This weekend we visited Pugu Hills. I wish I could tell you where exactly it was in Tanzania, but truthfully, I have no idea. We took 2 dala dalas to get there and it took us about 2 hours. We encountered many traffic jams along the way and got a little dizzy from all of the exhaust fumes (Tanzania is the most polluted place I have ever been-the exhaust coming out of the cars is literally jet black). But, we made it to the small little village and then began our walk to the camping resort. Unfortunately, our 30 minute walk took us about 90 minutes because we got lost and went down the completely wrong road. But we eventually made it to a picturesque lodge in the middle of the hills complete with a straw hut pavillion, swimming pool, cabanas, and a few camp sites. We pitched our tents, cooled off in the pool, and had the most amazing lunch. Our choices for lunch included grilled chicken, beef kabobs, vegetable quiche, or red snapper pasta. Being the pasta lover that I am, I totally ordered the fish pasta. The best part about the dinner was that it came with salad! Now, it wasn't the whole lettuce, leafy green type, it was more of a tomato, cucumber, pepper salad, but it was still wonderful. After that we took an extensive hike through the hills (it took about three hours and was quite strenuous). During the hike we didn't see much wildlife, but we did get to see a lot of the countryside, including some farmer's plots, pineapple plants, and a few villages. The terrain was variable and there were many hills (hence the name Pugu Hills!). I have to cut this story short because I am already late for Swahili, but this blog is to be continued this evening! Enjoy the day!
Back again on the Godde's wonderful computer :) When we returned from our hike via dala dala, we ate a wonderful dinner of thai soup and beef kabobs. We got salad once again and fresh watermelon juice! After dinner our hosts made us a campfire and we all sat around the fire playing little kid camp games and telling riddles. It was extremely fun! We all hit the hay later that evening in our tents. Colleen and I shared a tent and had a little bit of trouble falling asleep due to the obnoxious and very vocal bush babies in the tree above us and the talkative boys in the tent next door. We awoke the next morning in our tent and got dressed, packed up, and headed to the pavillion for breakfast. We ate the most wonderful breakfast in the world: homemade yogurt, with fresh oranges, banana, mango jam, and peanut butter. Our second course was eggs made to order (scrambled, fried, boiled, or omelette) along with watermelon juice, tea, coffee, and toast. We finished packing up and threw our stuff in the car to take back to the dorm while we rode the dala dala back.
We got back to our dorm, anxious to take a shower and do some laundry, only to find that the water wasn't working. This evening marks the first time that the water has worked in like 4 days. We were all super gross and dirty from camping and all we wanted was a nice shower, but I guess even that is a little bit demanding for Tanzanian standards. I managed to take a bucket shower this morning, but still don't feel too clean. Alas, tomorrow's shower will be great!
Today in swahili class we learned about the future, past, and present tenses. (They are so easy compared to English and Spanish-there are virtually no irregular verbs!). We also had our research methods course. Lunch today was rice and beans and cabbage as usual at the Kiswahili cafe. After class, Nidal, Colleen, James, and I went to the market at Mwenge and the Mall at Mlimani City to get groceries for our end of Ramadan celebration. For the past month, Nidal has been fasting for the past month during the daylight hours and we are making a traditional feast for her either tomorrow or Wednesday (depending on the moon sighting in Saudi Arabia). We got red onions, potatoes, peppers, rice, garlic, and eggplant at the market. At the mall, we got chicken stock, tomato paste, and some other staples. The shopping mall was CRAZY. I felt like I had stepped into another world! They had computer stores, fast food shops, and virtually everything I could ever want! I got cereal, yogurt, and a sandwich at the supermarket. And let me tell you, it was the best sandwich I have eaten in a long while. French bread, tomato, cucumber, and cheese, all for a whopping 75 cents. This was the first time I have had cheese in two weeks and it tasted wonderful. We have all been dreaming of cheese and dairy since we have been here. It is so expensive! This evening we are all convening at the Godde's house to celebrate Siri's 20th birthday. We even have birthday cake! Well, I have to go sing Happy Birthday. Adios for now!
Erin
Erin
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