Our first week as locals, and we are really starting to
blend in. This week was Tanzanian culture and Kiswahili learning, which Juliet
and I were not overly excited about but we have been pleasantly surprised. However,
we thought by now we both would be fluent in Swahili and really making our mark
in Tanzania. In reality our Swahili is limited to greetings (that we have down
pat), and long premeditated sentences that haven’t been translated well, which
we struggle to understand the replies to (but we are getting better). During our
daily Swahili class I noticed that the teacher Joseph got distracted by
Juliet’s “necklace” and my hairy chest in a singlet, so I decided to have a
cleavage comp over the week with her; I thought I won but Juliet says it was a
draw.
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| Blending in with my high fashion outfit on washing day in Moshi |
We have been getting amongst our “hood” as much as we can;
Eva came with us on a walk around the immediate neighborhood to show us around
and for us to ask her any questions. At the Olde Moshi Secondary School there were a whole lot of little
inedible fruits on the ground, which turned into an all out war as the girls
didn’t realize what an incredible marksman I am. We even have a “local” now,
it’s called C’africa, and it is one street over, but because we go to bed
around 7:30 and it opens at 7 we haven’t actually spent that much time there.
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| Olde Moshi Secondary School classroom - 70+ pupils per class |
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| About to unleash a hail of little berries on the girls |
We have been spending a bit of time with at the orphanage
when we can, and when we got there on Wednesday a jeep from the International
School in Moshi was there to take the kids swimming. Mama Msamaria asked us if
we were keen to come, but I was already in the jeep with the kids beeping. The
International School was pretty flash, and the kids directed us to the pool. As
we were getting ready to get in, it started torrentially raining, and all the
kids lost interest. So for the next hour we had to sit in a classroom and draw
until the jeep picked us up again.
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| Swim time at the International School |
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| The kids just bloody love me aye |
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| Me just ruining a perfectly good photo |
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| Then the rains came down |
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| Juliet broing down with the kids |
On the Friday we decided we’d make a slice because we wanted
to do something nice for Eva & Maggie and introduce them to something not
Tanzanian. We googled a couple of no-bake recipes, and found one that looked
like it could be done with available ingredients. When we went to the market
though, we couldn’t find anything that resembled condensed milk or golden
syrup, so we bought milk and honey. The recipe went as follows:
- §
1 x 500ml packet of milk (less two coffees
worth)
- §
1 x packet of chocolate biscuits
- §
1 x half eaten pack of stale family biscuits
- §
1 generous + one not so generous spoonful of
honey
- §
1 shake of sugar
- §
Enough peanut butter to turn normal milk into
the texture of condensed milk
- §
2 very late forgotten spoonfuls of margarine
(because that’s what Eva said was butter)
- §
1 generous dollop of icing sugar
- §
As much water to balance the mixture being too
dry
The recipe off the internet went out the window and it was a
shambles; I think we did irreparable damage to the kitchen, especially trying
to turn milk into condensed milk over the stove. But there was an end product,
and I’ve been told presentation is everything when it comes to baking so here
it is below. Eva asked for the recipe in a manner which gave me the impression
that she’d been told to say that whenever someone cooks her something.
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| Peanut butter and mashed biscuit slice #vegetarian #treat |
On Saturday we went to another nearby waterfall, which is in
Marangu, one of the five original Chagga tribelands. Deo took us on the drive
there which was a couple of hours, but it was fun as he has great banter. We
had a Chagga history tour, and then went down to the waterfalls. There is a
legend of these waterfalls, and there is a stone carving of a young woman atop
of them, legend has it that she became pregnant before marriage, and knew under
Chagga law that meant her death by impaling. So she went to the waterfall to
commit suicide, however she had a change of heart and decided to beg for her
forgiveness and hope for mercy, and turned around to leave, only to be
confronted by a bloody leopard, and in her terror fell off anyway. When we got
ready to swim again it started to rain, but we persevered. After the swim we
walked back through the jungle, we stopped along the way for the guide to show
us wild strawberries and passionfruit. Delish!
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| Juliet looking like she is trying to push the lady of the waterfall off |
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| Juliet, Deo and I spelunking in a Chagga protective cave |
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| Marangu Falls |
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| Juliet bloody loving it |
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| Search for wild berries |
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| Wild strawberries |
On Sunday, we went on our much anticipated trip to Lake
Challa. It is a crater lake on the border between Tanzania and Kenya. We caught
another local bus to the border, and then convinced a Boda Boda (motorbike
taxi) to take us both to the lake. After an hour ride, the lake looked like a
mirage, so out of place in the surrounding area. It was a steep climb down, but
was unbelievable once we got there. I think I filled up a memory stick alone
with photos of me from every angle with the lake behind; I’ll leave those gems
for my Facebook uploads. We had been warned from the Rough Guide (not Lonely
Planet) that there were crocodiles in the lake so I attached my pocket knife to
the waterproof camera just in case I needed to kill myself faster, but we
didn’t see any unfortunately. The water was the perfect temperature, which was
ideal for our swim to Kenya. We crossed the invisible line that signified we’d
hit Kenya, and already we noticed stark differences. Everything was just way
more Kenyan, the water, the bugs, the wind, even the Tanzanian people we were
watching from Kenya.
Kwaheri
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