Tags
3DS, animal crossing, animal crossing: new leaf, breakfast, Brutus, Brutus Mc Bruts, chai masala: new obsession, Channing Tatum isn't so bad, classic mzungu, GBA, Gold Crest cafe is my jam, Gold Crest Hotel maybe isn't so bad, great food, Lake Victoria, Masai sandals, moomin, Mwanza, NES, NIMR, parents are the best, so much curry, tanzania, thirdworldproblems, Tilapia Hotel
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:
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:
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.
After breakfast, our advisor showed us the room, the photos of which I am posting here mostly for the benefit of my mum.
It was a really nice room. Huge in fact.
And the view was phenomenal:
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.
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 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.
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.
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..):
Anyways, my laptop battery is almost dead, so I have to wrap this up..
Emily