April 18-19
This weekend was definitely one of experience. On Saturday I went to have a drink with two of the guys I work with. The conversation was interesting and tended to focus around the cultural differences between Tanzanians and Canadians. This was also my first experience with really local food, including a mixture of goat, banana and tomato salad. It was not bad although I now know that I do not care for goat. Of course one of the more comical moments was when I ordered a glass of wine only to be brought a bottle of white liqueur (some Italian drink). I was assured that this was wine by my Tanzanian co-worker who does not really drink, however, there was no way I was going to be able to drink a full glass of this stuff. Despite my lack of full participation, my two new friends seemed to be able to finish the bottle, although I could tell that the one was likely more tipsy than he had probably ever been before. So note to those traveling to Ngara; their idea of wine is not the same as pretty much anywhere else I know of.
This lovely cultural experience was followed by a game of scrabble at my neighbors’ house. I have never played scrabble before coming to Tanzania and spelling is not exactly my strong suit but I seem to be managing. It is an educational experience as there are all kinds of words that I am learning but never knew existed.
Sunday was a completely different experience. I started the morning with a short little Pilates workout but the incessant downpour confined me to the house for the rest of the day. After a few movies and a little bit of my book I decided to have some lunch and this is where things started to go downhill. When a person travels they have to expect that they are going to get a sick at least once and I too could not avoid this fait. It all started with a funny feeling in my stomach. It of course built up to the point where I couldn’t move from sheer pain. I was in so much pain on the inside of my lower ribs that I couldn’t figure out if I had a stomach issue or had pulled one of my top abdominal muscles. It would have been rather embarrassing if I had pulled an ab muscle from the beginners level Pilates, haha. However, after a phone call to my muscle expert Kevin, we decided that it was not a muscle issue. With some self doctoring and after a late night I am know fine but it really made me homesick for a nice hot bath and the comfort of knowing there was a Canadian hospital around the corner. (Just a note for my mom, the hospital here is supposed to be the best in the district and I am only about a two minute drive from its front doors so don’t worry, or hakuna matata as they say in Swahili.)
It is now Monday and the week has started out well so I think my luck is changing for the better. I hope everyone has a great week and enjoys their nice hot showers for me!!
Cheers
