It has been insanely hot and humid these past few days, making it hard to want to do anything. Even sitting and typing is a sweat inducing chore when the air is so still and heavy. Thankfully we had a bit of rain today so the evening has cooled down considerably.
Monday was a lazy day. We took the free school transport into town to check out the tourist board in the morning. The tourist board claims to be able to help you book cultural visits to Maasai villages and whatnot, but we were just pointed to a wall of poorly made brochures. It was a short and disappointing stop. Then we went next door to Africafe to have breakfast while we waited for return transport. And waited. And waited. One must not look a gift horse or a free ride in the mouth and I actually enjoyed the coffee and people watching. I ordered an iced latte with vanilla and the vanilla syrup came in a tiny pitcher on the side, like syrup. It was pretty cool. We also ended up ordering a double mocha milkshake toward the end of our two hour wait, it was rich, cold, and delicious. The café was lovely, if full of Mzungus (white people). Mom and I were quite amused to be across the street from the Lutheran Centre (see yesterday’s photos) and thought about going in to see what was going on.
There are several Swahili proverbs about time:
· HHaraka haraka haina baraka=Hurry hurry has no blessing
· Mwenye pupa hadriki kula tamu=A hasty person misses the sweet things
We are finding than time moves differently here. You must be grateful for what is given, even if you have to wait a bit. I like the pace here, but then I’m always happy to stop, relax, and look around.
Tuesday was a lazy morning, getting to the library a bit later than usual but still getting almost 150 books barcoded, cataloged, labeled, and shelved. We may not always work long hours, but we work hard. At 3:30 we were picked up by Ernest, the taxi driver. While he isn’t really “our driver” he is Peace House’s most recommended driver and we’ve already used him several times during our stay. He speaks great English, is helpful, and very conscientious of our safety and comfort. Apparently he is also a barbecue king, something we will see firsthand next week at a Peace House volunteer party.
Our first stop was at the TFA complex, kind of a strip mall anchored in the center by the large grocery store Shop-Rite. On one side is a kitchen store and a Woolworths (really!) as well as a few random shops. The other side has two coffee shops, a gelato shop, souvenir shops, chocolate shop/bakery, photo gallery, Tanzanian restaurant, wine bar, and Vama, the Indian restaurant we were at the other night. We had a good poke around the shops and finally did a bit of shopping. A basket, jewelry, and two scarves were among our bounty. We tried the gelato but it wasn’t as good as Italy. No surprise there. I had hoped to have an iced coffee with ice cream at Stiggbucks but they were closing for the day.
After our shopping trip, Ernest picked us up again and brought us to Via Via, a restaurant and cultural center in the old German Boma. When Tanzania was occupied by the Germans, this was their headquarters. Today it houses an “art gallery” (shop), tourist center, the National Natural History Museum, a small open air stage for performing arts and Via Via restaurant. For all of the hype in every guidebook, I was expected something more…put together. Instead it’s a maze like assortment of structures. The art exhibition was really just five people sitting around waiting for tourists to come buy things.
I’m not a huge fan of shopping in Arusha as the custom seems to be for the salesperson to follow the white person closely and force upon them anything they express the slightest interest in. Yes, that’s a lovely bracelet but I can already tell it won’t fit me. No, I really don’t need to try it on. Sure, I picked up the beaded Obama bracelet but it was out of bemusement, not interest. It’s a pushy method and while I understand their need to make whatever money they can, I really hate it. There are several times I might have bought something but I got so uncomfortable that I just wanted out. Susan, the librarian here, says that we just have to put our hands up and say “Asante” (Thank you) and be pushy right back. But that is so different from our shop customs that it is a challenge.
Once we found the restaurant, the food was great. Mom had a spaghetti al pesto with a very fresh and very garlicky pesto. I had the special of the day which was a beef curry with rice. Mom actually liked mine almost as much as her own. Our window-side table looked out over a lush yard and several mango trees. We were also joined by several lizards. I know they are harmless, and even a bit cute, but they still scare the bejeebers out of me when they scurry across a floor or wall.
Wednesday is going to be a separate entry as we were really across the board in our adventures. Stay tuned J
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