Today we started our day at NIMR to speak to Simone about ordering milk for the probiotic cultures to be put into the yogurt that the mamas make. We are starting with 2L of probiotic milk that will last for one week of yogurt production and will slowly increase when the yogurt production increases as well. The cultures take approximately 18 hours to be prepared, so Meg and I will have to drop off the milk, or get it delivered, and pick it up the following day. After NIMR we dropped by the
This morning Missy, Kim, Meaghan and I went to the Yogurt Kitchen to purchase the milk for Simone at NIMR. Kim and I went to NIMR, while Missy and Meg went with the Mamas to the bank. Kim and I were given 2L of milk in a lidded container and an empty 1L beaker. When we got to NIMR we realized that they needed another 1L container that could be used in an autoclave machine (one that won’t melt at high heat and pressure), so we set off to the Victoria Laboratory Supplies to buy more beakers. (It seems to be that there are a lot of small issues that I would never think to prepare for, but have to be resolved immediately.) After we resolved the small matter we met up with Missy and Meg to finish up financial issues and to take out money for ourselves. We made a quick stop at the post office and had lunch at the Pizzeria. Meaghan and I spent an hour at the internet café before going to our first Swahili lesson! Our teacher is Mr. Gaudence and he’s very nice and makes us laugh throughout the class. We learnt about numbers, telling the time (which is very difficult because they use sunrise to sunset as starting points of the day, a six hour difference), some greeting phrases, and a few basic rules to noun, adjective and subjective prefixes. It’s a bit overwhelming so I will have to study a bit before the test comes at the end of the week. The night ended with a nice BBQ at a friend’s place with some lamb, pork and salad.
Very excited to see a hedgehogI began this morning with a nice workout on the roof top of the apartment and then quickly got ready to go to NIMR to pick up the bacteria cultures with Meaghan. Missy and Kim went to the Yogurt Kitchen first thing this morning to speak with the Mamas about the First Lady (Minister of Gender and Children) coming to visit on Tuesday. Kim has set up this meeting and is responsible for her interest in building a new factory for the Mamas to produce the yogurt! This is a great opportunity for the Tukwamuane organization and the yogurt project to expand. After Missy and Kim left the kitchen, Meg and I showed up with the probiotic cultures in the 2L of milk, which unfortunately spilt a bit during transit on the bumpy roads (we will have to work getting better containers to transport it). The Mamas made us a wonderful breakfast of deep fried buns and chai tea. Afterwards we made another trip with some of the Mamas to the bank to withdraw some money to pay for their bills, but there were some problems with our request and we had to come back the next day to complete the transaction (one word that is frequently used here is ‘kesho’, meaning tomorrow, because nothing is ever done right away but rather tomorrow, kesho). After the bank we made a quick stop at home to prepare an English lesson for the Mamas and then headed directly to the Kitchen. The Mamas are always excited for the lessons, but today they were also eager to show us the labels that they have chosen for their yogurt that they produce. We are hoping to get 100 labels made next week. We came home after an exhausting day with handfuls of groceries and yogurt, prepared a simple meal of pasta and stayed in for the night.
We had great success at the bank today and the Mamas were able to take out funds to pay their bills and update their bank card. One of the Mamas (Mama Elizabeth) who was with us this morning was feeling very ill, having both Typhoid and Malaria. It is very common to get sick here in Mwanza, for both locals and visitors, but because it is so common the treatment is relatively cheap and readily available. The symptoms are also usually easily recognizable because so many people have had multiple incidences. Luckily however, I have remained healthy and hope to for larger part of my trip here (knock on wood). Meaghan and I had our Swahili lessons again today and it consisted of saying polite requests, asking about how someone is doing, and naming the days of the week and months. We met a new friend in the class, Claire, and she actually was sitting next to Kim on the plane coming from Dar (what a small world). After the class we headed straight to Tunza for the yoga class on the beach and a nice boat ride while the sun set. The view was better than anything I could ever imagine. I felt as though I was in a fairy tale or a postcard.
Sunset at Tunza Lodge
This morning turned out to be a bit more relaxing compared to the previous days of the week. Meaghan and I were able to brainstorm various strategies to help develop the project and bring in more income for the Mamas to be able to sustain the business without external aid. We also found a great internet café that is just outside of our apartment and the management is very kind and the place is clean. So far it hasn’t been too crowded, which is seen at many of the other cafes in town. In the afternoon Meaghan and I went to the Yogurt Kitchen to give the Mamas their English lessons. We are going to the Kitchen on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday afternoons and taking our Swahili lessons on Tuesday and Thursday, it is working out great so far. I am hoping to get to the Forever Angel orphanage at least once a week, but it is a fair distance away from our apartment and therefore takes a while to get there and back. In the evening, there was a going away party at Tunza for a Master’s student studying witchcraft and so we dressed up as witches and had a great time.
We began the weekend very relaxed and were invited to Tunza for the day. Meaghan, Missy and I were able to go out on the boat for a while and we found a great island with amazing boulder formations on it, and named it ‘Hangkip’ (Afrikaans for ‘hanging rock’). We got off the boat and found one huge boulder that was being suspended about 2 feet off the ground by smaller boulders and was able to slide underneath for a very cute photo. We went back to the beach, had a nice lunch and a quick nap before going to a friends place for a bbq.
'Hangkip' RockKim and I went to church this morning at
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