Hello again, friends... I hope your Christmas and New Year's events went well, and that coming back to work/school/America wasn't too unbearable. J

Myself, I spent Xmas day back in Arusha with my Tanzanian host family from training. For New Year's, I went down to Korogwe (about a 7-8 hour bus ride) and partied like it was 1999 with seven or so of my Peace Corps friends. I've also been back and forth to Moshi to see Brandon, the teacher closest to me (3 hour bus ride) a few times, sometimes for business, sometimes for pleasure.

One of the things I've been doing in some of my spare time is getting computers working. I already mentioned that my headmaster got a laptop as a gift from a school in Germany -- it's top-of-the-line, running Windows NT and all the latest hardware. My first order of business was, of course, to make sure it could print to the old dot-matrix printer the school has, circa 1986. This was quite a chore.

We also have some 286s we inherited from the same German school, I've been asked to work on those as well, except the key to the room in which they're being kept doesn't seem to work, so I'm waiting on that. On the other hand, there's a Peace Corps volunteer in Romvo, on the far side of Kilimanjaro, who heard that I was a computer fundi (fix-it-guy) and asked me to stop by her school.

So in true Tz fashion, I took the required three buses to get there (1.5, 1.0, & 2.5 hours respectively) and surmised the situation. They had two 286s (the 286 was introduced around 1988, I think.) The one that was working was running MS-DOS 6.2 and Windows 3.1. Not too bad, except that there was no mouse driver on the machine, and so the mouse didn't work. Nor, of course, did the school have the Windows install disks that would have the appropriate software to solve such a problem. Not that that mattered much, either, because the disk drives on the machine didn't even work to begin with.

The other computer wouldn't boot up at all. On closer inspection I determined that this was because the hard drive was not physically attached... it was in the computer, just not plugged in to anything. Hooking it up was the easy part... then I had to go into the CMOS to tell the computer it now had a hard drive (a big pain in the ass. Especially when I didn't have all the specs on the hardware, and had to do lots of guesswork.)

Once I got the hard drive running, it booted up just fine -- in German. It was running MS-DOS 5.0 and Windows 3.1, both in German. Again, no working mouse, and no installation disks, so I had to edit the configuration files, and try to guess how the computer was responding by guessing which of the German error messages I was getting corresponded with the English error messages with which I was familiar.

I was unable to find what I needed to change the default language on the second computer so I decided to copy the entire operating system off of the first computer onto disks, and put it on the second one. Relatively easy, normally -- but remember the floppy disk drives on the first computer didn't work. So I took the working floppy drives out of the second computer, and put them in the first computer. I then discovered, when those floppy drives didn't work either, it was not in fact the floppy disk drives in the first computer that weren't working, but the thing inside the computer which controls them.

So, I tried the next option: I took the hard drive out of the first computer, and installed it in the second one (with all that messy mucking about in the CMOS). I then copied all of the English MS-DOS off that drive onto floppies (with the working floppy drives), and then switched the hard drives back again, and copied the files back onto the other hard drive.

There was some amount of pressure at this point, because if I didn't do it exactly right the first time, I had the potential at worst, to render the second computer completely useless, or at best, to have to do the whole process of switching drives all over again.

In the end, I got things working as best I could, which meant things weren't ideal, but a lot better than they were before. The long and short of it is, every step of the way, some problem would crop up that would make that step take much longer than it would normally, but not quite impossible -- pretty daunting, and yet intriguing for a semi-technical person like me who enjoys a challenge. Some of my Computer Engineering friends from college probably could have whipped through it in no time; I had to push the absolute limits of my hardware/software knowledge.

I've gotten requests from many folks to talk about what I've been eating here. The diet is in fact, much more bland than I thought it would be. I'd had Ethiopian food many times in the States and enjoyed it quite a bit, which was what I was expecting... turned out to be quite a different story - but it has its gems.

First, how it's cooked. Depending on the wealth of the individual family, you'll see one of these three: Fire, kerosene burner, electric stove/oven. Cooking by fire is what it sounds like, you get three big rocks of equal size, build a fire between them, and put your pot down on them. The kerosene burners are slick little things that work like oil lamps, with a ring of about 8 wicks that stick up; how much of the wicks stick up (and consequently how high the flame is) is controlled by a knob; Then there's a grating to keep your pot steady. The typical electric oven is about the size of an early-80s American countertop microwave, with two burners on top.

It's important to understand my comment about relative wealth, though. My host family was probably in about the 70th-80th percentile as far as wealth goes, and they cooked over two fires and one kerosene burner. Electric burners/ovens are pretty rare, and I'm lucky enough to have one in my house here in Monduli.

Here's a rundown of what my host family served, which is fairly typical of the average families I've seen here. (Next time, I may discuss the kinds of things I fix for myself nowadays.) On a given night, you'd typically see any six of the following dishes:

• Wali: Plain white rice, to be topped with a sauce-dish.
• Maharage: Beans. In some sort of mildly flavored sauce. Some nights it did it for me, other nights, it didn't.
• Nyama: Meat. Almost always cow or goat*, the two most common livestock here. Chicken is somewhat common, but people eat it more in cafes than they do at home. The nyama is almost always boiled, in some sort of sauce that defies description (but is usually pretty good!)

• Nyama Choma: Roasted meat. A BIG improvement over boiled. However, I've never had it in a home, just in restaurants. Another note on meat: In the city, you can buy it at the butcher's who buys it from local folks. Here in Monduli, you can get it at the butcher's, but you're more dependent on what's been slaughtered that week. Taking that as given, the best way is to go straight to the source: It's fairly common to see paper signs posted on trees saying something like "The Kisaka family is slaughtering their goat Thursday. If you want to buy some, stop by the house around 4:00."
• Ndizi: Cooked bananas (plantains), usually with chunks of cow in it. Cooked bananas are pretty much flavorless, kind of like boiled potatoes, only with less flavor. Sometimes ndizi comes fried, which is like fried potatoes, only tougher and much less flavorful.
• Pilau: From our word, pilaf, but not much like it -- though it's a real nice treat. It's rice with some local spices (including cloves and cinnamon) and chunks of cow. The guy at the Green Door Cafe here in Monduli has some of the best pilau in the country.
• UGALI: The classic Tanzanian carbohydrate. It's corn flour mixed heavily into boiling water. The result is, you get a kind of big round cake with a consistency that's about twice as thick as mashed potatoes. What you do is, take a hunk of this stuff in your hand and dip it in whatever sauce your ndizi or nyama is in. The biggest bonus is that it is incredibly cheap to make.
• Uji: Like ugali, but with a much higher water-to-flour ratio. Comes out as a porridge that isn't half bad once you add sugar. Sort of like Cream-of-Wheat or "grits" without the butter.
• Macaroni: It's actually what we'd call spaghetti, but "macaroni" is the commonly used Kiswahili for any form of pasta -- despite the fact that the only form of pasta I've ever seen here is spaghetti. Softened by boiling, the cooking process is completed by sauteeing it with lots of margarine and a little salt.
• Mchicha: Kind of like collared greens.
• Kabichi: Cabbage, carrots, and green peppers; all shredded and boiled.
• Chapati: Somewhere between a soft tortilla and a pancake. Eat it by itself or tear off pieces and grab your other food with it. Mmm!
• Matunda: Fresh fruit, almost every meal. The most common are mango, papaya, and banana (the non-cooking kind). Occasionally pineapple or avocado, though they're more expensive.
• Kachumbari: One of my favorites. It's just raw thinly sliced tomatoes, onions, cucumber, and some salt. When I make it, I add garlic & olive oil. Try it!
• Chipsi: Chips. That's the British 'chips', what Americans would call "fries". They're fried in a pan instead of deep-fried, but they're pretty much the same.
• CHIPSI MAYAI: Chips and eggs -- Far and away my favorite food here. Never once had it with my host family; like chicken, it's more common to see it in restaurants than in the home. Fry up your chipsi, and then break an egg into it like an omlette, but don't worry about keeping it in one piece. I throw in tomatoes, onions, and green peppers before the eggs. It's cholesterrific!
• Sambusas: Samosas. Another "just-in-restaurants food". A little Indian snack where you wrap ground meat or veggies in a thin layer of dough (always triangle-shaped) and deep fry it.
• Keki (Cakey): Cake! Only made and eaten for very special occasions. I've had it at my host brother's high school graduation party, and at my other host brother's Lutheran confirmation party. There's a whole ritual that goes along with it:

Chai au Kahawa: Tea or coffee. Both are made with milk instead of water; if you want it with water you have to say so beforehand. Also keep in mind all milk here is whole milk from the cow in your backyard (or your neighbor's). Boil the tea leaves (or instant coffee) in the milk with some sugar, and then pour it through a strainer into a thermos, which is then brought to the table for serving. I actually prefer my coffee this way; I'm not quite sold on the tea yet. Do keep in mind that most of the work- and school-day is based on the British system; the Chai Break at 10 AM is a critical part of the day. It's when most schools have their staff meeting or announcements.

Because water or milk here must be boiled before you drink it, and because few people have refrigerators, soda and beer are more common to drink, as they are sometimes cheaper liter for liter than bottled water. (Also note that "bottled water" here is just water; it doesn't have any special minerals or filtering like American bottled water) So....

Coca Cola (and its related products) are and have been for decades the soft drink of choice for Tanzanians, though Pepsi seems to have come on the scene sometime in the early nineties with a strong advertising campaign. Consequently, the signs for most stores, restaurants, even towns, are either Coke signs with B&W lettering or Pepsi signs with B&W lettering. Billboards are everywhere, too.

Note that just because a bar, restaurant, or shop has a Coke or Pepsi sign, or posters of same, doesn't necessarily mean they actually have that beverage. It just means Coke paid for their sign.

Also, Coke-Affiliated beverages are different here. There is Sprite (Tii kiu yako -- obey your thirst) but there's no Mr. Pibb/Dr. Pepper type thing. And does anyone remember Fanta? It was a Coke-affiliated orange soda until the early eighties when Coke struck a deal with Minute Maid. Well, in the rest of the world, it's still Fanta Fanta Fanta! In addition to Orange (the most common), there's Blackcurrant, Red, and new Fanta Passion! (Passionfruit -- it's excellent!) You may find it amusing that Fanta's advertising slogan is "Welcome to the World!"

Another interesting Coke beverage is Stoney Tangawizi. Tangawizi is the Swahili word for "Ginger", and that's what it is -- a ginger ale with a really strooooong ginger taste. If you've ever had a really strong, bite-you-back type ginger brew, you'll know what it's like. It's everywhere.

BEER: (Mmmmmm.... Beer....)

Tanzania actually has two major breweries which supply most of the beer for the country -- I'm quite pleased with this, because it's one of the few really strong and widely used local industries. There's Tanzania Breweries Ltd. in Arusha, and Serengeti Breweries in Dar Es Salaam. We actually took a tour of the Arusha brewing/bottling plant (it's walking distance from the PC Training site!)

They produce 4 different beers, and as far as I can tell, the only difference between them is the % alcohol, which is varied by adding carbonated water to the final mix. Despite this fact, they're not too bad; considerably better than Budweiser, but still a long way from microbrew.

The % alcohol is actually a selling point, because they're required by law to put it on the label. The Arusha brewery recently introduced a brand new beer, Bia Bingwa ("Beer Champion") with a whopping 7% alcohol; which as you might imagine, immediately became a way to show off one's testosterone. It should also be noted that beer here comes in 500-ml bottles (about 17.6 oz) so drinking 2 Bingwas is the same amount of alcohol as in a six-pack of cheap American beer.

The one non-African beer (there are a few Kenyan beers and a South African beer that are common) is Guinness Extra Stout. Now before you go getting all excited, it's actually the Foreign Extra Stout, which tastes like standard Irish/American Guinness with a handful of powdered chalk thrown in. Can't stand the stuff. However, there's a huge ad campaign ("Guinness: The Power!") and the Guinness slogan is still intact (which you can see everywhere but in America, where it's illegal): "Guinness is Good for You."

This is one of my favorite things about Tanzania. When you go to a bar/restaurant/etc. and order a soda or beer, you can't just walk away with it. You have to drink it there, and return the bottle. If you want to take the bottle with you, you have to pay an additional 50 shillings over the regular price of 200.

This is because (in the case of soda) the bar will then take all their empty bottles to the bottling center (there are a dozen scattered throughout Arusha alone, and most small towns have at least one) which is basically the "trailer" part of a tractor trailer. Here, they clean out the bottles and refill and recap them. So if you own a bar, you'd send your kid to the bottling place where he can trade in empty bottles and some money for full ones.

If you're in the habit of entertaining frequently, and always want to have some bottles on hand, you can pay the extra amount to have say, a dozen bottles. Then when people are coming over, you take your empty bottles down to the bar and trade them in for full ones you can take back home, and you only have to pay the base 200 shillings. Although, if the guy at the bar knows you, he may just let you borrow the bottles for a night, and return them the next day.

Beer is a slightly different story. Since beer has to be bottled at the Brewery, people are much more reluctant to lend them out, since it's difficult and expensive for bars to buy new bottles. When we were on the Brewery tour, we actually got to see the whole process - it's pretty cool.

The empty bottles (with the old labels still on and dregs in the bottom) are thrown onto a conveyor belt down on the ground level in the standard 25-bottle (5x5) crate. The belt takes the crates up to the second floor, where the bottles are taken from the crates and run through this great big machine that automatically cleans, washes, soaks, and removes the labels from the old bottles. The whole process is completely mechanized. Then they continue on down the line, where they're filled, capped, and new labels are put on, and then they return to the first floor to be shipped out. Again, the whole thing is done in one fell swoop, no pauses, no human intervention except when there's a problem. You can stand there and watch the bottles go out at the same rate they came in. It's awesome.

The thing I like: It is economically advantageous to the companies and to the country to do this; as opposed to America where it's cheaper just to waste more raw materials. Add to this equation the fact that there's no garbage collection here; everyone has to burn or otherwise get rid of their own trash, so not having to figure out how to get rid of bottles is a boon to the people as well.

The sad thing is that here in Tanzania, we have this completely developed localized system; evolved out of many years of this process... and I'd bet that if such a process and a mentality were in place in America, it would actually save companies money (not to mention spare resources and minimize trash.) But Americans don't want "reused" bottles, unless they're melted down and recast (which is totally unnecessary, sanitarily speaking.) Plus, people wouldn't want the "inconvenience" of always having to return their bottles instead of just throwing them away.

So much for the "developed" world.

Well, on that happy note, I'll say that this is already quite long. So until next time,

Mzitumia mara nyingi chupa zenu,
Ethan

P.S. ASTRONOMICAL FUN FACT:
A "blue moon" refers to the second full moon in a single month. Since the moon cycle is ~28 days, this rare event usually happens only every ~27 months or so (I think.) However, 1999 will see TWO blue moons in three months -- in the only way astronomically possible: Two full moons in January, NONE in February, and two in March. I encourage you all to get outside with your loved ones to enjoy an event that occurs much less often than "once in a blue moon"!

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