Saturday 5-24-14

Saturday 5-24-14

                So, I refused to get out of bed until about 8:00 today. I stayed up until nearly midnight just talking with Mamaliz, it was nice, but I like my sleep and usually I am in bed by 9pm. The kids were not too happy about this, but they had things they could get and eat, and I was tired and wanted to sleep. I did finally get up and I got some bread dough going so we would have bread with dinner tonight. But first thing was first and coffee was made and consumed. I made Mexican mochas for Mamaliz and I. Granted it was third world, but still quite nice.

                I had beans soaking nice and early, and then I decided to head up into the village to get some goat to go with our dinner. Teacher Logan (known to Mamaliz as “the kid”) was getting in today and was most likely going to eat dinner with us, so I wanted to have something nice. On my walk back from getting the goat the bag ripped and the goat fell right into the dirt. I simply picked it up and brought it home to rinse the dirt (or what I hope was only dirt) off. I did the best I could getting all the connective tissue and bone shards out, cut the goat into cubes, and then coated with flour and spices. I browned it up then threw it into a pot with some water so that it could get a nice long cooking; otherwise it is very chewy and tough. I was very pleased with how good the dinner turned out. We not only ended up with Teacher Logan, but also his friends. They were going to go up to Bismillah for dinner before they left back to Morogoro, but when they got there they were told there was no more food. Only here can a restaurant survive with only one option for food and even that option not always there. They were all very happy that I had enough dinner for everyone.

                I even found time to make bread up for breakfast tomorrow filled with nuts and raisins and things like that. I discovered that the little blender I brought for Mamaliz can blend sugar into powdered sugar, so I will even be able to make a nice frosting glaze for it. Granted I spent the entire day in the kitchen cooking, cleaning, and baking, but I had fun, and in the end that is what counts.

                Samweli kept coming in and saying hi. Mamaliz says he has a crush on me. I would have to agree. He made me some pictures today and since he saw the ones Ayla made for me say ‘xoxo’ and ‘I love you’, his had those on there too. He even went so far as to try to tickle me at one point. It is sweet, but the tickle was taking it too far. Hopefully he doesn’t do anything like that again or I will have to have a talk with him.

                Ayla and Jove have been very good today. They have almost not been inside at all. They have gone exploring with their friends, playing games, and just being kids. I have been so pleased with them. It is days like this that I truly remember why I brought them to Africa. When we first got here Ayla was afraid to leave my side, now she is outside all day having fun just being one of the kids. This is what they needed.

                Our internet came on, but for all my trying, it doesn’t want to load anything that would allow me to send any kind of messages. Sometimes this internet issue is really frustrating.

                Oh and a note to my dad:            

                                The kids have been looking in the dirt trying to find see through stones like Papa said. They found a few in the front yard that look like large kosher salt granules of a pinkish hue. They were happy with themselves.