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Ameet...Mogo

Panje Beach, Zanzibar

Stone Town, Zanzibar

Sarjoa soup; Eid

The Old Fort in Stone Town; Eid

Perks

I found out last week that I get to go here for a few days at the end of October.

Eid

For me, I think it is a rare thing to be in another country and to have the opportunity to experience something that is quintessential to the personality and fabric of life in that place. I think of it a little bit like looking into a snowglobe; even though you’re not inside of it, not part of it per se, you still get to watch it, still get to see something extraordinary.

Being in Zanzibar for Eid is like that.

At the end of last week it happened to work out perfectly that Ameet, Andrew and I all found ourselves back in Dar and ready to depart to Ameet and Jafari’s house for the holiday weekend. We’d heard Eid was a huge celebration in Zanzibar; we’d heard it was not to be missed; we just hadn’t quite heard when Eid actually was going to happen.

The specific day that marks the end of the month-long fast of Ramadan and the beginning of the Eid celebration is determined by the moon. So while it is a national holiday here in Tanzania, you don’t know exactly when it’s going to be until the day or so before.

Nonetheless, we got on another boat (which is a story in and of itself, but I’ll save that for another time) Saturday and left the sweaty, crowded chaos of Dar for the relaxed, scenic views of Zanzibar. Sitting at an outdoor café on Saturday night inside the Old Fort in Stone Town a red flair suddenly burst through the sky. And just like that, Eid had started.

On Sunday, according to Ameet, Stone Town was much more alive than its normal Ramadan-induced quietness, yet by mid-afternoon the market stalls and shops were closing down and people were heading home to get ready for the celebration. We’d seen a huge set up of what looked like various stalls in a field called Mnazi Mmoja near Jafari and Ameet’s house, but had no real idea of what to expect. Hopping off the dala dala on Sunday night and heading towards the festivities, it seemed like every single person in Stone Town was headed to Mnazi Mmoja (except for all the muzungo tourists, who didn’t seem to realize this was where the party was at).

We walked up to the field and spread out before us was a sea of lights, people, smells, food and music. It was like the State Fair, Eid-style. There were families and kids and games and toys and people selling things all over the place. Large tents with music and a continuous stream of young people coming in and out of them, little children running around with inflatable bananas and fried foods of all varieties.

After walking around a bit and taking it all in, we noticed everyone seemed to have these bowls of soup and so we wandered up to a food stall where they were making it. We didn’t really know what was in the soup, so when they started throwing chopped up potatoes, and crunchy noodles, and a hard boiled egg, and then some cucumbers and salad into a bowl and dowsed it in broth and pepper sauce, we though, “why not?”. Little did we know, were about to be introduced to a little slice of amazing-ness called saroja, a traditional Zanzibarian food. After downing the first bowl, we quickly got back in line for another. And then two more later in the night.

Throughout the rest of the evening we made our way into the central part of Stone Town, down to the Forodahni Gardens, to see more throngs of people, food, and colors and then back to the Old Fort for some live music. Certainly there were tourists out, partaking in the celebration. But you couldn’t escape the sense that despite Zanzibar being a prime tourist destination, Eid was still very thoroughly and very much theirs. Tourists came to enjoy the party, but it wasn’t for them. It belongs to the people of the island and to the Muslim-community who come to Zanzibar t celebrate Eid. We simply got to peer in to witness it, and have some really delicious soup.

A Good Day.

Yesterday I found myself in the back of the SACIDS Land Rover unexpectedly on my way back to Dar. I found out Tuesday that I needed to go to immigration to (fingers crossed) finish the processing of my resident permit; which among other more important things, also means the ferry to Zanzibar is cheaper. (boo-ya muzungo prices…BOO-YA!)

The impromptu trip worked out perfectly, as I was planning to come back to Dar on Friday and meet up with Andrew, Ameet and Goodluck to go to Zanzibar for the weekend and celebrate Eid, the breaking of the month long fast of Ramadan.

Driving out of Morogoro, it was that perfect time of evening where the air is still warm and everything is bathed in the soft, yellow-golden light of the impending sunset. Sitting in the Land Rover, being jostled over bumps and careening past dala dalas, I sat back and let the barrage of colors and smells wash over me; women walking down the street with baskets on their head, barefoot children running to get water, an old man riding a bicycle with a load of charcoal; open-fire cooking, garbage burning, brightly colored buckets at endless road side stands selling red tomatoes, green oranges, purple onions, orange carrots & green papayas. An explosion of the color, motion and rhythm that surrounds you, envelopes you and somehow seeps in to you to make you part of that moment…a moment you couldn’t imagine another place you’d want to be.

Maybe it was that I was on the way to see my friends, or that I knew I was headed to Zanzibar for the next week, or that I’d had a particularly productive week at work, or just that it was a beautiful evening…but sitting there, hot and sticky from the dust, listening to the Beatles playing, I felt a deep sense of gratitude for my year in Tanzania; in this place, with these people, for this experience.

This is where I want to be; this is what I want to be doing; this is the life I want to be living.

I am here. Right now. Big highs and big lows; there is no other place I would rather be.

I'm On A Boat...

The A-Team had tough duty this weekend, when we were taken onto a boat cruise by Goodluck and Co. (Andrew's partner) and forced to do our part to deplete the supply of Konyagi & beer during an all day cruise out to one of the islands near Dar.

After a swim in the Indian Ocean and a lunch of fresh fish, we floated back to Dar watching a ruby-red sunset and dancing to the DJ's tunes. I know no one will believe me, but it actually was a much needed respite from the ups and downs of the last few weeks. And, as they say... it's a difficult life, but somebody's gotta do it.

A-Team love

Nicholas and Ameet discussing: we might be out of beer!!!

Our resident life guard showing off his moves.

The man; the legend: Goodluck Minja

The Friday Rand-O List: Dar Edition

I came to Dar es Salaam yesterday to meet with some of SACIDS partners here in the city with a couple of colleagues & am staying the weekend to meet up with the rest of Team TZ. Plenty of random stuff has happened:

1. I went to the Ministry of Livestock, Ministry of Health and Central Veterinary Laboratory (among other places) yesterday wearing yellow shoes. A smart pencil skirt and yellow shoes.

I learned from Russ that functionality will take you far, but I learned from Mary that 80 degree heat and dirt roads are no excuse for not having cute shoes.

2. The YWCA in Dar is kind of meh. It's very hostel-esque, but is clean and in a very central location.

3. Amendment to #2: a cockroach ran out of my bag while I was getting out my wallet this morning. I didn't even flinch...not that abnormal.

4. I found FRESH mozzarella at one of the grocery stores in Mogo...made pizza sauce last week and planning to make pizza dough (& actual pizza) this week. This could get dangerous.

5. I went to an actual sort of real coffee shop this morning (!!). I am sure my stomach will hate me later for drinking a latte with whole milk...buuuut, I think it was sorta worth it.

6. I am currently kicking it at Muhimbili University of Health and Applied Sciences in Dar, which is one of SACIDS partners. They're letting me use the internet. I got here all by myself. Just like a big kid.

7. On Sunday Goodluck and his friends are planning to take the A-Team on a boat cruise around Dar. So far, I'm picturing something like the video "I'm on a Boat"... Either way we'll probably be singing that song; I'll let you know.

8. I feel I'm developing some amateur plumbing skills during my time in TZ. The thing is that even if there is a flushing toilet somewhere, it's not guaranteed it will actually flush. I successfully manipulated one into working this morning. I might start charging for this.

It's Friday in Tanzania and the rest of the A-Team arrives in a few short hours...I better get outta here!!

Post Script

In an amazing twist of irony I had another run-in with the padlock at our gate this weekend:

After feeling pretty sad and homesick for all of Sunday that I had missed my Mom's birthday party, I was finding a little consolation in the fact that I was going to be able to see some of my family over Skype at the baby shower they were having for my sister Brooke on Sunday.

And this time I was NOT gonna miss it! I told both Mrs. Madoffee and their housekeeper to please not padlock the gate AND I left for the office two hours early, just to make sure I didn't get locked in.

I get to the office, internet is working, Skype is loading...this is awesome, it's all happening! I was able to video Skype with my fam and get to see everyone at the shower, including my Grandma who has never used a computer, much less video Skype! It was great, and like getting a big hug from home. I needed that.

After talking with everyone for a bit, I decided I should head back before it got to late. I made my way home in the dark, stepping over biting ants (a couple got me) and arrived at the gate. Key in...and wait. Why isn't this opening? I'm sure I just turned it the wrong way...try the other way.

So I tried it again. And again. I can hear the lock opening, so...THIS GATE IS PADLOCKED!!

Oh my god. My first thought was, "You've gotta be kidding me! I asked TWO people to leave the padlock open!!"

Exasperated, I stepped back and stared at the wall between me and my house. Alright...guess I'm gonna climb this thing after all. After ditching my $3.99 flip flops from Old Navy and turning off my headlamp (I don't want to look like I'm breaking in), I somehow managed to scale the actual gate and adjoining wall to get myself up over the wall, backpack in tow, and lower myself down.

Letting myself into my house with dirty feet and hands from the climb...I couldn't help but feel that breaking into your own house was just a little bit bad-ass; and that it will probably come in handy at some later date.

Carving Pumpkins and Scaling Walls: It's the Weekend in Mogo

Being that I’m still new in town I don’t have much of a social life in Morogoro. I sincerely hope I’ll make some friends (soon) and that my weekends will get a little more exciting (soon), but in the mean time, I’m kind of enjoying the opportunity to be a home-body (depending on the day you ask me).

Oh, and I’ve been cooking & baking like a mo fo.

So, after my first successful solo-market trip on Thursday I decided to do what anyone in my position would probably choose to do on a Friday night: cook a pumpkin.

I’d seen these brownish, greenish gourd looking things at the market and asked someone what they were and it turns out that Tanzanians dig boga (pumpkin in Swahili). After getting the pumpkin home I encountered a few minor set-backs in actually being able to cut up the pumpkin (mostly due to a very dull knife, which resulted in me cutting up part of the pumpkin with my pocket knife), but in the end I had peanut butter container full of pumpkin and pumpkin seeds drying so they could be roasted.

Next up: pumpkin granola.

They have quick rolled oats here and so I thought I’d use some of the pumpkin to make granola. I wasn’t quite sure how it would turn out, but since Ameet fixed my oven last weekend, I thought I’d give it a try. As it happens,…

PUMPKIN GRANOLA IS AMAZING!!!!!

I was literally eating it right out of the bowl with a spoon…before I even cooked it!

Not to get all Martha Stewart on everybody, but seriously this granola is SO good and SO ridiculously easy to make, I feel compelled to pass this recipe on. I’ll include the actual recipe I used, and then how I modified it. Obviously you don’t have to cook the pumpkin yourself and can just buy canned pumpkin.

Pumpkin Spice Granola

Ingredients:

3 ½ cups rolled oats

2 ½ cups puffed rice cereal

2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

¾ tsp. salt

¾ cup brown sugar

½ cup pumpkin puree

¼ cup applesauce

¼ cup maple syrup

1 tsp. vanilla extract

up to 1 ½ cups chopped nuts

up to 1 cup dried fruit

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325°. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, combine oats and puffed rice cereal. In a medium bowl, whisk together the pumpkin pie spice, salt, sugar, pumpkin puree, applesauce, maple syrup and vanilla extract. Whisk until very smooth. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and stir until the oat mixture is evenly coated. Spread on the prepared baking sheet in an even layer.

Bake for 30 minutes. Then turn over the granola using a large, wide spatula. Sprinkle the nuts onto the granola and bake for an additional 15 minutes, until crisp and golden. Depending on the size of your baking sheet, the center may not be fully dried if your granola layer is thick, so if necessary remove the edges of the cooked granola and let the rest cook until done, 10-15 more minutes. Cool on pan or on a fine wire rack.

Break up granola as desired and toss with dried fruit. Store in an airtight container (or a plastic bag).

Since we don’t have puffed rice cereal in our super market, or maple syrup, and apples are kind of expensive, I basically just omitted the rice cereal, halved the recipe and then used honey in place of the maple syrup/apple sauce. I don’t have any dried fruit, and just used the pumpkin seeds as nuts. Also, instead of the pumpkin pie spice I just used some of the tea masala seasoning available here.

The result was pretty basic, but incredibly tasty. Since it was so tasty I went a little crazy and made another batch, but this time used less honey, added peanut butter and some peanuts and formed granola bars. I baked them a bit longer than regular granola and they are delicious!

I know, like I said…cooking & baking like a mo fo.

…..

In addition to my adventures in the kitchen, I had another adventure of an entirely different sort this weekend.

On Wednesday my mom turned 60 and my amazing brother, sister and dad managed to pull-off throwing her a surprise party (with the help of a number of family and friends)! Mary was set to arrive to a packed house around 2:30pm her time/10:30pm my time Saturday where family and friends (including Brooke & Phil and Nick & Tory who had flown in the night before) were waiting to surprise her. I was set to video call to see the whole thing on Skype.

After packing up my computer and grabbing my headlamp on Saturday night, I went to head out to the office where I was going to use the internet to get on Skype. I got to the gate of our house….and…problem: the gate was padlocked. Assuming everyone was in for the night, my neighbors/landlords had locked the gate. Their house was dark, and while they are incredibly nice people, I didn’t feel I could go banging on their door at 10:30pm to ask for the key.

But THIS IS MARY’S 60^th BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!!

Looking around to quickly assess my options, I saw there was a ledge next to gate. Using the wall between our house and our neighbor’s house I hoisted myself up on top of the wall and flipped on my headlamp to checkout the prospects for jumping over. (actually I climbed several walls around the compound to investigate the jumping options in different areas).

It was a bit of a long way down, but I probably would have done it if not for two considerations: my laptop’s ability to handle flying through the air and possibly tumbling & more importantly…how I was gonna get back in.

I so badly wanted to be there to see the party and actually get to see everyone that for a few seconds I balanced on top of the wall and really considered it: I can do this; I’m small, I roll well. Buuuut in the end, I decided that if they could call my cell phone on Skype then it probably wasn’t worth a broken laptop or sleeping in my office. Plus, if any unassuming, innocent passerby had seen a muzungo lady jumping off a 10 foot wall with a light on her head and a huge backpack, they probably would have died of freight or laughter.

My family was able to call me quickly later in the evening to say hello and so I got to say Happy Birthday…but still, it’s tough to miss those kind of things.