Hi Everyone! I can't believe it has been over a month since my last post. I am sorry to have neglected you all. Though it brings me to the theme of this post: Time. One thing I've had to get used to in Tanzania is that time works differently here. I have never been so aware of how 'human' and therefore cultural the concept of time is. Time is relative. Time is abstract. And in Tanzania time is slow.
Living in the United States all my life, particularly in the Northeast region, time is fast. Phrases like "In a New York Minute" or "Time is Money" or "I'll get it done yesterday" are mantras I grew up with. Then I got here and suddenly time slowed down. When I am given a project people are surprised if it is done quickly. When I request maintenance on the house (for example the oven electrical circuit was not working) if it gets fixed within 2 weeks that is considered extremely prompt. It has been a lesson in both detachment and patience.
However this does not mean that life is not busy here or that people are not productive. It just means that there is a different level of accountability and a different set of priorities. Work does not always come first the way it does in our work-aholic society. Or rather, paid work to an employer does not come first. Instead people work for the family, for their friends, and for their house. Despite time moving 'slower' here, there still does not seem to be enough of it which is why I have been neglecting the blog. Instead I have been spending my time taking my Junior Youth class on field trips and hikes, I have been teaching Geography and Religion classes, I have been deepening on the Kitab-i-Iqan as well as letters from Shoghi Effendi, and have been teaching a book study class. And cooking and cleaning! Mom and Dad you would be proud. I am going to come back a chef and you won't have to worry about my having a messy room ever again ;)
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Dar Es Salaam
So instead of Malawi, Omid, Jordana, and I went to Dar Es Salaam for the weekend. It was an 8 hour busride of fun, as every stop we had vendors shoving things up to the windows. There was roasted corn on sticks, or baskets, or sodas, or peanuts, and sugar cane. We also went through the national park again and this time got to see many elephants of which I was able to snag a photo. I still have not been able to upload my photos as it takes both time and bandwith which are real luxuries here in Iringa, but eventually I will.
Anyway, on with the story. Basically we spent the entire weekend eating. We had suhi, and Indian food, and Indonesian, as well as pizza and milkshakes. We justified our gluttony by rationalizing that this food was not available at Ruaha school. We also tried to go shopping but it was "Saba Saba" (July 7th) which is a national holiday so the majority of the shops were closed. It was probably for the best as most of the purchases would have been descretionary and not necessary. We did find beautiful silk woven Persian scarves for about $5 and made the purchase. They've been lovely back in Iringa where it gets chilly and windy at night but in Dar it was superfluous as the weather was hot and muggy.
On Sunday we went to devotions at the National Baha'i center which was quite lovely. It was nice to meet Bahais from all over Tanzania (and the world as there were some Brits, Irish, Canadians, and Egyptians there also). We met a wonderful Baha'i named Michael who works for an NGO in Dar and showed us the neighborhood of Mwenge in Dar.
On Monday we got to commemorate the Martyrdom of the Bab, a holy day for the Baha'is, and it truly was special. There were songs performed on drums, harp, or chanted as well as beautiful prayers recited in both Swahili and English. The recitation of the tablet of visitation in Swahili was probably the most moving Swahili prayer I've experienced so far.
Afterwards Omid went to the airport to pick up some more Canadians, so I traveled back to the YMCA (where we stayed) solo. It was quite the experience hopping the Dala Dala as I went the wrong direction and hit the end of the line before realizing it. The drivers and I had a laugh about it and they let me stay on the other way for free. I figured it was a cheap tour of Dar. Plus, the Dala Dala driver proposed to me at the end of the ride after finding out I was American and that my family was back in the states. "You are all alone here?!?! No family?! You need family. I can take care of you." It was quite sweet though I had to politely decline.
With Omid around I get no marriage proposals, but when he was gone I got three. I guess the potential suitors assume we are married. Actually, one of the market vendors in Iringa town actually asked Omid where his 'wives' were (refering to Jordana and I as the three of us usually go shopping together) when he went to town alone. Men and women do not usually spend time together unless they are married and even then the genders usually segregate.
Anyway, I'm a bit tired so that will do for now. I will have to write another post later about meeting the new volunteer, Ramin, and the Cooperative Learning Workshop all the volunteers and new teachers have been participating in.
Anyway, on with the story. Basically we spent the entire weekend eating. We had suhi, and Indian food, and Indonesian, as well as pizza and milkshakes. We justified our gluttony by rationalizing that this food was not available at Ruaha school. We also tried to go shopping but it was "Saba Saba" (July 7th) which is a national holiday so the majority of the shops were closed. It was probably for the best as most of the purchases would have been descretionary and not necessary. We did find beautiful silk woven Persian scarves for about $5 and made the purchase. They've been lovely back in Iringa where it gets chilly and windy at night but in Dar it was superfluous as the weather was hot and muggy.
On Sunday we went to devotions at the National Baha'i center which was quite lovely. It was nice to meet Bahais from all over Tanzania (and the world as there were some Brits, Irish, Canadians, and Egyptians there also). We met a wonderful Baha'i named Michael who works for an NGO in Dar and showed us the neighborhood of Mwenge in Dar.
On Monday we got to commemorate the Martyrdom of the Bab, a holy day for the Baha'is, and it truly was special. There were songs performed on drums, harp, or chanted as well as beautiful prayers recited in both Swahili and English. The recitation of the tablet of visitation in Swahili was probably the most moving Swahili prayer I've experienced so far.
Afterwards Omid went to the airport to pick up some more Canadians, so I traveled back to the YMCA (where we stayed) solo. It was quite the experience hopping the Dala Dala as I went the wrong direction and hit the end of the line before realizing it. The drivers and I had a laugh about it and they let me stay on the other way for free. I figured it was a cheap tour of Dar. Plus, the Dala Dala driver proposed to me at the end of the ride after finding out I was American and that my family was back in the states. "You are all alone here?!?! No family?! You need family. I can take care of you." It was quite sweet though I had to politely decline.
With Omid around I get no marriage proposals, but when he was gone I got three. I guess the potential suitors assume we are married. Actually, one of the market vendors in Iringa town actually asked Omid where his 'wives' were (refering to Jordana and I as the three of us usually go shopping together) when he went to town alone. Men and women do not usually spend time together unless they are married and even then the genders usually segregate.
Anyway, I'm a bit tired so that will do for now. I will have to write another post later about meeting the new volunteer, Ramin, and the Cooperative Learning Workshop all the volunteers and new teachers have been participating in.
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
To Malawi or not to Malawi?
That is the question. I found out a friend of mine is living in Malawi this summer, but is leaving in August. Ruaha School is on break until July 16th and then the next break is in September. If I want to see him I would have to leave tomorrow but it will take at least a day to get there. I have been given the blessing to go, but I only have 5 days to play with, and unlike in the States, roads are not reliable. I have to decide tonight. If not then I will head to Dar Es Salaam for the weekend as there is a Baha'i conference there. We shall see.
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
The Tastes of Tanzania
One of the first things people do when traveling to new places is try the new cuisine. So far I've had the Tanzanian staples of Ugali (corn flour and rice in a sort of thick paste), beans, and rice, as well as a wide assortment of fruits from bananas to guavas. The avocadoes are so much better here! Anyway, I wanted to tell you about one of my favorite dishes, Chips Mayai, which ahome vendor across from the school cooks up, but I found a BBC article that explains it much better than I would while giving a brief overview of Tanzanian history, so I've reposted it here:
Chips Mayai - 2nd National Dish of Tanzania?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A22548431
For the westerners palate the national dish of Tanzania called Ugali often tastes as nice as is sounds. This mixture of maize flour and water can range from a porridge-like consistency right up to a dough-like ball. It's a cheap source of carbohydrate and so it gets eaten by the poorest people the length and breadth of the country; it is rightly the national dish of Tanzania. Usually eaten in its more solid state, it can be dipped into a stew often containing vegetables and very occasionally some meat.
Yet this meal is often rejected by westerners in favour of what has got to be the country's second most popular dish, the Chips Mayai.
What is it?
This simple meal is exactly as it is described, Chips and Mayai - or for those of you who don't speak KiSwahili, Chips and Egg. It's worth noting at this point that Tanzania is a nation made up of many tribes1 all speaking languages based on a common Bantu root. Therefore the proper name for the language spoken by the members of the coastal Swahili tribe should be KiSwahili.
Getting back to the meal in question - a Chips Mayai is exactly what it sounds like, egg and chips. Now many nations enjoy food based on chips, the Quebec, Canada Poutine for example, however unlike the traditional British egg and chips that can be found in greasy spoons up and down the UK, a Tanzanian egg and chips is really just a chip omelette.
How to make one?
To make one the chef will start by frying up a portion of chips. It's important to note at this point that they will never be American 'fries'. The country of German East Africa was originally created as part of the German empire, but after the First World War the League of Nations gave control of the territory to the British and the country became the colony of Tanganyika. When Tanganyika became independent of Britain in the 1960s, it merged with the island of Zanzibar to form the country Tanzania. The country never became as 'colonial' as its northern cousin Kenya while under British rule, but the country still has strong British links and most educated people speak some English2. Due to this British influence the country drives on the left and eats proper Chips3.
Right, ramble over, back to the process, the chef will place the newly-cooked chips into a large frying pan and an omelette mixture will poured over the top. This pancake-shaped object will then be cooked - really that simple!
Eating one in Tanzania
In Tanzania a Chips Mayai makes an ideal lunchtime snack and is usually provided with a bottle of tomato ketchup or even better a tomato and chili ketchup. As an added extra a few slices of fresh tomato are often placed on the side of the plate or, if the consumer is really lucky, a few spoonfuls of spicy ground beef are piled on the top. Chips Mayai is sold all over the country from little cafes where the furniture is usually of the cheap plastic 'garden furniture' style, to roadside rest stops. Some of these can be heaven-sent if the consumer has spent the last nine hours in a cramped bus on an unpaved broken road; here the Chips Mayai is often cooked on a portable trolley and served in newspaper just like Fish and Chips were served in Britain years ago.
Eating one elsewhere
This all sounds great, but how do you get one if you're not in Tanzania? Well, for a start the British connoisseur has it easy, they can just go to their local chip shop and order a portion of chips and make one themselves. If, however, you are unlucky enough not to have a local 'Chippy' then you will need to make your own chips. Don't worry though, it's easy enough to do. If you don't know how, just try any one of these recipes for example, they would all do the job;
How to make Chips by Heston Blumenthal
How to make Chips by the British Potato Council
Homemade oven chips by the British Potato Council
For the authentic Chips Mayai though you probably don't really want perfect chips, the dish actually tastes nicer if you use the slightly soggy chips that come at the end of a batch. Whatever chips you use, put them aside to keep warm. Take out some large fresh eggs and break a few into a mixing jug, take a fork and beat the eggs to make an omelette mixture. Pour some of the chips into a hot non-sticking frying pan and spread them out evenly throughout the pan. Pour the omelette mixture over the top so that it just covers the chips and cook until the egg mixture turns golden on both sides. Serve on a plate, sit back and dream of the Kilimanjaro...
Enjoy!
1 The WaMassai or simply just Massai are probably the most famous tribes, but there are hundreds of others such as the Wagogo, Wahehe, and the Wachaga.2 In reality most Tanzanians speak their own tribal language as their first language, Swahili as the language of day-to-day conversation with other Tanzanians and then finally English.3 To explain this to any American readers, British chips are much more like American steak-cut fries rather than traditional French Fries.
Chips Mayai - 2nd National Dish of Tanzania?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A22548431
For the westerners palate the national dish of Tanzania called Ugali often tastes as nice as is sounds. This mixture of maize flour and water can range from a porridge-like consistency right up to a dough-like ball. It's a cheap source of carbohydrate and so it gets eaten by the poorest people the length and breadth of the country; it is rightly the national dish of Tanzania. Usually eaten in its more solid state, it can be dipped into a stew often containing vegetables and very occasionally some meat.
Yet this meal is often rejected by westerners in favour of what has got to be the country's second most popular dish, the Chips Mayai.
What is it?
This simple meal is exactly as it is described, Chips and Mayai - or for those of you who don't speak KiSwahili, Chips and Egg. It's worth noting at this point that Tanzania is a nation made up of many tribes1 all speaking languages based on a common Bantu root. Therefore the proper name for the language spoken by the members of the coastal Swahili tribe should be KiSwahili.
Getting back to the meal in question - a Chips Mayai is exactly what it sounds like, egg and chips. Now many nations enjoy food based on chips, the Quebec, Canada Poutine for example, however unlike the traditional British egg and chips that can be found in greasy spoons up and down the UK, a Tanzanian egg and chips is really just a chip omelette.
How to make one?
To make one the chef will start by frying up a portion of chips. It's important to note at this point that they will never be American 'fries'. The country of German East Africa was originally created as part of the German empire, but after the First World War the League of Nations gave control of the territory to the British and the country became the colony of Tanganyika. When Tanganyika became independent of Britain in the 1960s, it merged with the island of Zanzibar to form the country Tanzania. The country never became as 'colonial' as its northern cousin Kenya while under British rule, but the country still has strong British links and most educated people speak some English2. Due to this British influence the country drives on the left and eats proper Chips3.
Right, ramble over, back to the process, the chef will place the newly-cooked chips into a large frying pan and an omelette mixture will poured over the top. This pancake-shaped object will then be cooked - really that simple!
Eating one in Tanzania
In Tanzania a Chips Mayai makes an ideal lunchtime snack and is usually provided with a bottle of tomato ketchup or even better a tomato and chili ketchup. As an added extra a few slices of fresh tomato are often placed on the side of the plate or, if the consumer is really lucky, a few spoonfuls of spicy ground beef are piled on the top. Chips Mayai is sold all over the country from little cafes where the furniture is usually of the cheap plastic 'garden furniture' style, to roadside rest stops. Some of these can be heaven-sent if the consumer has spent the last nine hours in a cramped bus on an unpaved broken road; here the Chips Mayai is often cooked on a portable trolley and served in newspaper just like Fish and Chips were served in Britain years ago.
Eating one elsewhere
This all sounds great, but how do you get one if you're not in Tanzania? Well, for a start the British connoisseur has it easy, they can just go to their local chip shop and order a portion of chips and make one themselves. If, however, you are unlucky enough not to have a local 'Chippy' then you will need to make your own chips. Don't worry though, it's easy enough to do. If you don't know how, just try any one of these recipes for example, they would all do the job;
How to make Chips by Heston Blumenthal
How to make Chips by the British Potato Council
Homemade oven chips by the British Potato Council
For the authentic Chips Mayai though you probably don't really want perfect chips, the dish actually tastes nicer if you use the slightly soggy chips that come at the end of a batch. Whatever chips you use, put them aside to keep warm. Take out some large fresh eggs and break a few into a mixing jug, take a fork and beat the eggs to make an omelette mixture. Pour some of the chips into a hot non-sticking frying pan and spread them out evenly throughout the pan. Pour the omelette mixture over the top so that it just covers the chips and cook until the egg mixture turns golden on both sides. Serve on a plate, sit back and dream of the Kilimanjaro...
Enjoy!
1 The WaMassai or simply just Massai are probably the most famous tribes, but there are hundreds of others such as the Wagogo, Wahehe, and the Wachaga.2 In reality most Tanzanians speak their own tribal language as their first language, Swahili as the language of day-to-day conversation with other Tanzanians and then finally English.3 To explain this to any American readers, British chips are much more like American steak-cut fries rather than traditional French Fries.
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Safe and sound in Iringa Town!
It truly is a blessing to be here in Iringa, Tanzania at the Ruaha School. I was waylayed in Dar for a few days as the director and her husband came to pick me up but got a flat tire (a common occurance) and busted the rim of the tire (a more serious issue). It was a blessing though as I got to meet more Bahais in Dar as well as got to see a little of the city. The new US Embassy is a veritable guarded fortress, which makes sense since it was bombed in 1998.
Iringa is an 8 hour drive southwest inland from Dar Es Salaam in the highlands. To get there we drove through the second largest national park and I saw giraffe, zebra, elephant, gazelle, and buffalo. It was pretty cool, though I didn't take any pictures. Iringa is beautiful and the weather is perfect. Being as it's winter here it is in the 60s and 70s, though it gets pretty windy at night. The scenery kind of looks like Montana with Baobab trees. I'm sure that once summer comes and then the wet season I might amend my statement, but for now it is quite lovely.
The school itself is outside of the main town, next to a village, in its own little compound. It has its own dining hall, dairy, workshop, library, store, soccer fields, basketball courts, computer lab, and housing for staff and students. It's like its own little town. My house is currently being painted, so I am staying temporarily in the girls' hostel in the prefects' quarters. When I move in next week I'll be sure to put up photos, as well as photos of the campus. For now, if you are curious here is a link to a webpage about the school: http://www.monafoundation.org/ruaha/ruaha.htm
Other than that, I have explored the town a bit, including the market which was quite fun. It is really amazing the difference in relative prices of things. Like two kilos of onions or tomatoes (4.4 pounds for the Americans in the audience) costs half as much as a chocolate bar. Something tells me I'll be losing weight here :) The other year-of-service volunteers brought me to a craftshop/cafe called Neema's for lunch. They have panini there which was delightful, and though it is overpriced (again all relative) it supports a good cause as all the employees are either from the deaf school or have some other disability and would be unable to work were it not for the mission.
Well, that's it for now. I promise once I am settled to load up photos and to tell more fun stories. We have a real international crowd here with people from Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Bhutan, Ecuador, and Sweden just to name a few. But I'll save those stories for future posts.
Iringa is an 8 hour drive southwest inland from Dar Es Salaam in the highlands. To get there we drove through the second largest national park and I saw giraffe, zebra, elephant, gazelle, and buffalo. It was pretty cool, though I didn't take any pictures. Iringa is beautiful and the weather is perfect. Being as it's winter here it is in the 60s and 70s, though it gets pretty windy at night. The scenery kind of looks like Montana with Baobab trees. I'm sure that once summer comes and then the wet season I might amend my statement, but for now it is quite lovely.
The school itself is outside of the main town, next to a village, in its own little compound. It has its own dining hall, dairy, workshop, library, store, soccer fields, basketball courts, computer lab, and housing for staff and students. It's like its own little town. My house is currently being painted, so I am staying temporarily in the girls' hostel in the prefects' quarters. When I move in next week I'll be sure to put up photos, as well as photos of the campus. For now, if you are curious here is a link to a webpage about the school: http://www.monafoundation.org/ruaha/ruaha.htm
Other than that, I have explored the town a bit, including the market which was quite fun. It is really amazing the difference in relative prices of things. Like two kilos of onions or tomatoes (4.4 pounds for the Americans in the audience) costs half as much as a chocolate bar. Something tells me I'll be losing weight here :) The other year-of-service volunteers brought me to a craftshop/cafe called Neema's for lunch. They have panini there which was delightful, and though it is overpriced (again all relative) it supports a good cause as all the employees are either from the deaf school or have some other disability and would be unable to work were it not for the mission.
Well, that's it for now. I promise once I am settled to load up photos and to tell more fun stories. We have a real international crowd here with people from Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Bhutan, Ecuador, and Sweden just to name a few. But I'll save those stories for future posts.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
