Beans are Not All Alike

From Sharon:

Conversation with Grace: "You can go to the market or you can do the laundry and I will go to the market". What she meant was I could go to the market or she would go with me after she did the laundry (by hand). So at 9:30 AM I left fo the market somewhat apprehensive, first of all for finding the way by myself and second for finding all the items on my list and purchasing them with Tanzanian Shillings. I found my way only missing one turn. I entered the open market on the stinky fish end and the first thing that happened was a rat ran across my path. A little jumpy, I continued down the aisle and stopped at the stand where we had bought green peppers. I think the man recognized me and I did him. I bought half kilogram of tomatoes. Feeling fairly successful, I moved on to the beans. They had several colors so I bought 2 kilos of what I thought was the closest to what Grace made for us last week. On to the flour. I roamed all over the market but didn't find flour so I decided to go to the little supermarket (the size of a large living room) for peanut butter, cocoa and bleach. A young man followed me around and when I said I needed flour for baking bread, he motioned to follow him to a wall of packaged flour. Grace told me to get 3 kilos -- the packages were 1 kilo, 2 kilo and 8 kilos. The 8 kilo package was the only one in English and it said: "Wheat Flour for Baking Bread". When I said I needed white flour, he said this was white flour and pointed to the word "wheat". Finally, I bought a 2 Kilo package that he said was for baking bread and when I asked, he said I could not bring it back if it were the wrong flour. I paid for my items and that went well. I trudged back home, switching my shopping bag often as I was carrying 10 lbs of beans, tomatoes and flour along with peanut butter, cocoa and bleach.

I arrived back at the apartment at 10:30. Grace helped me unload the bag: "tomatoes - good, peanut butter - good, cocoa and bleach - good, flour - not for baking bread, for eating (huh!). How about the beans? Not good either. Beans for farmer not cooking. (editor's note: Noel now has to buy a farm to plant the beans, or just wait for Jack to need them -- as in "and the Beanstalk".).

I felt heartburn coming on; so I drank a glass of water and headed back to the market with Grace leading the way. First stop was the correct flour shop. The shopkeepper weighted out 3 kilograms and put it in a black plastic bag. (That is another challenge, you have to bring your own bags to most shops. Some have plastic bags now, but not all.) I told the lady to remember me so she would know what I want next time. We got 2 kilos of the correct beans -- light green now, but when cooked get tan like the farmer beans. Grace and I headed off to buy a Kanga and a Kitenga (two wrap like dresses). I had put a 1/2 Kanga in the laundry basket this morning and when Grace put it in water, it bled. I knew it would. So we went off to buy a new one. The shop was very busy. We picked out a blue Kanga and a green and gold Kitenga.

I had started my day with 50,000 Tanzanian Shillings (about $31) and now was down to 400 Tanzanian Shillings (25 cents) so our shopping day was over. It felt like I had spent a lot of money. On the way home we bought bananas for banana bread (6 cents/banana). Back at the apartment, I sat down at 11:55 AM after 2 and 1/2 hours of walking. Ten minutes later Carrie Stiles came by to say they were walking to a little restaurant and then touring the Neema Craft center. She offered to drive, but I sucked it up and off we hiked.

The Neema Center started as a workshop for handicapped here in Iringa. It has a new building since our 2007 visit with a restaurant, gift shop and a workshop making weavings, jewelry, paper (from specially selected elephant droppings) and a guest house. We toured the center and walked back to the apartment the new route that Grace showed me that morning. I can now find my way around the neighborhood to LuLu's (restaurant), Neema Crafts, the Farmer's Market and the Lutheran Center.

That evening our group from Fish Lake Lutheran arrived via bus from Dar Es Salaam. They are staying in the Lutheran Center guest house. Unfortunately, they overbooked the place the first night so we invited 4 of the ladies to join us in our apartment nearby.