Arusha, Tuesday & Wednesday, February 28 - March 1, 2017

As we get closer to the time we will leave Arusha, it’s harder and harder for me to focus on recording what goes on here each day.  So much of our daily lives is patterned from the our Wheetabix breakfast until we listen to MSNBC at bedtime. The rain comes sporadically, sometimes very heavily but more often in short, light showers. The electricity goes off with total unpredictability, but it hasn’t stayed off for long anytime so far this week. Every day, John finds an excuse to walk into town, e.g., to buy bread or bananas, visit an ATM, or shop for vegetables.
I spent more time thinking about what to say as leader of the ACC women’s group on Thursday, knowing full well I won’t write anything down on paper until the night before. And every afternoon, had the usual visit with Mama Kundayo.

Our formerly favorite restaurant, The Umbrella, a generous buffet for only 6000 Tsch. (less than $3), had closed last year, but we decided to try the Chinese restaurant which has replaced it. We had Ray drive us to the Anglican Cathedral, and then we walked to the Art Co-op, where I always buy a few gift items each year. The minute we walked in, the staff welcomed me back and asked if I had other wazungus with me again this year.  I said I didn’t, but that the student group would be arriving next week, and I would tell them about the co-op.  Then, I spent 15 minutes or so choosing small possible gift items. As always, even with my supposedly experienced  bargaining skills, the total bill was more than I had anticipated.

We continued down the rough, dirt side street to the Peace Restaurant, and suddenly to our left we saw a huge new establishment.  It was a restaurant of some sort with an enormous layout of outside terraces, tented areas, and a nonstop line of cars going in and out. It’s name was Uzunguni  City Park, and we had never seen anything like it before! There were no wazungu in sight, so John posited that a wedding or convention of some sort must be going on. However, when we returned to Kundayo and reported to Mazo, he said that it was just a new eating place that is very popular with young African professionals who crowd in at lunchtime and in the evening. (https://www.facebook.com/uzungunicitypark/) We think we will try to squeeze in there some day next week.

We were the only customers at the Peace Restaurant, and while the food and prices were fine, it was nothing special.  Compared to the hustle and bustle of its next-door neighbor, it was already dead.

On Wednesday, I stayed at Kundayo in the pretense of getting really serious about my lesson for the women’s group. John had taken a pair of shoes across the highway to a shoe fundi for resoling, so he went to pick them up and pay his bill of 7000 Tsch ($3.20). I messed around all day doing nothing memorable, so fortunately there was leftover eggplant stew in the freezer which we heated up for our dinner. Then, I began to think seriously about the next day.