data and dining in Dar

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I flew back to Dar Sunday evening, on the same 12-seater plane as the flight out, but this time I was in the back row of 3 seats. The view from 3500 feet was still spectacular. But the wait at the airport in a crowded room with no air conditioning was not so pleasant. Stan, my taxi driver who I call whenever I need a ride somewhere, met me at the airport. If he’s not available, he sends a friend. This time it was he and another guy driving his van. On the way to the airport on Friday he told me about his wife and 2 girlfriends. I’m not sure if he was kidding or what…I’ve found that Tanzanians like to tease me, so sometimes I do not know if they are saying something just to see my reaction or if it is, in fact, true. Back in Mwanza, one of the research assistants told me I had to curtsy every time I shook a man’s hand. He would laugh at me every time I shook someone’s hand, so I thought he was teasing me. Turns out it’s true, at least in the rural areas.

The past few days have been long ones at the office analyzing data, hiring translators for the Swahili transcripts, and meeting with people on the HIV and cross-generational sex project on which I will be working next time I come. My to-do list for work has grown enormous, and I am now feeling overwhelmed by the amount of work I have to do on all of these projects. But I suppose that’s better than feeling bored. And it will give me lots more reasons to come back to Tanzania.

In the evenings, Mari and I have been sampling the various restaurants in Dar. We’ve had Indian and Ethiopian, both of which were delicious. The Indian place (Biwani Khana) was especially funny because it was all Tanzanians working as servers. They were dressed in yellow traditional Indian kurtas and little hats. The trim of their outfits was embellished with red and lots of sequins. Every time one of them came to the table, we started giggling because they just looked so funny and out of place with the rest of the atmosphere. The restaurant was beautiful, and the food was delicious. The owner wore way too much cologne, but he came over to see how we liked the food in the middle of the meal, so that was nice. Definitely a place I will frequent during my next trip.

The Ethiopian restaurant was also delicious—a place called Addis in Dar. It had come recommended by my diving guide. Mari and I shared a large plate of 3 different dishes, eaten with our fingers and the injera bread. Afterwards, Mari had Ethiopian coffee and I had Ethiopian tea, and both of our serving plates were sprinkled with popcorn. The rooftop seating allowed for a nice breeze to blow through, and I sat there thinking how lucky I was to be in that particular moment. The last time I had eaten Ethiopian food was when I lived in Connecticut, so I was happy.

Tomorrow night I leave for the airport and my 24-hour journey home. Although it feels like I have been here forever, it will be sad now that I am developing relationships with some locals—people at the hotel, my colleagues, etc.—and finding nice places to dine. It will certainly be nice to return to a place where I know people and places when I come back in the spring.

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