Hamna shida!

Day three of exploring Mwanza we started the day by going to Mabatini to visit the Mama’s at the yoghurt kitchen (jiko la jamii). It was much different than I expected; the kitchen was quite a bit smaller, but very quaint and clean. We tried a sample of the yoghurt and this was definitely a different taste and texture than the products I was used to in Canada. Yoghurt is called “Mziwa Mgando”, but literally translated to English means sour milk, which is exactly how it tasted. It will probably take a bit getting used to.

For the morning Dane and I sat out with the mama’s making chapattis and went up to Motoni Secondary School to sell them to the students. A group of the students were yelling at us to come see them and were very excited that we were from Canada. A few even asked us to bring them there. They spoke very good English and so I was able to try speaking Swahili to them, which they laughed and high fived for my attempts. They taught me a few new words too.

We went back to sit with the Mama’s making more chapattis in preparation for the lunch time rush of students. A bunch of them came and sat with us. One of the girls, Frieda, even knew Ashley (a past intern), which was very exciting. At around noon the students had gone, so Steph, Marta (who were back from the clinic now), Dane and I walked back to the apartment. Along the way we saw many cute clothing shops and shops selling a variety of things.

Getting back to the apartment, we only stopped over briefly to change, get more money and put on more sunscreen. We were back out again and on our way to visit Nimri. At Nimri we saw the labs where Arja and Yolanda work and where the probiotics are cultured. After they had finished up for lunch, we went down to where they eat and ordered some food.

On our way home we stopped into U-Turn, a grocery store with all the things you can find back in Canada, but they are much more expensive because most of the items have been imported. Also what was funny was that the chocolate is stored in a refrigerated room, otherwise it would all melt!

Outside U-Turn we met Steph’s friend who was carrying a bunch of paintings he had done. The colours were amazing and I will definitely want to buy one or two from him before I leave. We eventually made our way home after stopping in a fabric store and the bakery to get fresh bread.

It was about 4 or 5 pm already and it had been hot all day. I didn’t realize until I came inside that I had managed to get a pretty good burn.

For the evening we went out to dinner at the Binti Moringo, which is where an organization that raises money for a children has a dinner fundraiser every other Wednesday. The theme was Mexican so we had some tasty fajitas and met many other people travelling from different parts of the world. It was a nice way to end the evening and we will definitely go back the next time they have this dinner.

The next day we had a little less to do, but it still managed to take us all day. I had to go to Nimri again to find the acting Director to get a signature and scan some papers to send back to Canada. To get there today we went on the Piki piki’s, which are motorcycle taxis. So much fun and really inexpensive, it only cost us 1000 Tsh. It was a nice change of pace to get to see the town, but not have sore feet. I am still feeling the sun burn, so the cool wind was much nicer than feeling just the sun. On the way back we walked by the small market so we could go to buy food for dinner. We got plantains to cook in sauce with okra and spinach. We also bought fruit (pineapple, mango and papaya) for dessert. On the way home we stopped in a few spots we visited yesterday to see if Stephanie had left her phone anywhere. It’s yet to be found.

Friday, Marta and Dane went to Mabatini in the morning, while Steph and I went to buy a new cell phone. By chance we decided to stop back into one of the shops we had visited on the day she had lost her phone. It was there! The owner had even fixed the broken back, although we think he only did this because he was going to keep it if no one came back to claim it! We had also tried calling it many times and although it was on, he claimed it was not and that he had tried to phone some numbers but the network was not working. It was more likely that he was trying to make it more difficult for us to get it back, but thankfully he was honest enough to give it back when we did come by. After visiting another shop, we decided to head back to the apartment, and at this time we were now getting calls from a number asking for money. It was definitely the man from the shop! He had forgot to ask for the money Steph said she would pay if someone returned her phone before he gave the phone back. We walked the long way around his shop to get home and the calls stopped eventually.

In the afternoon we took Piki piki’s to Mabatini to see the Mama’s and buy some yoghurt, but had to hurry back for 2pm for Marta, Dane and I’s first Swahili lesson from Mr. Goddence. It went really well and we will be having more lessons next week.

Margaret made us homemade chips; she probably made a few pounds of potatoes for us, but were all eaten up because they were so delicious! We went for a quick dinner at Sunset Bakery, which we got a lot of food for only 3600 Tsh (3 dollars), but the chicken was definitely not the best thing I’ve had yet! Making our way back home, Margaret was still at the apartment making more chips for the night. We were having a bunch of Steph’s local friends over for a going away party. Margaret cut up pineapple and watermelon and served chips, which were gone very quickly. It was a fun night and yet another chance to practice and learn more Swahili.