The Neighborhood

I have been thinking about this for a while.  Perhaps you are curious about the neighborhood we live in.  Well maybe not, but then you don’t need to read any further.

The Bega Kwa Bega (BKB) apartment is in Block A of the NSSF apartments.  There are three buildings in the complex and BKB or affiliates controls (rents) four apartments.   You can find our rooftop from Google earth.  Look up Iringa Lutheran Centre.  We are across the street.   Ours is the BKB office as well.  There are three bedrooms, one and a half baths and a shower, an office area, living room, dining room and kitchen.  We can squeeze 20 people in the living room spilling into the dining room and hallway.  There is no pottery studio.  In the last entry, you saw Connor and Lars, Kaia and Zoë in front of the mural in the living room.  We need to get Don and Eunice to write the story of the mural before it is lost to oral tradition.

There is an apartment upstairs from us for the pastor-teacher (when there is one).  In the other two buildings, one apartment is rented by the Institute of Ag, (which part of the year Roger and Trish Blomquist occupy) and in the last building, one more shared by Harrises and Langnesses.  They aren’t necessarily unoccupied when the primaries aren’t here, often being sublet one way or another.

Mlandege congregation before second service

Today we went to church at Mlandege, partner to Luther Memorial.  It was quite a celebration.  They had special music (my ears are still ringing).  The unmitigated joy our African brethren display is nothing short of, well, heavenly!  We loved the acoustic music and still appreciate it in Idunda, but with modernization comes electronic music.  Maybe we will see a resurgence of acoustic music as the romance wears off the electronic.  This is of course what my parents wished for rock n’ roll when I was a kid.  We are still rockin’!  So, don’t hold your breath.  The choirs can really belt out four-part harmony.  They are not timid.  Why are we?  I don’t get it!  So after Communion we had a baptism.  All converged into a three hour service.

Of course, after the service we also had tea.  Then lunch.  After the Lutheran Center breakfast.  We got home around 3 PM after visiting John Mhekwa and his new wife Addy.  She is charming, if a bit shy.  John was so deferential.  That was charming too.

All that was left when we got home was for me to roast more peanuts and some garlic butter for the Cooking School breadsticks.  Yum!  A kilo of raw peanuts is about a buck.  We have gone through 3 kg of peanuts already.  I nuke them for two minutes at a time until they are getting pretty brown, usually about 6 – 8 minutes total.  I haven’t found the perfect amount of salt.  I made a brine and soaked them a couple minutes, then boiled off the water. 

Oh, the neighborhood.  The Lutheran Center is across the street, convenient for guests, meetings and great breakfasts. 

On the corner is a duka (shop) and watering hole called Mama Souveyla’s.  That is phonetically correct, but totally incorrect spelling.  Yes, I know, I should have checked.  I haven’t been there this month.

Down the street are several shops of note.  The +255 Club is a bar.  Haven’t been there.  The New Ruaha Inn has a restaurant we have not tried as yet.  Lulu’s is closed.  It was a pretty good place to eat, but dwindled for unknown reasons, well, except bad food and slow service.  If that means anything!

Tatanca

Down to the main street and to the left, we have Tatanca, Dennis Ngede’s travel and tour guide business.    A little further is Hasty Tasty Too.  They have great chapatis, mondaazi samosas and lots of other stuff.  It’s an Iringa HGGT (Hot-Gotta-Go-There).  For a hole in the wall, there is no better!

Across from HTT is Hogwarts.  Uh, no, it’s Warthog Travel.  Birdie mentioned it in her entry.   Walk on through with a short stop at the pastry case.  If you are lucky, they won’t be out of meat pies.  Chicken is my favorite.  The quiche is fine, but that’s by report, since real men don’t eat quiche.  (And tell about it, anyway.)  They have great thick French fries too.  There may be other places too, but so far it is the only place we know of to get a Coke Zero.

We went to the Cooking School and got some good stuff.  I mentioned the breadsticks.  Going back tomorrow to replenish the stock.  Birdie made some chicken soup with a whole chicken and pasta noodles from the school.  Also some spaghetti sauce and “biscuits” (think cookies).   I better quit with the gourmet stuff or you won’t remember that we are in Africa, after all.

One last story.  We said good-bye to the Christ the King White Bear Lake women this morning.  The left at 8:15 AM. Yeah, they had a good time and left with stories to tell.

Well, that one was last because this one happened first.  Jo at TLC sent two young German women to us who wanted to see Huruma Center.  They had brought some of their old clothes with them to give away.  Gently used, I might add.  The two women, I am guessing are mid-twenties, are Polizei, German Police. 

At home, they carry guns.  I am guessing tough as nails professionally, but more attractive and personable police you will never meet!  We took them to Huruma and they had a great time.  Of course, Mama Chilewa was appreciative.  The kids sang and danced for them (us).  I think and hope they have made a permanent connection a the orphanage. 

The picture isn't the best one of Huruma, but the others don't show Birdie's halo nearly as well.

And I have to get a picture of my two favorite police!