Saturday, February 4, 2017

Arusha, Friday, January 27, 2017

This would be Ron and Colette’s last day with us, so we decided to go out for lunch at the Impala Hotel and have Indian food. My friend Rosemarie thinks it is the best India restaurant in Arusha, and now that Big Bite and the Curry Pot in Njiro are both closed, I don’t know of any other place to try. We spent our morning any way we wanted to, relaxing on the garden veranda, reading, or catching up on email. Soon after noon, I called Ray who came to pick up Colette and me, while John and Ron were walking to the Impala. We arrived with enough time to take some photos of the elaborate carvings in reception area before the men arrived.


There were no other customers in the restaurant when we entered, so the head waiter seemed very glad to see us. Colette ordered shrimp biryani; I ordered chicken saagwala; and the men went with mutton dishes. While were were waiting for our food, we counted 10 people in the open kitchen, two bartenders behind the bar, and at least two waiters standing around. By the time our food arrived, however, other customers had come in and eventually the place was reasonably full. Still, there seemed to be an unusual number of cooks and other staff. One cook only made naan, so I assume others were specialized in other dishes.

After our truly sumptuous meal, Colette and I summoned Ray again for the trip out to Sakina White Rose, the area where Mary Bura’s house is located. Ron and John made their own way back to Kundayo. I had thought that I knew where Mary lived, but Ray drove and drove through areas of Arusha that I know I had never seen before. Finally, we emerged  on the highway going to Longido, which is actually the same highway which passes in front of Kundayo, but we were miles northwest of home. We needed to watch for the Triple A Night Club and then take the next road right. Most of the streets outside of the city core have no names, and the houses have no numbers, so one has to drive by landmarks, not addresses. We found the correct road, which turned out to be a very narrow, dirt track which turned and twisted on and on.  I have no idea how Ray knew where to go since he had only been there once before, on Monday when Colette went to get Mary for their cloth buying excursion. However, eventually we stopped right in front of a big metal gate, and after we had banged on it for a while, Mary’s son let us into the compound.

One never knows what to expect behind the walls here, but Mary’s home was a big, one-story house set in a beautiful garden area. It wasn’t nearly as new and fancy as some of the Tanzanian homes I have been in, but it was pleasant and substantial with a nice formal living room, where we sat while Mary finished some stitching.  Mary’s older sister, who was visiting from their village, sat and watched us. Finally the dress was finished, and Colette tried it on.  I took some photos (which do not show the true brilliance of the colors), and we left without accepting Mary’s offer of tea because Colette did not want to keep Ray waiting longer.  It’s entirely coincidental that I will be returning to Mary’s house this coming Thursday for our women’s group.


No one felt like doing or eating much more for the rest of the day, but we had soft drinks on the veranda. Then sometime after 7:30, Ray came with Honorina and Anita to give me a thank-you card for the refrigerator and bid Ron and Colette good-bye. Honorina speaks almost no English, so visiting was limited, but I fed Anita some cookies and let her use my battery powered pencil sharpener, so we had a good time. Ray said he will also miss Ron and Colette and hopes they will return to Arusha with us next year. I wish Colette could stay here longer, as it has been great to have such an enthusiastic and resourceful “playmate.”

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