Chapati

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This morning I woke up early to make chapati with dada Juliet and the girls. There are two kinds of chapati. Breakfast chapati is similar to what we would call a crepe. Rolling chapati is a combination of a tortilla and pita bread- the taste of a tortilla but the size and thickness of a pita. Both are fabulous, but breakfast chapati is my favorite. I love them plain by themselves, but sometimes we put peanut butter or jelly on them, ndizi (bananas), or even nutella! (Yes they have that here). And breakfast, lunch, and dinner are always served with Chai tea. This would be a good time to talk about the food. In Tanzania there are four main ingredients- flour, water, sugar, and oil. I was thoroughly amazed with how many different things can be made with these four materials, although they occassionally use eggs or milk. Things are fairly similar. They have their own version of crepes, pancakes, donuts, pita bread, etc. But breakfast chapati will always be my favorite. And for lunch and dinner we have different variations of bean and rice dishes. Sometimes it's spiced or in a stew, but Juliette is such a good cook! Also, they use a spoon as a spatula. It's darn impressive.

Kaitlin and I have learned by now that after every meal Mama Mary asks us to "Please, take more." Kaitlin has the appetite of a small bird. Fortunately, I can eat good-tasting food forever. However, we have begun to take a small first portion so we do not have to refuse a second helping. Mama is then very pleased that she can provide for us, and our stomachs are a happy, comfortable full.

**By the end of the trip, even with the mass amounts of walking and site work, I somehow managed to gain about five pounds from all the sugar, oil, and lack of fresh produce.

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