Tuesday, July 06, 2004
REQUEST FOR DONATION:
Does anyone have an old dot-matrix printer stowed in their attic somewhere? It turns out that the Mwanza Rotary Club will give SKILLS FOR LIFE TANZANIA! (nee: Life Opportunity Club) use of a computer, but not a printer. Ink jet printers are cheap here too but no way can we afford the replacement ink-jet cartridges. Those dot-matrix ribbons are only about $5 each. I scoured the used junk shops when I was in Philadelphia last month but even those trash hounds have given up on dot-matrix printers.
So it would be just wonderful if someone could find a dot-matrix printer and air mail it to us. I’ll gladly reimburse the shipping cost.
Lee Forney
Nsumba Sec., Box 4044
Nyegezi, Mwanza
Tanzania, E. Africa
phone: 255 748 630684
** **** **
The fresh pork BBQ here on the 4th of July was relaxing and fun, with good friends. Becky brought energy, brownies (!) and rum. She had extended her service for another year, after serving in Zimbabwe until it got fluky, and then Mali before Tanzania, and by now she is ready to say good-by to Africa.
Ryan brought fruit, coca cola, and Bertha, a succulent Tanzanian minx in training. Bertha is from a family that has married several of its intelligent and attractive women to European men to its advantage, but Bertha is still a bit young. She is getting ready, though. Bertha had the appropriate western casual attire – tight jeans that must have taken her an hour to pour herself into and a close-fitting knit top with bare shoulders. But she has not yet mastered the requisite social skills. Her displeasure at enduring three hours of conversation in English that she did not understand was readily apparent. Her sisters will have to advise her about that. But I can sympathize with her – I had to endure a three-hour Staff Meeting in Kiswahili yesterday.
Emily brought buns and fabulous tales of her marriage on Zanzibar where, in keeping with local tradition, John had to barter with her father: How many goats plus a cow for Emily’s hand? And then her father attempted to palm off Emily’s sister or cousins for the cattle before producing Emily! John rode to the alter on a donkey, and Emily was carried in on a litter. The guests, sunburned from snorkeling and diving, sat on pillows on the beach for the affair. Wish I could have been there too. Emily is now in the process of changing her site from Ukerewe, an island in Lake Victoria, to join John at his site on Pemba, another island but this one in the Indian Ocean, off Zanzibar.
I had intended to grill slices of the pork for the sandwiches, but my houseboy insisted on taking over the cooking and that just isn’t the way it is done in Tanzania. I couldn’t turn him off. So we had little chunks of pork, fried with peppers and onions. It still made good sandwiches – just shifted the esthetic a bit. I did manage to wrap the sweet potatoes in foil and grill them on the charcoal, over his objections. He was amazed that you could do that, but ended up eating several.
Later we all hiked up to the Retreat for the view, to watch the hawks circling, the cranes soaring back toward the lake, and then the glorious sunset. On the way back we encountered several large owls that let us get fairly close before leisurely taking wing and so silently flying off.
That was our version of fireworks.
Does anyone have an old dot-matrix printer stowed in their attic somewhere? It turns out that the Mwanza Rotary Club will give SKILLS FOR LIFE TANZANIA! (nee: Life Opportunity Club) use of a computer, but not a printer. Ink jet printers are cheap here too but no way can we afford the replacement ink-jet cartridges. Those dot-matrix ribbons are only about $5 each. I scoured the used junk shops when I was in Philadelphia last month but even those trash hounds have given up on dot-matrix printers.
So it would be just wonderful if someone could find a dot-matrix printer and air mail it to us. I’ll gladly reimburse the shipping cost.
Lee Forney
Nsumba Sec., Box 4044
Nyegezi, Mwanza
Tanzania, E. Africa
phone: 255 748 630684
** **** **
The fresh pork BBQ here on the 4th of July was relaxing and fun, with good friends. Becky brought energy, brownies (!) and rum. She had extended her service for another year, after serving in Zimbabwe until it got fluky, and then Mali before Tanzania, and by now she is ready to say good-by to Africa.
Ryan brought fruit, coca cola, and Bertha, a succulent Tanzanian minx in training. Bertha is from a family that has married several of its intelligent and attractive women to European men to its advantage, but Bertha is still a bit young. She is getting ready, though. Bertha had the appropriate western casual attire – tight jeans that must have taken her an hour to pour herself into and a close-fitting knit top with bare shoulders. But she has not yet mastered the requisite social skills. Her displeasure at enduring three hours of conversation in English that she did not understand was readily apparent. Her sisters will have to advise her about that. But I can sympathize with her – I had to endure a three-hour Staff Meeting in Kiswahili yesterday.
Emily brought buns and fabulous tales of her marriage on Zanzibar where, in keeping with local tradition, John had to barter with her father: How many goats plus a cow for Emily’s hand? And then her father attempted to palm off Emily’s sister or cousins for the cattle before producing Emily! John rode to the alter on a donkey, and Emily was carried in on a litter. The guests, sunburned from snorkeling and diving, sat on pillows on the beach for the affair. Wish I could have been there too. Emily is now in the process of changing her site from Ukerewe, an island in Lake Victoria, to join John at his site on Pemba, another island but this one in the Indian Ocean, off Zanzibar.
I had intended to grill slices of the pork for the sandwiches, but my houseboy insisted on taking over the cooking and that just isn’t the way it is done in Tanzania. I couldn’t turn him off. So we had little chunks of pork, fried with peppers and onions. It still made good sandwiches – just shifted the esthetic a bit. I did manage to wrap the sweet potatoes in foil and grill them on the charcoal, over his objections. He was amazed that you could do that, but ended up eating several.
Later we all hiked up to the Retreat for the view, to watch the hawks circling, the cranes soaring back toward the lake, and then the glorious sunset. On the way back we encountered several large owls that let us get fairly close before leisurely taking wing and so silently flying off.
That was our version of fireworks.
