Time for Reflection...

Apparently it's that time in my internship where I am scientifically supposed to be extremely homesick (thanks for the calculations PW!) and wishing the whole thing was over and done with and I was back home in my homey bed, eating home food, and doing homey things with my homies.

Yes I have managed to reach the 2/3 half-full mark almost unscathed. I don't have any parasites or amoebas (at least none that I know of), I don't have malaria or rabies (although I keep running into people who do..malaria...not rabies thank goodness!), I've only had to kill all of the bacteria in my digestive track with cipro 3x (and that was probably a little excessive..thanks again PW!), I haven't been robbed or mugged (despite all the people who told me I would be before I got here), I haven't really been traumatized by insects, I have no permanent scars, have only been to the hospital once (and that was mostly out of paranoia) and most importantly I CAN stand the heat (good thing too as I don't have a kitchen to get out of!)

It's time to take stock (and make lists) of all of the wonderful things that have happened since I arrived:

1) I have learned a few words of Swahili (However with my very strong Canadian accent..many people do not know what I am saying and sometimes I am very afraid that I am saying something offensive..I have a very guilty conscience)

2) I have eaten bananas in every make, shape and form known to humankind. I have even acquired a nickname while I have been in Tanzania. I am known in some circles as "Banana Lover" sometimes shortened to "Banana". This gets confusing sometimes...especially if someone is calling me and someone else just happens to be selling bananas nearby.

3) I have survived the dala dalas, the buses and the crazy taxi drivers...all without seatbelts and thinking the entire time as my life was flashing before my eyes..."If my mother/father/sister could see me now she/he would kill me!"

4) I have managed to, after about four months of intense therapy, not scream every time a lizard/gecko/chicken/rabid dog runs in front of me.

5) I have developed a highly scientific, yet hands off approach to killing cockroaches. It involves a can of Doom (bug killer spray which kills continuously for 6 months- don't you hate it when the bug you think you have killed reincarnates as a bigger, uglier, bug a few months later?) and a giant floor squeegee (giant floor squeegees??? Yes...I have one and every morning and after every shower I squeegee about an inch of water from the bathroom floor).
6) I have discovered that YES I can eat beans and rice for lunch AND dinner six days a week.

7) I have been privy to the unique Tanzanian way of explaining things that makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. Like the time a random bus guy tried to get us to take his bus to Arusha with the selling points of "It's smaller and MORE expensive!"

As for my homesickness list I miss:

1) My family, friends and PW
2) Cool temperatures...and sometimes I even miss snow
3) Order (As in lines and bus schedules)
4) Speaking and being understood. (I know this would be easier if I knew Swahili..but most of the time I am speaking English to someone who speaks perfect English...and still I end up with an omlette with french fries embedded in it.)
5) Knowing what is going on...as I rarely know what is going on here. Even when I think I know what is going on... I end up being unpleasantly surprised. It's like the time I bought a five pound bag of peanuts...which I thought were beans. What do you do with a five pound bag of raw peanuts??
6) Being anonymous...as in NOT being stared at...people who know me know this is a big one for me. Although people keep asking me if I am African and telling me that Natasha is a Swahili name, I stand out a little here and staring is NOT rude in this part of the world. Takes some getting used to.

All joking aside....here are the highlights so far:

1) Ngorongoro Crater: The most beautiful place I have ever been in my life. A Monet painting, set in Africa, come to life. I was also lucky enough to share it with one of the most important people in my life.

2) The people: We could all learn a lesson from some of the people I meet every day here in the TZ. There is a lady, who I call "Sucker Lady" because she sells lollipops and candy near the gates where I live. She sits on an overturned bucket all day....from morning until dusk trying to make a little money for what seems to be her hundreds of children. Her clothes are dirty, her children's clothes are dirty, she lives in a little shack at the side of the road and that's just the problems she has that I can see. I am sure the whole picture is even more dire. She never fails to greet me with a smile and always shows concern and says "Pole!" (which means I am sorry for you) when she see that I have been walking around in the hot sun with a heavy backpack all day. Also, since we are talking about people, my fellow interns, the people I work with at MUCCoBS, the friendly residents of Seminar Block the dorm I live in, the hard-working staff at CoCasa (where I eat almost every night), the porters and guides who work tirelessly on Kilimanjaro, and the dozens of rural entrepreneurs I have met who are tirelessly trying to improve their lives one schilling at a time, have made my internship just a little more meaningful and memorable.

3) The children: Tanzanian kids are quite possibly the cutest kids on earth. I can't help but smile when I am walking and one who barely reaches to my knees greets me with "Good Morning!" when it's 7pm. I've also run into a couple who insist on following me around, and humming the theme to Koch Koch Hota Hai, which is arguably the most famous Bollywood movie of all time. The other week when I was visiting a home for street children, a group of them sang the entire chorus in Hindi to me. What a small world! I can't even sing it in Hindi...

4) Mount Kilimanjaro...a.k.a. my nemesis: A startling beauty with a killer heart and a sick sense of humour. Nothing about climbing this mountain is easy, believe me I tried. But the beauty revealed with each step (if you can ignore the cracking of your knees) is indescripable. In a matter of seven days I travelled through what seemed like every temperate zone on earth...I think I even managed to walk on what seemed to be parts of the moon. I learned to respect the earth...and am secure in my previous knowledge that I am not a conqueror and perhaps Kili is best enjoyed from afar.

5) Zanzibar: A little piece of Africa, India, the Middle East. This island's history (the good and the bad) the food and beaches result in a place where dreams, babies, and lifelong commitments are made :)

6) Most importantly I have had the pleasure to discover one of the most beautiful countries on earth. Tanzania is not only the birthplace of mankind...it is truly one of the this planet's jewels, a magnificent centrepiece in the earth's crown.

Nothing Says I Love You Like...A Deep-Fried Grasshopper

People eat all sorts of strange things all over the world....in Canada we have beavertails, Kraft Dinner with chopped up hot dogs and french fries covered in cheese curds. Here in Tanzania, well in the last week or so...I've seen deep-fried flies (in my french fries) and a deep-fried ant (in my samosa). Accidents do happen...and I am sure those two bugs are missed by their family and friends. However as most travellers to exotic locales (like Hamilton) know sometimes people eat bugs on purpose....

I just came back from an internship-related trip to the Lake region of Tanzania. We visited the cities of Mwanza, right on the shore of the largest lake in Africa, Lake Victoria, and Shinyanga (a city in the semi-arid region of Tanzania about 2 hours south of Mwanza). The purpose of the trip was to visit rural entrepreneurs and learn about this business successes and challenges. More on that in an upcoming entry...but first here is something very interesting which, as usual, I managed to discover completely by accident.


We (Pat-my fellow intern, Mr. Goodluck Mmari- our professorial escort from MUCCoBS, and Mr. Jaffrey, our drunk and driving driver) we all sitting down to dinner at a nyama choma place in Mwanza, when a young man carrying a large covered box approached and asked us if we wanted to buy what was inside. Since everything was being said in Swahili...Mr. Mmari, answered for the group and said "Hapana Ahsante-No Thank You!" I asked what was in the box and was told nonchalantly....Grasshoppers!


In the Lake Victoria region apparently, the greatest delicacy of all is the fried or smoked soft, seasonal grass hoppers “ensenene”. In particular, it seems there is a tribe in Tanzania, the Haya, that consider a bag of fried grasshoppers to be the ultimate present to get your sweetheart if you have been away. It's a sign of affection and something you are required to purchase if you haven't seen the man or woman you love for a few days, weeks or even months. And is a present that is expected if you have travelled away for any period of time. As much as I was dying to chase the guy and look in the box in order to take a photo, I restrained myself and you all will have to be satisfied with the photo below courtesy of Google images.



Here is a recipe that I found in case anyone reading this wants to give them a try:

There are many ways of preparing ensenene, this recipe spices the dish up with the addition of chilli, onion and ghee.


Ingredients
- 4 mugs of live, fresh ensenene
- Chilli powder to taste- 2 mugs water
- 1 large onion, chopped- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ tablespoon mature ghee


Pluck the wings and limbs off the grasshoppers. Put the insects in a pan. Add the salt and water and cook slowly on low heat for about 20 minutes. Drain off the water. Put the ghee in a small bowl, thoroughly stir in the chilli powder and put aside. Put the drained grasshoppers in a heavy bottomed pan and cook over low heat, stirring all the time until the water evaporates. Add half the ghee and continue stirring over low heat for about 10 minutes, making sure it doesn’t burn. (If you don’t like chilli, use the ghee without it.) Finally, add the chopped onions and the remaining ghee. Keep stirring until crisp and golden brown. Serve hot.


Fried grasshoppers apparently taste just like chicken and are a crunchy and satisfying snack. I am sure they are tasty...but I am not prepared to try any anytime soon.