal Crossing: New Leaf because I’m an obsessive child in an adult body, and the book that has all the fish timings (can’t always check online!)
So I already started but I wish my hair was more funky:
I just want funkier hair damn it! *stew, fester*
I also have been busy spending money on house stuff rather than saving the down payment (10,000 bells/$?) to actually have a proper house rather than a tent.
The tent (and a town map!)
In any case, I’m really excited and am probably addicted too soon. I’ve always loved Animal Crossing, ever since it was the only thing I wanted for my 11th or 12th birthday. The first one was amazing since it had these NES games you could play – very nostalgic. That’s why I like the 3DS – you can even have these NES games and even the GBA games from childhood right there on one system, without having to carry a lot with you. It’s really perfect. I guess right now I’m the major nostalgia market for these video game manufacturers, but in a way, I don’t really care, since everything seems quite well.
Nostalgia! Moomin style!
I also Skyped with mum and dad, and since the Internet is better here, I did turn on the video at the end. I’m pretty happy actually to see them, since I haven’t for almost two months. Also, I’m happy that my brother and Michelle are taking him out for a belated Father’s Day. And my mum showed me Brutus, my beloved Brutus Mc Bruts etc etc (the pet name is too long and embarrassing..):
Brutus plus our reactions to mum waving his paw (Mum blurred out since she said she just woke up <_<)
Anyways, my laptop battery is almost dead, so I have to wrap this up..
The first thing my conscious mind says to my body in the morning. And yes, my body is Jason Statham
This morning I woke up naturally, which is the best. Then I lay in my little mosquito-net cave reading Sjón’s The Whispering Muse (Excerpt). And then Isaac and Caren run to ask me about the luggage policy for Precision. Which is kind of ridiculous. Their excess weight fee is quite low (I was told 5000tsh/$3.20 for about 7 kg over). But if you want to take another bag, it’s $200(US). I understand their planes are small (they advertise that they have 767s, but the route to Mwanza is in a smaller plane), but it’s pretty insane. I thought that like me, Caren had two bags, but she has three, since she paid for another (my parents told me that she paid for another, but I thought they meant she had two). Luckily Isaac is not taking any luggage, but there’s one bag left over.
Carry on will work, but they do weigh it, and the limit is 10kg, though they have lee-way of about 2-3kg. I can’t remember if I wrote this story, but I was overweight with my main bag (32.5kg, but they let it slide for free, aww yiis)… then I was overweight with my carry-on (17kg…) so I started to remove all of my electronics and was resigned to paying $200US. However, all the staff were debating about what to charge me, and so they didn’t see me take everything out and shove it in my purse, I suppose. They decided to reweigh my carry-on and apparently all my electronic stuff weighed about 6-7kg. So they let it fly and when I got to the departures lounge, I repacked everything.
My luggage strategies
I set up my final kitchen interviews this week, and helped with the deliveries again. The mamas at Igoma dressed me up since I complimented one of them on their kitenge- I guess she thought I was talking about the apron. I could not stop laughing. Everyone was so happy there, or at least the general mood was. One of the other mamas was cutting papaya (called popo here), and she gave each of us (Abdallah and Christina) a huuge plate. I felt a bit guilty, but I didn’t want to be rude, so I didn’t refuse it. I’m glad I didn’t, in a way, since it was perfectly ripe, with the nicest texture and sweetness. Next week I might bake something for the kitchens, if I have time.
Also I’m taller and bigger than a lot of people, so I look ridiculous in all group photos, especially those with little hats and aprons. (with the yoghurt fridge)
Mahina
On Friday I went to do interviews in Igombe, which at about 20km away from the town centre, is the farthest kitchen away. We actually had to stop and wait by the airport since there was a random military exercise going on (which we only found out later). We were all a bit worried a plane had crashed, but in the end, it worked out. Steph bought everyone a banana, which was delicious and totally appreciated.
Waiting at the airport featuring gross, mosquito-bitten feet.
How I was sitting in the van for about a decade
I did eventually make it to Igombe with the others, who were off schedule by almost an hour and a half, so they had to hurry away. The mamas at Igombe are very nice, and have such a positive attitude. The name of their kitchen is Mashujaa (heroes), since they made it through many struggles to open up. We took the daladala back, since the lift was only one way. The Igombe-Mwanza daladala is much bigger than the others, about two thirds the size of a regular city bus…
An average city bus (I took this last summer when a TTC bus crashed into a building at the end of my laneway)
But it’s really old and creaky. And dusty. I sat on the wheel, which reminded me of riding the school bus as a kid; my legs cramped up hardcore. The ride takes quite a long time because it stops fairly frequently, though it only makes two stops in town. My translator and I walked back to my neighbourhood and I discovered my new doom: Victoria Fast Food. They sell the usual types of food. The samosas are phenomenal, but the best thing there is their white swiss roll (which I haven’t snapped a photo of – yet). It’s got orange cream icing instead of the regular stuff on the inside. On the outside is regular white icing encrusted in chopped cashews. It costs 1000tsh ($0.65) and is going to be the death of me if I’m not careful.
I ended up reading at home for a few hours and not going out on a bar crawl which sounded legendary… I was a bit tired from going out for a drink on Thursday, plus going all the way out to Igombe, and I wasn’t in the mood initially. And then I was too lazy to cook, so I went back to Victoria Fast Foods and got additional samosas for me (called sambusa here actually) and some maandazi (a sort of softish doughnutesque pastry) to share with my roommates. As soon as I walked in the second time, they knew what I wanted.. <_<
Samosa understandings…
It was almost getting to dusk when I left the apartment, and I knew I’d make it home with moments to spare, when I suddenly ran into the professor from NIMR in the street- it turned out he was checking on his businesses (which I wasn’t aware were so close to our apartment!). He has a bar, a drinks-point/grocery, and a cosmetics shop. He showed me all of them, and they were all very well maintained – I was very impressed. He explained to me that he had to run these extra businesses (with his wife) since the salaries for academics here are fairly low. By the time we were finished talking, it was dark, but I knew I was 500 metres from home. Plus, I’d walked in a group on Thursday from Capri Point to Poliisi Bar after dark, so I was feeling emboldened. I set off after saying goodbye and walked home without feeling afraid.
I was wearing my kanga
I had bought ice cream at Zagaluu’s with designs to try it – since Azam ice cream seems to be everywhere, and I don’t want to spend money on ice cream without trying it cheaply (1000tsh/$0.65) first:
My midnight feast. Also mango juice mixed with Ribena in a mango chutney jar is the best thing ever.
This is what disappointment looks like, manifested in ice cream form
I ate about a quarter of it. It tasted like really artificial, terrible, too sweet, sort of half melted soft serve. I can’t even describe how awful it was. I was pretty disappointed, but at least I know better than to buy it again. I will probably return to the partially eaten tub in the freezer every so often, but I won’t seek it out again.
Ice cream feelings
I suppose I’d rather spend 1000tsh ($0.65) on a pikipiki, so I can feel like Lady Gaga in the Judas video, with my hair flapping in the wind (at least that which isn’t stuffed into a helmet of dubious cleanliness), and my scarf flying behind me. Maybe I’ll get some fab jewels from the costume jewelery sellers and some sheerish scarves and go around standing on motorcycles, holding impromptu dance parties with Daryl from Walking Dead. I also kind of want to have yellow hair again…
The cat’s coming too. (Norman Reedus taken by Terry Richardson)
Yellow hair and long nails… ;-;
I have been really stressed so my nails have been picked to nothing. They’re so short and I feel so sad and embarrassed. I have to stop picking at them. By the time I’m in England I want them to be presentable and nice for Nan’s party. I also want to sort out what I’m wearing there, but I have honestly no idea. Maybe I’ll have something made, maybe I won’t… or maybe mum and I will go shopping before the party, if there’s time (Hey Mum, if you’re reading this, you know the plan now…).
I’ve been at the Gold Crest cafe for a few hours, and actually had lunch here, which was pretty good actually. I’ve also been drinking endless cups of tea.
Toasted chicken sandwich with chips and tomato salad (9000tsh/$5.75)
In any case, I’ll leave with a song full of energy, since I have to go to the airport in 2 hours. I want more portable music… my iPhone is full of apps and photos. I definitely need a proper mp3 player… I couldn’t find my iPod nano (which I’ve had since I was 15 or 16. Blue metallic goodness)… maybe it will be my birthday present to myself this year. Anyways.