Arusha, Friday, February 3, 2017

We awoke to a wonderful surprise this morning, While we were still sleeping, Ray went to a woman who makes vitumbua, my newest food addiction, and bought several, which he brought to Kundayo for us. When we awoke, Beatrice delivered them to us.  They were still warm, so I immediately changed my breakfast plans and, instead of toast, had two vitumbua with my coffee. I will need to pace myself with these little calorie bombs.

We spent most of the morning reading.  John has discovered Ann Patchett through her collection of essays, This is the Story of a Happy Marriage. I had suggested that he read her essay, “The Wall,” which is about how she decided to try to pass all the requirements for admission to the LAPD police academy. It’s a terrific story, and John liked it so much, he has kept on reading other essays. I’m finally reading Bel Canto, which had been on my shelf at home for over 15 years. Somehow, it never appealed to me, so I brought it here where my limited book stack pushes me to read books I might not otherwise. So far, I’m enjoying it very much though it is so different than Patchett’s other novels, it’s hard for me to remember she’s the author.

John suggested that we go to George’s Tavern for lunch, and I readily agreed, as it is a lovely venue and has really great pizza and amazing build-it-yourself salads for very reasonable prices. This was our third time there, and as in the first two times, we had enough food to box up half of it for lunch tomorrow.  I get really hungry for a good salad here, and it’s much easier to let George’s kitchen assemble all the ingredients than for me to buy them myself, especially the greens. We sat out on the terrace area and read and enjoyed the breeze until our food arrived. After the meal, I ordered coffee and was overjoyed when it arrived in a press.  Usually in Arusha, coffee means instant, which is better than instant at home—maybe more like Starbucks Via—but still not the rich brewed or pressed coffee I get when we are on Zanzibar. All that bliss for only $1.80. Now, I’m convinced that George’s is the best place to eat in Arusha!

George's garden terrace

Huge salads and delicious pizza

We called Ray to take us back to Kundayo and on the way stopped at John’s favorite produce market. We got a small bag of potatoes, a big bunch of carrots, several more mangoes, and two big purple avocados, all for just about $5, and I’m sure John overpaid. (Those market ladies love to see him come.) We had one of the avocados for dinner tonight, and it was absolutely perfect. I wish there were some way we could get such wonderful avocados at home.

This week has gone by even faster than the ones preceding it. It’s hard for me to realize that tomorrow is Saturday already, which means it’s almost Sunday, my favorite day here.  This Sunday at church, a Catholic priest will give the message. I am really looking forward to that since when I heard him last year, his gentle, but clear, call for open inclusion of all persons was such a balm after the silliness of arguments at home. I wish there were some way to replicate ACC in Spokane.