We didn't make it to Dragonaire (the usual Friday night spot for pizza and a Safari) until about 8 because of a mini-disaster with one of the computers and some equipment in the lab. Macs are almost nonexistent in East Africa, as is support apparently! Joined by our newcomer B and even the two head haunchos, I decided to mix it up a little (sorry, that was a Dad joke) and instead of a Margherita with pineapple I opted for the mixed vegetable. I think I over-did it a little on the garlic but with a Safari (or two) it certainly was a good way to start the weekend. Of course my cell phone slipped out of my pocket while we were eating. Luckily I noticed it was missing before we left the restaurant compound. I ran out of the car (already two Safari deep--everything seemed of the utmost importance) to grab it before someone found it (I'm already on phone no. 2) and slipped on the concrete. Just to add to the embarrassment, I've got a nice little cut on my chin . I'm pretty sure T-Man and B aren't going to let me live that one down.
A Fourth of July celebration of sorts had been in the works for a few days: After Dragonaires (no way Dundy can miss his pizza on Fridays), I was hoping to get some s'more action going and even grabbed the last bag of marshmallows (pink and white...not exactly the right colors, but close enough) in Pira's, not that anywhere else in Morogoro would have had them. T-Man was in charge of the bon fire and managed to turn embers left over from the days burning trash into quite a good fire. My marshmallows were, obviously, toasted to perfection. We got a good look at some bush babies, nocturnal tiny little monkey things that make a terribly annoying noise at night. They are little drunkards and can often be seen falling out of trees. Unfortunately they weren't celebrating with us.
Fireworks are illegal in Tanzania, which meant that we had to improvise slightly. One of the boys somehow thought to bring out the hand sanitizer (69% alcohol) and squirt some on the fire. When that didn't produce enough of a reaction, he threw the whole bottle in! Our version of fireworks, I guess. No tubing this year or real fireworks in the nation's capital but our own little celebration turned out quite nicely.
Showing posts with label Morogoro. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Morogoro. Show all posts
Saturday, July 5
Thursday, July 3
The Tickle Monster Attacks
My new friend and hostel-mate, B--just like GG but nice, and I started out at the
When we got to the hospital, Kitty had some samples that she was culturing so I got a chance to help her with that. Before culturing we took a count of the white blood cells in each sample using a hemocytometer. After a week of “internet research” just wearing gloves was exciting! Of course, the power went out about every minute and a half and we had to continually interrupt the process. Everyone at the Hospital lab was excited to see me again and inquired about my recent whereabouts, etc.
After a semi-exciting day at the lab, I was ready for a quiet dinner and game of Scrabble with Bess. Bess came for her four-week stay much more prepared than I did—she not only brought a travel Scrabble set, she also brought candy and cards! Around 6:30 I still hadn’t seen her but figured she was still working at the lab but I soon found out that Kitty had invited us over to her house for palau. What a treat!
We spent a wonderful—and very high energy—evening helping Kitty cook, entertaining her two daughters, and even having an impromptu photo shoot. The girls were mesmerized by Bess’s camera—which is pretty impressive—and insisted on many, many pictures. “Two by two. Girls only.” FLASH! “Now two by three. He in.” FLASH! With only a year of English, Kitty’s oldest daughter (5) has a really remarkable grasp of the language. Like her teacher at the
Thursday, June 26
Afternoon at the Salon
That's pronounced like saloon here, by the way.
For some reason, I thought getting my hair braided would be a good idea. I mentioned to one of the girls in the lab, who is GORGEOUS, that I was thinking of doing it and she took me over to the salon that she goes to and set me up with an appointment--appointment is, as always, a loose term. I got there a little late because the dalla dalla decided to a take a detour. The Norwegians provided funding for a bunch of road improvements but until the improvements are actually finished traffic is a nightmare; many of the roads are obstructed by the mounds of dirt that lie in the middle of the streets. The dalla dalla stopped at an unfamiliar part of town and if it weren't for the sight of the mosque above some of the buildings I would have been totally lost.
I walked into the salon and got a lot of looks like Is she lost? or Who is she looking for?. I sat down and brushed out my hair with a brush I brought with me--which was fascinating to the hairdressers there!--and she got started. The first braid didn't hurt all that much but after that I was making all sort of faces that the ladies in the salon thought were hilarious. After two and half hours, FINISHED! Below is the hilarity. (I'm hoping this picture doesn't resurface in front of a crowd at my wedding or something...)
Not going to lie, I felt pretty hard-core. And it was only 7,000 TSh! As I emerged from the salon the tailors next door instantly cracked up and even stood up and started clapping. SUPER embarrassing. Needless to say, I've been getting a lot of unnecessary attention since.
For some reason, I thought getting my hair braided would be a good idea. I mentioned to one of the girls in the lab, who is GORGEOUS, that I was thinking of doing it and she took me over to the salon that she goes to and set me up with an appointment--appointment is, as always, a loose term. I got there a little late because the dalla dalla decided to a take a detour. The Norwegians provided funding for a bunch of road improvements but until the improvements are actually finished traffic is a nightmare; many of the roads are obstructed by the mounds of dirt that lie in the middle of the streets. The dalla dalla stopped at an unfamiliar part of town and if it weren't for the sight of the mosque above some of the buildings I would have been totally lost.
I walked into the salon and got a lot of looks like Is she lost? or Who is she looking for?. I sat down and brushed out my hair with a brush I brought with me--which was fascinating to the hairdressers there!--and she got started. The first braid didn't hurt all that much but after that I was making all sort of faces that the ladies in the salon thought were hilarious. After two and half hours, FINISHED! Below is the hilarity. (I'm hoping this picture doesn't resurface in front of a crowd at my wedding or something...)
Not going to lie, I felt pretty hard-core. And it was only 7,000 TSh! As I emerged from the salon the tailors next door instantly cracked up and even stood up and started clapping. SUPER embarrassing. Needless to say, I've been getting a lot of unnecessary attention since.
Wednesday, June 4
A Day in Mjini
After some background Internet research on the pathogenesis and pathology of malaria, I went across the street to check out the dogs that are trained to sniff out land mines. I spent a couple of hours over there and was given a very lengthy tour of the entire facility. The dogs even have their own swimming pool. The training facility itself is pretty modest but the idea behind the experiment is really interesting. They train the dogs to sit in front of samples that contain a certain concentrations of TNT. They have yet to field test it but have been fairly successful to date. I met a number of the lab assistants and technicians, all of whom have English names (which tends to be a trend). Afterwards, I ventured over to another research facility where they have successfully trained rats to do the same with land mines. Training in the field is in the early morning so I missed it but I will probably go over and follow them out one day next week.
After a short rest in the lab, my guide and I ventured over to the unofficial taxi and bus stop on campus. When I went into town with T-Man we took a cab for about 3 bucks but to get the full experience, this time we took a dalla dalla--kind of like a shared van version of a cab--that dropped us right at the Morogoro Market. The dalla dalla was an adventure in and of itself. Of course, all the kids in their primary school uniforms were staring at me and giggling about the mzungu--white person--sitting across from them. They packed us in; in a van that would normally seat about eight, there were eighteen. But the price was right, for the two of us it was TSh 500, less than 50 cents. Morogoro Market was founded in 1953, just towards the advent of independence. One section has stands with mounds of fresh vegetables and herbs, another has used clothes. Think trendy vintage shirts, worn Levi's, and handmade leather shoes. Not exactly where I will be doing my food shopping but an awesome experience. My eyes were particularly drawn to the two- to three-foot high piles of dried sardines. Even at around 14:00 the market and the downtown area were packed.
The search for a cell phone began. Unfortunately AT&T wouldn't "unlock" my phone from home so I had to buy a new one. To my guide's surprise I didn't want a fancy phone with Internet browsing or a camera function, just phone and texting, although the prospect of a QWERTY keyboard was tempting. The SIM card I purchased at the airport was also useless--go figure, the mzungu gets ripped off. Set on getting me the best bargain, my guide insisted on looking at each of the cell phone dealers before making a decision. We passed by a market where I picked up some bottled water, beans, and pasta to have later at the hostel. As per usual, the first place we looked had the best deal but by the time we got back to them they were closed for afternoon prayer. An interesting dynamic in Morogoro exists between Tanzanians and Arabs. Tanzanians seem to work in most of "the professions" and the Arabs open stores. Arabs also tend to live in the subsidized government housing closer to the town center and make less of an investment in property. We grabbed a Fanta at a kiosk and practiced Kiswahili until the shop owner returned. Finally a simple Nokia! I charged it up with TSh 5,000 worth of credits which to my surprise will get me a three second phone call to the US. According to the Professor, it's much cheaper to have anyone in the US call me.
Exhausted, we returned to campus on the dalla dalla and I walked up to the hostel after checking in with the Professor. I am still pretty hesitant about the food so I prepared myself a can of beans and some crackers, snapped on the television in the hostel common room and zoned out. I later become more acquainted with the shower, which has a hot faucet but doesn't seem to ever have hot water. After the shower, I could not fall asleep (I'll spare readers the details though)...
After a short rest in the lab, my guide and I ventured over to the unofficial taxi and bus stop on campus. When I went into town with T-Man we took a cab for about 3 bucks but to get the full experience, this time we took a dalla dalla--kind of like a shared van version of a cab--that dropped us right at the Morogoro Market. The dalla dalla was an adventure in and of itself. Of course, all the kids in their primary school uniforms were staring at me and giggling about the mzungu--white person--sitting across from them. They packed us in; in a van that would normally seat about eight, there were eighteen. But the price was right, for the two of us it was TSh 500, less than 50 cents. Morogoro Market was founded in 1953, just towards the advent of independence. One section has stands with mounds of fresh vegetables and herbs, another has used clothes. Think trendy vintage shirts, worn Levi's, and handmade leather shoes. Not exactly where I will be doing my food shopping but an awesome experience. My eyes were particularly drawn to the two- to three-foot high piles of dried sardines. Even at around 14:00 the market and the downtown area were packed.
The search for a cell phone began. Unfortunately AT&T wouldn't "unlock" my phone from home so I had to buy a new one. To my guide's surprise I didn't want a fancy phone with Internet browsing or a camera function, just phone and texting, although the prospect of a QWERTY keyboard was tempting. The SIM card I purchased at the airport was also useless--go figure, the mzungu gets ripped off. Set on getting me the best bargain, my guide insisted on looking at each of the cell phone dealers before making a decision. We passed by a market where I picked up some bottled water, beans, and pasta to have later at the hostel. As per usual, the first place we looked had the best deal but by the time we got back to them they were closed for afternoon prayer. An interesting dynamic in Morogoro exists between Tanzanians and Arabs. Tanzanians seem to work in most of "the professions" and the Arabs open stores. Arabs also tend to live in the subsidized government housing closer to the town center and make less of an investment in property. We grabbed a Fanta at a kiosk and practiced Kiswahili until the shop owner returned. Finally a simple Nokia! I charged it up with TSh 5,000 worth of credits which to my surprise will get me a three second phone call to the US. According to the Professor, it's much cheaper to have anyone in the US call me.
Exhausted, we returned to campus on the dalla dalla and I walked up to the hostel after checking in with the Professor. I am still pretty hesitant about the food so I prepared myself a can of beans and some crackers, snapped on the television in the hostel common room and zoned out. I later become more acquainted with the shower, which has a hot faucet but doesn't seem to ever have hot water. After the shower, I could not fall asleep (I'll spare readers the details though)...
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