Tanzania Tidbits: Day 6

Today I introduced the class project, and we got as far as them agreeing to it.  Lunch was the SUA staff cafeteria again, but this time I decided to eat “local style”.  The menu was always the same—either rice or Ughali with beef, chicken, or fish.  The beef was like beef soup but the chicken was scrawny and difficult to eat without using your hands.  Ughali is like stiff mashed potatoes made with maize flour and is as bland as it sounds.  You roll a bit into a ball in your right hand and use it to pick up your meet or dip it in the sauce.  Everything is served with lime wedges and thinly sliced chili peppers.  I actually liked it, but my hand isn’t that skilled so almost as much would end up on my palm as in the ball.  I do pretty well with our “refreshment” breaks, though.  In the mornings it is usually fresh fruit and chipati (like a greasy tortilla) that you use to pick up beef bits and deep in the broth—with lime as always.  They’re always drinking tea and today I thought I could at least drink the milk they put in their tea to blend in.  Turns out they like their milk hot, so I ended up drinking a cup of warm milk.  I don’t even like cold milk, so I added heaping spoons of sugar to make it palatable, but that wasn’t something I’d drink twice.  The woman who prepared our food all week had never said a word to me, but when she delivered the receipt for the driver I finally introduced myself and learned her name was Teddy.  When she returned with my change she left a note with her contact information in the hopes we could become pen pals.  So sweet, but so shy!  

Dinner that night was with Åschel (Kristian had left to return to Norway) and a new guest at the hostel, a former Peace Corp volunteer who was in Morogoro to interview people for her thesis about poultry vaccinations and its effect on people’s diets.  Ned Horning was kind enough to drive us to dinner, and at his suggestion we ate at the Morogoro Hotel.  The Indian food was fantastic, though I made the mistake of ordering too much without the means of enjoying leftovers since it was my last night.  The water still wasn’t back on, but to make things even more “rustic”, the power was out in my room.  Not the entire guest hostel, just my room.  Thankfully Conrad made this sound like a common occurrence in TZ so I’d packed a candle, but I was also grateful this was a 1-night novelty.  Bucket showers by candlelight are fun the first time, but I would gripe if it became an unscheduled, regular occurrence.  I also washed all my underwear by hand as best as I could.  I’m rubbish at hand washing so I gave my shirts to the hostel staff to do for me, but I feel like I can fake it better with my garments.