I find it amusing how I need to adapt recipes here.
For instance, tonight I am making Beef Stroganoff. The recipe says, “Simmer 10 minutes or until tender.”
I therefore interpret that as meaning, “Simmer 3 hours.”
I started it at 4:30, and we’ll eat at 7 tonight. By then, it should be pretty tender.
Tanzania doesn’t have any kind of mamsy-pamsy cows that get to sit around all day and eat. These cows WORK for a living!
So my new washing machine is in the bathroom, and drains into the sink. But the sink has been a little clogged, making it overflow. So I bought some of those super-caustic granules that are supposed to un-clog drains. Last Thursday I dumped half the bottle into the drain (as per the directions), and then the drain stopped completely. I mean completely. Not a speck of water would go through those pipes.
Sigh.
So that meant that in order to use the washing machine, I had to drain the water into buckets and lug the buckets over to the shower to dump them out. You have no idea how much water a washing machine can use to do a load until you see all that water in buckets. It’s shameful, really.
I kept hoping that after a few days, the water would miraculously start draining. But alas. So I sent text messages to a few friends and asked them if they knew a good plumber. Finally I located one and he fixed it yesterday by taking apart the sink and digging out all of the caustic substance which had crystallized in my drain. But in order to do this, he had to break the cement in which the sink was positioned. So I do have working drains again, finally, but does anyone know someone who can cement my sink back in? Does anyone know where to at least buy cement?
So then, on Monday morning, I was cooking up a storm because our EFCA team would be coming to dinner that night (about a dozen people). Just after I put the cake in the oven, I noticed that the gas in my stove had run out. As mentioned below, we buy gas in large canisters, and you never really know when it will run out. Well, no problem, I was prepared with an extra tank. But when I went to switch the tank, I couldn’t get the hose to connect. In frustration, Grace, me, and the tank piled into the car and drove to the nearest gas fundi (the general term for someone who fixes or makes things). The fundi agreed to come to my house so he jumped in the car and we all drove back. His inspection revealed that the wrong kind of nozzle had been put on the tank.
Sigh again.
“Do you have another tank I can buy?” “Nope, we’re all out of that kind.” The closest place to buy my kind of gas was 45 minutes away, and I didn’t have that kind of time.
So the potatoes went with me to school and I stuck them in the tiny little oven used for cooking classes at school. And I borrowed a friend’s hotplate to cook the chili. The only thing that didn’t get cooked was the pineapple cake.
Life is most certainly never boring here. 🙂 I’m laughing about it now!
The only American chain in east Africa. And it really feels and looks and smells like a Subway! The main difference is that no pork products are served, as it is owned by a Muslim.
A typical road…on my way to the grocery store.
“Shopper’s Supermarket”–one of just a few grocery stores in town that sells imported goods. This store just doubled in size a couple weeks ago and oh my…you would have thought Disneyland had just come to town from the reaction of friends (and myself!).
Just got my new washing machine last week and started using it today. If you want to know what happened to my old washing machine, well…we’ll just leave that in the archives. This one has a plastic top, just like the old one. And in reading the “warnings” section of the manual today (I’m an instructions-reader), I found this, “Do not put a candle light or cigarette light on the washer. A fire may take place.” Hmmm….
Daddy made a house for Gracie from the box!
Drying clothes. No one uses clothes dryers here.
The other members of our family: Daisy (white lab) and Minnie (Jack Russell terrier). Dogs are an important means of security here, but we also just like dogs. So does Grace. She thinks they are hysterical when they chase each other.
Grace’s room. She still sleeps in the Pack n’ Play, but the big bed is ready for her when she gets a little brother!
The road to and from our house
This set of shops is a 5 minute walk from home. Here I can buy flour, sugar, beans, eggs…the basics.
Anna’s shop where I buy veggies. Today Grace kept pointing at everything and saying “Apples?” No apples at this shop! Those are imported.
Americans grow oranges and plums in their backyards….we grow bananas! The problem with these is that when a whole stalk gets ripe, there’s way too many bananas to eat before they spoil. I mash and freeze lots of them for banana bread.
Utilities are interesting here, because everything is pre-paid. There’s no such thing as getting bills in the mail. Electricity is sold at “Luku shops.” I buy a certain number of units of electricity, which is put on a card. The card is then put into this box in my pantry, which recharges the house with electricity. Got to keep a close eye on it, or we end up going down to the Luku shop late at night when the power runs out!
This is how I buy gas for my stove. Every couple months I go down to the gas shop and purchase a new gas bomb for about $20.
While in the States, lots of people asked what life is like in Dar es Salaam. I often find it so hard to describe, since it’s so unlike anything in the States, yet not nearly as primitive as some people expect. So I plan to make a few posts of pictures that will show little pieces of life here, starting with….
Our house. This picture is looking through the gate into our driveway. Our house is on the right. Most houses in Dar es Salaam are completely surrounded by a wall. You can also see our car in this picture–a Suzuki Escudo. A four wheel drive vehicle is practically a necessity here!
Here you can see our driveway, with a little guest house to the left. Guest houses on property are also very common here. Often a guard or houseworker will live there. Our good friend Janelle is living there this year. Janelle is also with ReachGlobal (EFCA) and teaches 3rd grade at HOPAC. I love having her so close by!
Our back yard
Our side yard and patio. We love all this space, and it’s fantastic on Friday nights when we have 30 kids here for youth group!
Our front room. I especially love the doors that open up onto the patio. We would eat on the patio all the time, except the mosquitoes drive us away.
Our bedroom. The mosquito net is not just for show!
Our guest room. Karibu! (Welcome!)
I don’t have a picture of Grace’s room, so I’ll add that later. Our house is pretty typical of other houses in this area, though a majority of our students (esp. the Tanzanians, since they are upper class) live in houses that are a lot nicer than ours. I absolutely love this house–I love all the plants, the windows, the “openness” and because it is “normal” looking. Many houses in this area have some rather odd architecture–triangular rooms, cone shaped ceilings, things like that. Or metallic gold painted cabinets, pink floor tiles….we’ve seen some interesting things!
Powered by WordPress & Theme by Anders Norén
