Relaxing with Friends during the School Holiday

It's our Easter break here, so we don't have school for two weeks.  It's still not a great time to travel, so I'm staying around here for this break.  On Monday, I went along with Beth, David and Fibi to take the kids to AIM mall to play in the new play area.  They needed an adult to supervise them, so we sacrificed David and we women went to get coffee/ice cream etc.  I also brought my laptop so I could get some work done there in the city where there's better mobile service and occasionally even wifi.  

We had a good time relaxing, especially since it was a beautiful sunny day, unusual in the rainy season.  

The clouds were beautiful driving home just before sunset! 

 

Chinese Food for Valentine's Day!

On Monday night, I left work a bit early to go to Arusha with Beth and Tizo. I really needed groceries, and due to other stuff going on throughout the week it didn't look likely that there would be another chance.  While in town, we were supposed to meet some friends of Tizo for dinner at an Indian restaurant, but it turned out that the friends couldn't make it and the Indian restaurant wasn't open.  So, instead, we went to a Chinese restaurant that they like to go to for special occasions, since it was Valentine's Day.  I hadn't been to it, and I love Chinese food, so it was a fun outing.   

Emmy was so cute that day with her hair in puff balls!  She's getting so big! 

Below: sizzling chicken!  One of the things that I don't like about life in Monduli is the limited restaurants in a small town; the few we have are only Tanzanian food.  Previous to this, I've lived in big cities for all of my adult life, and even Columbia has quite a variety (Mexican, Chinese, Italian, etc.), so I miss having a variety of places nearby.  Arusha has quite a few options, so I really enjoy it when I get to try a new place there! 

Italian Night at My House

While the Shorts moved back to the US earlier this year, Lewis is still involved in the work here.  He'll be working on the fundraising side of things in the US (if you or your church would like to support the work of the school here, get in touch!) as well as making periodic trips back here to help out with the school management.  He had intended to return earlier in the year, but due to the school being closed for covid and flights not coming into Tanzania until July, he wasn't able to come until August 6th.  He will stay until just after graduation, on September 12th.  

While he was here, we decided to have a get-together of us North Americans.  I volunteered to host, so Beth and her family and the Williams from Monduli Juu came over.  We had an Italian food night: I made lasagne, spaghetti with cream sauce with chicken and peppers, and pasta al pesto.  Beth brought garlic bread and a cake and the Williams brought a big salad, so we ate well.  

Beth brought a cake for dessert because her husband, Tizo, had his 40th birthday that week.  He didn't want a big to-do, but this seemed a good opportunity to at least have a cake and sing happy birthday.  The kids entertained themselves after dinner with some of the playing cards I had, and the adults got involved.  Twyla and Jackson had quite a spirited game of War.  Lewis and Emmy didn't seem to have such an organized game; it seemed to mostly be making a mess (I found cards under the couch cushions months later).  

It was also a good opportunity to go through the very last of the things the Shorts had left behind and send most of it home with Ralph and Twyla to give out to people from the church up on the mountain or to be repurposed in some way (old mosquito nets can be used as netting to keep the birds off of something or other they're growing). 

 

Spring Rolls!

Beth is the best! She made spring rolls today, and she made enough to send a boda boda (motorcycle taxi; usually they are for having them take you somewhere, but you can also get them to run some errands) over to me with some!  They were wonderful and made a great dinner. :) :) :) 

 

Couchful of Friends

When I sat down on this couch, I was alone and plenty of personal space.  That did not last long.  Good thing they're so cute. :)

Thanksgiving at the Duncans'

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!  Having Thanksgiving dinner was a bonus for me this year; Mom cooked Thanksgiving dinner in August before I left so that we could celebrate together.  

The Shorts and I drove to Kisongo, a town about a forty-minute drive away (almost to Arusha) to have dinner with a missionary family there, the Duncans.  The Duncans (Philip and Bekah and their sons Micah and Nathan) work on the farm that supports the School of Preaching (ACSOP).  They arrived in Tanzania the same week I did.  If you'd like to know more about their work, here is their blog: https://havegodwillgo.com/.   Ralph and Twyla Williams, Canadians (but who lived in Memphis for thirty years) who live up in Monduli Juu (up on the mountain that Monduli is at the base of) and Margaret Thompson, who is a veterinarian who works for a Christian organization in Karatu, were also there.   

I should have taken a group photo, but it seems I have mostly pictures of the food.  I did get a couple of photos with people, but Michela would only be in them if I promised not to post them publicly. :)

Turkeys are not a native species here; the only turkeys for sale and brought in just for foreigners at holidays, but cost nearly $100 USD.  We all decided we were happy forgoing turkey, so instead, we had both chicken (roasted and barbecued) and guinea fowl.  I took broccoli salad, bacon glazed carrots, and jalapeno roll-ups.  We had plenty to eat, in true Thanksgiving fashion!  

Khan's

On the last day of September, I finally got to try Khan's.  Beth and Michela both had been talking about it as one of their favorites, so I was excited to go.  

Khan's is an Indian barbecue place.  By day, it's a car parts store, but once the business day ends Khan and his men pull the grills out into the street and set up tables on the sidewalk, so they are only open after dark. (Although they also do catering for special events sometimes). 

 You order plates of meat (beef, lamb, or most famously, chicken) and naan (plain or garlic) for your table, and then make a trip to a table with sauces, side dishes, samosas, and something they call Zanzibar pizza.

Jackson gets his sauces while Khan (in the middle in the vest) refills the silverware container. 

Two American nurse practitioners, Donna and Karen, who visit every year to help out at the clinic, went with us, since they had never tried it.  We all ate until we were stuffed, and had leftovers to take home.  The only downside to the evening that Tizo's (Beth's husband) left mirror was stolen off his car from where it was parked up the street.  Khan came out to commiserate and offer advice about having the license plate number printed on the glass (as most cars do here, since mirror theft is apparently a thing here.)  

There are more tables on the sidewalk across the street.  

Spicy grilled chicken...yum.

Jackson really isn't impressed with my photography skills.

Fratelli di Bufala with Friends

On Saturday night, we went to the restaurant, Fratelli di Bufala, where Eric, one of the leaders of the church of Milan, and Janfor, one of the middle school students I worked with at the church (who is now twenty-five...I’m not old, am I?), work. Janfor’s parents, Domingo and Lydia, came, as well as Robert, Evangelina, and Rovelyn (another of the kids I used to work with).

The food was great; I had hoped to have time for a traditional Italian pizza, and this one did not disappoint. Of course, there were many choices as to toppings; I chose just as I would have when I lived here--eggplant and zucchini. I wish these toppings were available elsewhere…

Tammy and I went and stuck our heads into the kitchen to see Janfor working (she’s done it before when visiting, and as long as we stay out of the way, no one minds--but then Eric is the one in charge of the kitchen, so what he says goes). He didn’t know I was coming--he saw Tammy, and then I popped in too, and he gave me a huge smile. It was so good to see him doing well in his job; he’s worked his way up from a dishwasher as a teenager to now being one of the main cooks. He’s come a long way from the shy, silent child hiding behind the hair he kept flopped over his eyes that I met eleven years ago.  

After dinner, he got the chance to come out and say hello on his break, and I got a picture with him and Rovelyn. It was a busy night, though--many Italian go on vacation during the month of August, and it was Saturday, September first. We theorized that many had just gotten home and found they had nothing in their fridge and decided to go out to eat. He was called back in soon, but there is a big window into the kitchen from the street so we could watch him working for a while. He certainly never moved that fast back when I told him to do something. :)

Nine Years Later

It’s a beautiful day to see friends in Milan.  Surprisingly, it’s not even that hot, and though it's cloudy, we haven't been rained on yet. The cathedral is still as incredible as always; it's been nine years since I've been in Piazza del Duomo, but I suppose that's not much time for something that's been around since the 1300s. I’ve really missed this place and these people.

Dinner at Marisa's

While in Milan, I am staying with Marisa, one of the church members from the Via del Bollo congregation.  She was always the 'mom' of the church; as Tammy puts it, "cooking for people is one of her love languages."  During my time in Milan, she often invited church members into her home for meals and fellowship time; I have a lot of good memories of sitting around her table.  

Tonight was another good one; I actually arrived first (Marisa had texted me where to find the hidden key), as Marisa and the Shorts had gone out to visit Carlo, Marisa's husband who is now in the nursing home and got back just a bit later.  Maria Luz and Matteo also joined us! 

She had made some minestrone, pizza, and pasta ahead of time so we could have a quick dinner once we all got there.  Even though we were all exhausted, it was nice to spend some time over a meal together.