Trip 2: Work Day for Liam

19 September 2011

Liam went to work. I rode along with him. We drove through a large portion of the northern side of the island. We arrived at a school where a group of Seabees were helping to build a rain collection system. Gutters are being installed on the side of the school and the rain will be stored in water collection tanks. The headmaster will then be responsible for dispensing the water to the community for use for consumption, irrigation, cleaning, laundry, etc. You know, we get a lot of flack around the world about what our military does, but they don't always talk about these projects that make such a HUGE impact on local communities. So, I'm bragging for them - GOOD WORK! JOB WELL DONE!

Came back to the hotel, cleaned up and decided to walk over to the Forodhani Gardens for dinner. Basically, Mickey Mouse (I'm not joking - that's what he told us his name was) walked us over to his stall to explain all of the fairs laid out on the table. We walked around the market and came back to Mickey Mouse's table. I ordered a roasted corn (because I had been thinking about it since we passed some in Kenya weeks ago), a sweet banana, blue marlin skewer, and crab body & claw. Liam selected a lobster skewer, tuna skewer, and a king fish skewer. We were then taken to a table while Mickey Mouse (really, I couldn't make this stuff up) had his team of fisherman warm our meal. He also promised us we wouldn't get sick from the food on his table - because it was "fresh, caught today." We didn't take any pictures, but I did find this video on YouTube to give you perspective (except the sun was long gone by the time we got over there). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Z3MRxw_J7M.

I learned a VERY valuable lesson that evening. Never eat any meat you can't physically see from a food stall. The crab was slightly cooked. Mostly gooey, smelled and tasted a little off. But, the local herd of wild cats found it quite tasty. The corn was so overdone it was dry. I couldn't eat it. But, the fish skewers & banana - TO DIE FOR. I will eat there again. Sketchy as it seems at first, totally worth it. Dive in and learn to say "Hapana asante" quickly. You don't really need the CD with Jambo Jambo on it.

Also, had my first experience with sugar cane juice. I have officially died and gone to the big white puffy clouds. I was skeptical because I can't do super sweet. But, they press the sugar cane with ginger and lime and it creates this milky goodness. Even Liam liked it. I had to stop myself at two glasses because where am I going to find this in Dar. And more importantly, there is no sugar cane in Alaska. CANNOT GET ADDICTED. Very important to intervene early for things like this.