Wiki Sita

Last Sunday (My Mom’s birthday – Happy belated birthday mama!) I slept in and had a nice relaxing day. I made a trip to the market then took advantage of the sun which had been hiding all week, and tanned for a couple hours on the roof of our apartment. One vitamin I know I’m not missing is vitamin D! Later in the day I received a message from a friend I met at SAUT (Lina) that there was a football game at 4:30pm between the second year sociology students and second year law students. I wasn’t doing too much so I decided this would be a good opportunity to meet some new people and attend a sporting event at a university. Apart from the Daladala rides (I am always harassed and forced to pay more because I am a “mzungu”), it was a great afternoon! Lina and I probably spent more time talking and asking each other different questions about Canada and Tanzania then we did watching the game, but I did manage to witness a few good plays. She told me that the season begins in February and ends in April and is very popular among the students which I can confirm by the number of people at the game!

            I really enjoy visiting the SAUT campus. As I mentioned earlier there is a certain vibe you get at university’s that I can’t really describe…I just love the atmosphere! Even though, I am still for the most part the only white person, I don’t get the same stares or comments that I do when walking down the streets, which I must say is quite peaceful and refreshing! I think the students have attained a certain level of education resulting in the respect I feel while visiting.

SAUT Soccer Game

            On Monday I went with Mama Asia and Mama Joyce to Igombe to visit the group of yoghurt mamas there. Mama Asia works at Kivulini Women’s Rights Organization and provided entrepreneurial/business training for these Mamas and Mama Joyce is from the Tukwamunae group and helped train the mamas to make the yoghurt. I was pleasantly surprised when I learned that the ChemChemi project takes place in Igombe on Mondays so we got to spend some time visiting these mamas when we arrived. Just to remind you, the ChemChemi project is an NGO that works under Kivulini. The program focuses on health and nutritional issues for malnourished children under five. The Mamas bring their children each week where they are weighed and measured and then uji (thin porridge) is prepared for them. Many of the mamas who bring their children to ChemChemi are the mamas who are part of the yoghurt group as well. So, after this we went to visit the yoghurt kitchen. There space is very tiny and they have few resources but I see a lot of potential in this group. They have fifteen mamas and they are selling in the market every day. They are also interested in adding the probiotics into the yoghurt. I hope to visit them again next week to provide some education on probiotics and leave them with a facts sheet.

Me with some of the ChemChemi Mamas

Serving the Uji!

Mamas and their kids drinking Uji!

Me with some of the Igombe Mamas

Interview Questions:

Last week Chris and I were contacted by some Global Health Science Students doing course work related to public health promotions in Tanzania in regards to probiotic yoghurt. They sent us four salient questions that they want us to ask the yoghurt mamas and some Tanzanians from the general population. I am quite excited about doing this and interested in the various responses: There are 4 salient questions we have been requested to ask:

1.      What does it mean to you to be healthy

2.      What is bacteria?

3.      How does your community view people with HIV/AIDS?

4.      What do you think the benefits of probiotic yoghurt are in your community? 

Mtoni Presentations

This week I continued with educating the students at Mtoni secondary school about the health benefits of milk and yoghurt. I spoke with Form 2 students so they are older and thus their English is a little better.
Some of the questions from the students:
1. Is milk still as healthy if you add sugar?
2. Why do you have to boil the milk first, but you don't have to boil breast milk for babies?
3. Do all cows produce the same type of milk?

This week I finally built up the courage to get my hair braided! It is something I’ve wanted to do since I’ve been here, but very few (if any) “mzungus” (white foreigners) have their hair in braids. Nevertheless, I went to a well-known beauty salon and got it done. It took much longer than I expected…a total of five hours spread over 2 days! But overall a very cool experience!

On Thursday my translator Stanley took me to Nyakato which is where the Mahina yoghurt Mamas are located. I gave them another “simpler” probiotics fact sheet for them to post on the door of their kitchen. One of my goals is to get them including the probiotics in their yoghurt which I feel they are ready to start doing. So, I brought one of the Mamas to NIMR and introduced her to the staff and they informed her about the probiotic yoghurt drop off and pick procedure.  Everything went smoothly apart from getting caught up in some riots on the streets! It was actually pretty crazy there were tons of people from the opposition party protesting against the party in power (I’m not exactly sure why, but I think it was something to do with them charging high prices, etc). We got held up in our daladala for about 15 minutes as rioters crowed the streets and banged on the doors of the daladala as they passed by.

Protests on the sreet!

Probiotic fact sheet on the Mahina Kitchen door!

Interesting Facts!

Noise

            Our apartment is located right in the centre of town so it is ALWAYS super loud! There is frequently loud music blaring from trucks/cars as they drive by, and many times people go by yelling things into megaphones. The other night there was a wedding close by and the noise lasted well into the early morning. It’s also not uncommon to hear dogs barking for hours on end and sometimes there are even dog fights. There are certainly no noise by-laws in Mwanza, all I can say is that I’m glad I brought ear plugs!

 Weather 

-     The weather has been absolutely beautiful for the most part. The rainy season usually occurs during November and December but apparently Mwanza received very little rain fall during this time, so sometimes there is a torrential down poor in the afternoon. During this time the city essentially shuts down. Fortunately this only lasts for about an hour, then it is clear and sunny again and the city returns back to its busy vibrant self! Some days it is quite cool, but I shouldn’t complain because I know it is better than being in the Canadian winter! The seasons in East Africa don’t correspond to those of other parts of the world. They vary greatly depending on the altitude and latitude, which roughly corresponds to June, July, and August, can be cold in the southern highlands of Tanzania, pleasant on the cost and hot in the northern regions of Kenya. People may refer to the following seasons but have different times of year in mind: cold, harvest, hot, and rainy

-     Missy took me up on the roof of the apartment which is a very peaceful location to read or, I have been using it as a prime tanning spot! It’s also a good way to get away from all the staring from the streets. However, occasionally these huge ugly scruffy birds land on the roof which is a little creepy!

Crazy Bird on the Roof!

Other points!

-    The power also goes off very frequently at the apartment, but this is unrelated to the weather. I think it has probably gone out on average 5 days a week for a couple hours. This is no problem during the day but at night it can make cooking and ultimately seeing a little difficult. Luckily we have lots of empty wine bottles with candles stuck in them that are very helpful! I’m actually starting to get used to the random power outages and it always makes for an interesting night of conversations!

-     I think I’ve failed to mention that we have a squat toilet in our apartment. Although I have to use it every day, this is something I just don’t think I will ever get used to. The other thing that is extremely difficult is the cold showers! Actually, I admit that I have resorted to boiling water and having “bucket baths” on the days I just can’t hack it!

-     When I see such young children taking care of other children. It’s quite a different concept than in Canada. Responsibility is foisted on and accepted by youth at such a young age. But with the sheer level of poverty, there is little time for parental supervision

xoxox sending my love from Tanzania!

Wiki Tano (Week 5)

Last weekend I went on my first camping adventure! Well, actually I was informed by my travelling companions that it was nothing like “real camping”, and I think I would have to agree. It began on Saturday when we headed to the bus station which was a bit of an adventure in itself. It was so chaotic with people everywhere pestering us to buy things, and crowding us to purchase tickets. I found the whole ticket buying process so informal and random. There were buses everywhere and they were all brightly colored, they sort of resembled carnival buses. We basically just walked over to the bus and bought our tickets from a man standing infront of it, and were told the bus would be leaving in 45 minutes (it actually left in about 15 so it was a good thing we got on immediately). About 5 minutes into the bus ride, a man stood up and began preaching over a microphone in Kiswahili, and at one point I thought I would be listening to this for the entire 3 hour bus ride. Luckily this was not the case, and the rest of the ride went pretty well, apart from the bumps and dust.

            We arrived in Bunda (our destination) and were taken up a HUGE hill (about 6km high) by the manager of the campsite we were staying at. I must admit my heart was racing a little bit, because we were pretty much in 4 wheel drive the whole time, and sometimes I couldn’t see the road and it looked as if we might drive off the cliff, but the view was pretty spectacular.

We arrived around 3:00pm and I was blown away by how beautiful it was! There were 12 of us, and we were the only people staying at the site. We had a restaurant/bar all to ourselves, and 4 tents. But these were not your typical camping tents – they consisted of beds, warm blankets, a bathroom, and hot water! Definitely 5 star camping if you ask me! We were also spoiled with having a restaurant for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The only downfall was the weather because shortly after we arrived there was a huge rainstorm and it was really cold, probably the coldest weather I have been in since arriving in Mwanza. But we still had the opportunity to explore and admire the picturesque few from the mountain we were on which overlooked the Serengeti! I would say it was a great way to ease me in to my first time camping!

                                                             Bunda Bus Stop!

                                                         The crazy colourful buses!

View at the Bunda Campsite

Unloading everyone at Bunda!

Awesome view!

                                                                My bed in our amazing tents!

Valentine’s Day in Mwanza

Valentine’s Day in Mwanza is nothing like the hype it receives in Canada. There were no signs, announcements, advertisements or anything leading up to the day or on the day itself. In Canada, the ads begin weeks in advance but here, you wouldn’t have even known it was Valentine’s day!

This week I received my schedule for my Mtoni Secondary School Presentations for the next 3 weeks! I gave two presentations this week to two different sets of Form 1, which is the youngest group of students (around 13-14 years old). They went extremely well and I had my translator assisting me as these students do not know too much English. I discussed the health benefits of both milk and yoghurt as simply as possible including the important nutrients they contain and why they are important to consume on a regular basis. I began with asking them a few questions at the beginning to get a sense of how much they knew. I quickly realized they didn’t know much at all about nutrition and the teachers confirmed this by explaining that many people in Tanzania are not educated at all about the importance of healthy eating. I think this is an area that can use a lot of work which is good news for dietitians looking for international work!

Form 1 Class!

Teaching!

Stanley helping translate

However, it is difficult to tell students that they should drink milk or eat yoghurt regularly because cost is a huge barrier! For instance you can get a lot more ugali for your money which is extremely filling than you can yoghurt or milk. Hopefully providing them with some nutrition education is a good first step that they will be able to apply.

Questions from the students:

-          At the end of my presentation many of the students had some interesting questions! They were also so intrigued with my hair and all wanted to touch it and were swarming me to get a picture! 

 These are a few of the questions from the students that stand out in my mind:

1.      Who is the Prime Minister of Canada

2.      Who was the first Prime Minister of Canada

3.      What crop is harvested the most in Canada

4.      How do you make yoghurt?

5.      What is the difference between yoghurt and milk?

6.      What is the difference between cows milk and goats milk (this is a good question…if anyone knows the answer feel free to comment!)

On Tuesday Chris and I went to NIMR and spoke with Dr. Changalucha (Director) as well as Edita who works in the Lab. We discussed the feasibility of them providing additional probiotics for potentially two other yoghurt groups here in Mwanza. They both thought this would be no problem at all which is great news! Next week I am hoping to bring one of the yoghurt mamas from Mahina to NIMR to introduce her to the staff and show her where to drop off and pick up the probiotics. I’m really excited to get another group of yoghurt mamas on board with the sales of probiotic yoghurt! We also went to Kivulini and met with Mama Asia who provided entrepreneurial/business training to the mamas at the Igombe kitchen (another group of yoghurt mamas in Mwanza). Chris and I are hoping to arrange a time to visit this group with her and Mama Joyce (Chair of the Tukwamunae group) early next week!

On Wednesday afternoon we went to a Football (Soccer) game at the biggest stadium in Tanzania (which was actually quite small in comparison to stadiums in Canada). It was a really cool experience, but overall not a whole lot different from games in Canada. The match was between a team from Dar es Salaam and Mwanza. The main differences to me were 1. The excitement the teams expressed when they scored. They did back flips and the crowd went wild, and there was a brief pause in the game for celebration. 2. The crowds were very rowdy. I suppose this happens in Canada as well, but when the opposing team scored people with throw bottles of water or soda onto the field and yell and scream. In fact, towards the end of the game these army trucks drove into the stadium with tear gas, in case things got out of hand I guess? However, we left early to avoid any drama at the end!SAUT

On Friday Chris had his big day at SAUT (St. Augustine University) where he gave an amazing guest lecture on Black Identity! As per normal in Tanzania, there were a few obstacles, or as Chris put it, a severe case of murphy’s law! Pretty much everything that could go wrong did, apart from the lecture. When we arrived we were escorted to the first lecture hall, but soon discovered there was no powerpoint available (even though Chris had contacted the head of the sociology department before hand and was assured powerpoint would be available). So, just as all the students were hustling in to the class, we were told we could move to another newer lecture hall which had powerpoint. So, we took a short hike to a new building and Chris began setting up his equipment…things were looking up! But, there was a problem with getting the connection between Chris’s computer and the powerpoint equipment. So we waited for a while with various IT men coming in and out, etc. He was supposed to start his lecture at 9:45am and it was probably close to 10:30am by this time, but “hamna shida” (no problem) TIA (This is Africa). Then, all of sudden (don’t ask me how) his powerpoint appeared! Chris bounced on this opportunity and began his lecture at last! Things were going well, when all of a sudden a huge wind/rainstorm had moved in. All the windows in the lecture hall were open and the rain started blowing into the hall so a few of us got a little wet! Chris was so cool and calm and didn’t let anything bother him, he did such a great job, and this was a great cross cultural learning experience. Some of the topics of his lecture included: The Transatlantic Slave Trade and Blacks in Barbados, Black Canadian History, Creolization, Ideology of Blackness, Multiculturalism in Canada, Second Generation and Black Identity in Canada, Hyphenated Identities, and the Future of Blackness in Canada. He is going to try and upload his powerpoint to his blog if you want to check out his presentation in more detail. I learned so much from him and the students seemed very engaged and I could tell they thoroughly enjoyed his presentation!Nzuri Kazi Chris!!!!

Chris and I before his lecture

Technical Difficulties?

Action Shot!

Such a natural!

View from the lecture hall! (I think I would be very easily distracted by the beautiful view)

Rescued from Lake Victoria!

So, the adventure continued on Friday evening! Tabea (a friend here from Germany), Missy and I were invited to go on a boat trip around the Tunza Beach Resort. It was scheduled for 4:30pm, but of course we didn’t end up leaving until close to 6:00pm once more fuel was located. The extra long wait was actually a blessing because we were able to see the most amazing sunset ever! The sky was so clear and the sun was a fiery red (I was told the sun is so red in Tanzania because there is so much air pollution). I absolutely love being so close to the lake here in Mwanza, I just find it so peaceful, maybe one day I will live on beautiful island and wake up to the ocean waves every morning (wishful thinking?). So, after watching the beautiful sunset our “boat driver” tried to start up the boat, well actually he tried several times for about half an hour…hmm by this time I think it was safe to say we were stranded in the middle of the lake! I must admit that I was a little terrified on this small motor boat in the complete dark (well actually by this time there was a gorgeous full moon) with no help in site. Luckily Missy and Tabea are so calm and nothing fazes them so they reassured me that things like this always happen, and everything works out in the end and of course they were right! We called back to Tunza for help and about 1 ½ hours later we were rescued! At moments I thought we might be floating in the boat for the night or paddling back to shore. I don’t think I’ve ever been so happy and relieved to hear the sound of a boat motor in my entire life! Just another day in Mwanza! I wonder what the weekend has in store?

Sunset!

Stranded...

                 

Interesting facts:

-     The other week we were invited to one of our friends houses for dinner and a movie. This was pretty exciting for Chris and I considering we haven’t watched any T.V in over a month. She has a big screen T.V with surround sound, but…the power was out all night! So, we spent the evening in the dark watching random videos from youtube until the computer battery died. But it was still a fun night and didn’t really bother us considering how frequently the power has been off in our apartment (at least 4 hours a day)

-     I have yet to see a garbage can here in Mwanza. There is a ton of garbage everywhere, and some of the dirt roads actually look as if they have been made out of garbage. I was informed that there are no garbage cans because people will steal them and melt the plastic or metal in order to sell for money

-     Many times when I am meeting new people or introducing myself they always ask what my Father’s first name is. I don’t really understand the reason for this. When I received my schedule for the Mtoni School presentations they addressed it to Shannon Dave (my father’s first name)

-    It's perfectly normal to find bugs, especially small little ants everywhere! The other day I had an empty glass of milk beside me and no more than two minutes later there were these little ants everywhere inside it. They will easily end up on your hands and arms if you put them down on any counter. If I was at home I would probably freak out, because I really don't like insects of any sort, but here it just seems normal!

ChemChemi

Last Thursday I went with one of the Mamas involved with the Chemchemi project to Buswelu (village region in Mwanza).I really enjoyed the experience because it is in line with what I have been studying at Brescia and related to my future career interests. As I mentioned, this program is directed at improving the health and nutrition of malnourished children less than five years of age.

Once all the mothers had arrived with their children they were all weighed and measured and their progress was charted on growth charts very similar to what I have seen and used in some of my nutrition classes at Brescia.  It was neat to see them being used in a real life, practical situation and even better that I understood what was going on, considering I was the only person who could speak English! After this Mama Lau gave a brief lecture to the mothers, which I couldn’t exactly understand but it was related to the growth charts and the appropriate patterns. Uji was then prepared and given to all the children. Uji is like a porridge that you can drink, but packed with protein, fiber and other nutrients. However, most people put add loads of sugar.

SAUT

            Last week I had my first visit to SAUT (St. Augustine University). SAUT is an English speaking University, but Chris and I still invited our translator Stanley to come along with us, which was a great idea! The dala dala ride there was certainly an adventure, as always. For the majority of the ride I had a man’s sweaty armpit in my face and a women leaning over me with her nails digging into my back! Nevertheless, I made it there in one piece! When we arrived, Stanley had arranged to meet with a student he knew, and he kindly showed us around the campus and assisted us with contacting some people. The campus is beautiful and a lot bigger than I had expected. In terms of area, it is definitely bigger than Western but the buildings are smaller. We enjoyed walking around the campus and Chris and I could both feel that “vibe” you get when visiting any university. We met with the Vice Chancellor and explained our reasons for being in Tanzanian (me about the yogurt project and Chris about his research on black identity). Chris vocalized his interest in possibly guest lecturing a class so the Dean then sent us over speak with the head of the sociology department. He said he would follow up with Chris at his earliest convenience and by Monday Chris was invited back to meet with the Dean of Academic Affairs where he was informed he is welcome to guest lecture next week!!!

We also met with the Dean of students and suggested the possibly of having the probiotic yoghurt or fresh milk sold on campus. She seemed quite interested in the project and suggested we meet with the head of the sports department. After a short wait, we finally spoke with Kennedy (sports department) and I explained the Western Heads East project, the benefits of the yoghurt, etc. He thought the students could benefit from more education/awareness which I told him I would be happy to help with. He will be away next week, but we received his contact information to follow up and hopefully we can develop this opportunity! I just want to say thank-you so much to our translator Stanley! He has been amazing, and definitely much more than a translator. We have learned so much from him! Asante sana!!!

                                                Sign on the way to SAUT

Meeting Three!

On Monday we had our third meeting with the mamas! It went well and they were all in attendance which was a bonus! They have been in contact with people from Starehe Children’s home and Mama Joyce and I will deliver yoghurt there on Tuesday.

Last Friday I met a lady from Isamilo international School and told her about what I was doing here in Tanzania. She said that the Mamas used to deliver yoghurt to the school and that they would love to have them back. I mentioned this to the Mamas at the meeting and they seemed quite interested, so I will follow up with the school and hopefully they can start selling there next week!

I gave the mamas the information sheet on probiotics that I had translated for them. They were very thank-ful and posted it on the wall in the kitchen. This will help generate greater understanding in the community about the benefits of the yoghurt for everyone, not just people living with AIDS.

            I also met with Albert the Assistant Headmaster at Mtoni Secondary School where we arranged for me to give two presentations next week on the health benefits of yoghurt and milk to the students. I’m really excited about this opportunity to educate the younger community and raise awareness!

                                                         Probiotics info sheet in the kitchen

Starehe Children’s Home

            Mama Joyce and I went to the Starehe Children’s home on Tuesday to deliver yoghurt (Maziwa Mgando). Starehe consists of an orphanage and a nursery school for both the children at the orphanage as well as some outside students who pay school fees to assist with the costs. There are around 127 orphans in total, and many attend the nursery located right beside the orphanage. We stayed for a little while to visit with the kids, they are so cute and lovable! There are programs for them from 8am-12pm, then they return to the orphanage and another group of kids attend from 2:00pm – 6:30pm.

There seem to be many orphanages around Mwanza, and it makes me a bit sad to think of how many young children are left without families. However, from the two orphanages I have visited, they seem like wonderful places and I’m glad these kids are surrounded by people who care for them. 

                                                Preparing Yoghurt for kids at Starehe

 

Mahina Yoghurt Mamas

            On Wednesday Mama Paskwalina took Chris and I to Nyakato which is the region where the Mahina Yoghurt Mamas are located. It was nice to meet these Mamas and observe and discuss their strengths, weaknesses, and challenges. As far as I know, there are 5 mamas in this group and all are infected with HIV. We all sat with the Mamas for a while and Chris and I introduced ourselves, indentified some of their needs, and briefly looked over their books to get an idea of their expenses and profit margin. From what we saw, they appear to be doing very well, the yoghurt tasted delicious and I believe they have a lot of potential

The space they operate in is quite small, but Chris had some great ideas with regards to the layout which opened it up a lot more. We experimented with the positioning of a few things and they seemed to like our ideas.

The next step for this group is to start adding the probiotics to the yoghurt. I provided them with an information sheet on the health benefits which they were very thank-ful for and overall they seem quite keen on getting them into the yoghurt. Chris and I will visit NIMR (National Institute of Medical Research) and speak with Dr. Changalucha to ensure it’s feasible for them to produce the additional probiotics for this group. If all goes well, I think there area could benefit from more community education surrounding the health benefits of yoghurt and probiotics.

                                                    Mahina Yoghurt Kitchen

 

                                          Chris and I with some of the Mamas

Interesting facts/observations

1.      People

-          From what I have been able to observe so far, everyone in Tanzania is so friendly and talks to each other no matter if you know the person or not. Whereas in Canada everyone is told not to talk to strangers, here it is like you are supposed to! There are also women, men, and even children carrying things on their heads everywhere! I knew this was common before I came, but seeing this balancing act just two feet away amazes me! They carry very large and heavy things such as baskets full of fruit, big buckets of water, peanuts, sticks etc. The children are all so cute, and constantly say “shikamoo” whenever we walk by. Sometimes I find young kids will just walk beside me for ages and some even hold my hand.

-          I have also noticed that no names end in consonants (or very few) as mine does, and people seem to have a hard time saying it. I may have to shorten my name to Shanna to make things easier!

-          Everyone seems to look after each other’s children. Many children are running around on the streets but anyone who is older can and will discipline them and they listen. They have learned to have a general respect for their elders no matter whom it is, which I really admire in such young children.  Despite their hardship, and often limited opportunity, the children here are, for the most part, extremely happy.  Many are sick, but they do not look defeated.  Except for school uniforms, nearly all their clothes are worn out or in tatters.  

                                                                  Starting young!

2.      Food and Drink

-          Luckily I am not a picky eater so I am adapting to the African cuisine quite easily. There is not too much variety in the food, but most nights we cook at home and add different spices or use different cooking methods.

-          African Cuisine: Main staples

·     Rice

·     Ugali: traditional dish made by mixing maize and/or cassava flour in hot water until it becomes like a stiff porridge and is usually eaten by rolling it in the hand to form a small ball which is then dipped in sauce before eating. Note: it is extremely filling and cheap so I can see why it is a central part of the diet here

·    Vegetables: mainly carrots, spinach, green peppers, onions, and tomatoes. Note: you cannot eat any raw vegetables here; they must all be cooked and peeled.

·    Fish: Tilapia is a common fish here, but we don’t generally cook this at home. In the market many people have buckets filled with tilapia for sale

                                                           Cooking Tilapia

·     Uji: like a porridge that you can drink, but packed with protein, fiber and other nutrients. However, most people put add loads of sugar

·     Chai: Tea (milk tea + suagr)

Street Food

·    Chapati: flour, oil, salt, pan fried into a round bread cooked like a pancake (Mamas make these as part of the breakfast program)

·    Chipsi: deep fried potatoes

·    Chipsi mayai: omelette made with chips

·    Mendazzi – a deep fried dough, very common in Africa, many variations in taste, texture and shape (Mamas make these as part of the breakfast program)

·    Mahindi: grilled corn on the cob. I see this everywhere! People sit on the streets grilling the corn over charcoal

·    Mishkaki: meat on a skewer grilled until crisp

·    Samosa: a mixture of meat onions and vegetables

·    Wali: cooked rice and beans

Interesting facts:

-     Margaret (our houselady) is an amazing cook! I am learning so much from her. The other day she boiled bananas on the stove in some type of tomato sauce. I know it doesn’t sound very appetizing but it was actually quite good!

-     People here eat everything with their hands. Yes everything! The other day Missy took us out for lunch and we had fish, rice (still on the bone), and spinach (mchicha) in a tomato sauce and the entire meal was eaten with our hands. When there were no utensils on the table I wasn’t sure if I should ask or wait for them. Then Missy started eating with her hands. I looked at her and she started laughing and said, “by the way people eat everything with their hands here!” I must say this was quite a challenging task, but when I think about it, it is quite practical!

                                                      Meal eaten entirely with my hands

-     The timing of meals is also quite different here. In the morning people will drink chai, have chapattis around 11:00, lunch will be around 3:00-4:00pm and dinner is not usually until 8:00-9:00pm.

-      When ordering something from a restaurant (hoteli kula) it’s important to have at least one back up option in mind because a lot of times they don’t actually have what is on the menu

-     If food is left sitting out or not closed up properly, within half an hour it will be invested with ants!

-     There are soda machines in pretty much every store! I thought Canadians and Americans drank a lot of pop, but here it seems even more prevalent, maybe because it is cheaper than water?

-     The other weekend we went to a going away party for one of our friends from Germany. The main part of the meal was Goat, which is apparently the most common type of meat to BBQ here!