Lazy days in Moshi
Tuesday, March 11th, 2008Moshi is a popular base town for travellers who are planning to hike Mt. Kilimanjaro, so we decided that it would be the place to stay. However, as most tourists come and go quickly, it is not too touristy and there is not too much to do. Despite all this I really enjoyed Moshi. I especially enjoyed the people who were friendly and spirited and extremely social. We learned a few words of Swahili, including “Jambo” and “Mambo” meaning “how are you?” as well as some other phrases I can’t spell or pronounce well for that matter.
The Swahili food is delicious, especially if you are a rice lover like me. We went to a buffet where we enjoyed chicken, cooked in various ways (a staple) and rice, vegetables and ugali, which is a doughy thing you eat by dipping it in sauce with your hand (your right hand of course). Our table-neighbors tried to teach us to eat Ugali and giggled at our attempts to eat it with silverwear. At this we decided to drop the forks and dug in with our hands. My civilized Dan, however couldn’t do this too long and resumed his silverwear use when they turned away. The lunch-time entertainment was a small TV showing Swahili rap videos that looked like they were made in the boys’ backyard.
I was happy to see many commonalities between Colombia (my mother’s mother country) and Tanzania. In my safari pack I was surprised and excited to find an empanada (a delicious dough filled with meat, potatoes, etc.) that is very popular in Colombia. Also a lot of the music we heard was salsa and merengue, but in Swahili. I know that the Africans are to thank in large part for salsa and merengue music, but as to who is responsible for the delicious empanada, I still do not know.
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