birthdays in Africa cont….

I started this story a few days ago, if you want to catch the beginning start here.

 

I placed both trays of cake batter on a metal sheet and then the head baker carefully set the tray in the opening of the oven. He took a long pole and pushed it back into the oven into “the spot”. It took him a moment or two to find it, but he seemed to be looking for this perfect spot in the oven to bake. He then covered the opening with another metal tray with some kind of contraption that I cannot begin to explain.

 

I then began waiting on the sidelines of the bakery, to just watch the bakery production. I was in heaven. After a few minutes of standing aganist the wall a plastic chair that was missing its back was brought in for me to sit on. I was really flattered but felt super silly that I was sitting doing nothing, while all the bakers were working so very hard in a very hot bakery. Just sitting in the bakery was enough to make sweat pour down my back. After a few minutes I asked if it was okay if I took a few pictures, and they agreed. I got a bit braver a few minutes later and asked if they would be willing to teach me how to make mendazi and to my great joy, they told me to come back any time and they would be happy to teach me. (there was a small discussion before they agreed about wether I was strong or not, but after I lifted a few trays full of dough I seemed to satisify their doubt) After 25 minutes I asked to take a look at the cake, and the baker brought out his long pole and carefully pulled out the tray with my two cakes on it. I was extremely happy to see that both cakes turned out beautifully. When I looked up from inspecting the cake I realized that everyone in the bakery was huddled around to see what I had asked to bake. A few asked what I called it, and I responded “chocolate cake”. It seemed that most had not heard of chocolate cake, but then they asked me if I could teach them how to make one. I am more than excited to swap skills with my bakery friends in the near future. How great would it be to get my first bakery experience in Juba?!

 

I told everyone at NP that we would be having cake and drinks around 8:30-9pm that evening and everyone gathered together to celebrate K’s birthday. We were also able to find some whipping cream for icing on the cake. After about a half hour of hand whipping the cream was ready to go on the cake. And the party began. K introduced everyone to a few episodes of Portlandia and a few of his favorite SNL sketches… he was in heaven. The cake turned out better than I had imagined and even K was impressed. By the end of the day I was exhausted, but so glad that K had a special day. A little creativity and adventure paid off in the end. Happy 30^th K, I am so happy that you decided to join me in the 30’s.

birthdays in Africa…

Birthdays in Africa can be super great, but you just have to set your sights at being creative, and think out of the box. So when I was packing for Juba in January I decided to add a few things to help me make K’s up coming 30th birthday a bit more fun. I decided to make a cake mix, thinking that I would not be able to find anything close to a birthday cake. I was kind of right, there are actually a few options for cake and other sweets in Juba, but it is really expensive and to be honest it would not even come close to satisfy K’s sweet tooth. So bringing a chocolate cake mix was a genius idea. Well it was until I learned that the NP guesthouse, where we are living does not have an oven. But being determined to make K’s birthday super great and memorable I got a bit creative.

A week or so before K’s birthday a colleague of mine introduced me to a local Ugandan bakery that is right around the corner from our office. This bakery specializes in mendazi. These lovely raised dough balls are deep-fried, beautifully crispy on the outside and nice and fluffy on the inside. The bakery supplies several hotels so they are busy making hundreds of mendazi a day. The bakery also has a large oven where they bake bread and I noted this while I was given the tour of the bakery.

Now if you know me at all, you know that I secretly, or maybe not so secretly love to bake and dream about having my own bakery some day. So not only was I in heaven hanging out in the bakery but I was also thinking that perhaps these kind Ugandans would not mind letting me bake a small cake for my husband. So my coworker and I asked and they were very gracious and agreed to let me use the oven.

So let me paint a picture for you. A normal oven has a door and a number of dials to control the temperature. This oven however did not have those two things, which I normally think are vital for an oven. But I am always up for an adventure so no problem I just decided to wing it. The oven is close to the size of a small kitchen, and is powered by an open fire. Knowing that they bake bread in this oven, I estimated that the temp was at least 350F degrees and that the cake would take about 20 to 25 minutes. With that solved I only needed to work out a baking pan in which to bake the cake in.

K and I have been eating lunch locally at a restaurant a few blocks from our office, called, (I kid you not) My Local. We normally have an order of rice and beans and take half of it back to the office for the next day. It is a smoking good deal as we both can eat two meals for about five or six bucks. I cannot cook for less than that, and honestly it is really good. But these take-away boxes are flimsy metal trays with paper tops. A few nights before K’s birthday I was laying awake, listening to the loud dance music of our neighboring pool hall when I remembered these trays and thought they would be perfect. I would need two trays but I just happened to have two trays of left overs in the frig just waiting for me to use them.

The night before K’s birthday I sent him to our common room for an hour and quickly water-colored several pieces of paper to make a paper chain to decorate the front door of our room. It is all about the color and being creative in your decorating. If money and constant electricity were not an issue, there is a grocery store here in Juba that sells five-foot trees that light up on the tips, and I totally would have bought one, as it would have been a stellar decoration! Nothing screams happy 30th birthday like a fake tree that lights up.

The morning of the big day I woke up early and quietly snuck into the kitchen and whipped up a batch of French toast and surprised K with breakfast in bed. Growing up my Mom used to always give us breakfast in bed on our birthdays. I always remember it being super special and a great way to start your birthday. Breakfast was a hit, as well as the fun paper chain which I hung before I brought breakfast in. However, I’m short and didn’t have a chair or anything to stand on to hang the chain higher… so the lowest part of the chain actually came to K’s shoulder… we both had a good laugh about it.

The day flew by with meetings and the business of being in Juba, but I kept looking forward to my trip to the bakery. When the time finally came I quickly mixed the cake and poured the batter into two trays. I carefully walked around the corner and into the bakery, where I had 20 some Ugandan bakers waiting for me.

More to come…

a billion reasons…

This last week in Harare the Harare International Festival of the Arts (HIFA) has been in full swing. K and I have been extremely fortunate to be able to attend the opening evening show as well as hang out during the day on Saturday listening to some great local musicians, eat great food, and check out some really beautiful crafts. (We all know I’m a sucker for a good craft market)

Its been a really great time to experience the culture and art of Zimbabwe in a way that we don’t normally see in the rural locations that we work in. I have found myself falling in love with Zimbabwe and it’s people. Zimbabwe is just coming back from economic collapse and many are still struggling to support their families. I often see the hardships and struggles in people’s lives here. And let me just say that I feel its important not to be naive to those hardships and struggles. That’s why K and I are working with Medair. It’s why we are in Zimbabwe. We aren’t blind to the struggle for basic needs in Africa and around the world. We are passionate about bridging the gap between those who have and those who do not.

However, just because there is a large gap does not mean that there are not things to be joyful about or that life here isn’t at all beautiful. This week at HIFA I was reminded that there are a billion reasons to be believe in Africa. “A billion reasons to believe in Africa” is actually the slogan of Coke a Cola in Africa. The slogan was on signs and posters everywhere on the grounds of the festival. I read it over and over through out our time at the festival, and something really clicked within me. This slogan really resounded within me as I watched the dancing groups, and listened to musical groups. I”ve always had a place in my heart for Africa, even before I first visited. I remember standing on the beach in southern Spain, looking across the water and knowing that I was looking in the direction of Africa. I was only 18 years old but some how then I knew I would visit and maybe even live there.

The video above is a song that was done for the Coke a Cola ad campaign in Africa. Yes,  the video is trying to sell Coke, but honestly it really shows the unity and pride Africans feel for their home.  At HIFA K and I were able to see the man who sings this song live. He sang this very song at the festival and it impacted me more than I can say. I had never heard the song before the festival but I’ll be honest to say I was singing along with the whole crowd at the end of the song. People were up from their seats dancing and everyone was singing “I love you Africa”. It was a moment where I felt like I belonged here because I share the same love for Africa. I love the bright colors, I love the passion and inhibition that allows for people to begin to dance at any time. I love that people hold hands to show that they are friends, I love the culture of calling the older generation mother or father as a sign of respect. There are a billion reasons to believe in Africa… and a billion more for loving Africa. I feel extremely grateful for the chance to experience each reason.

I love you Africa. (I think in my heart I’m becoming a Zimbo)

things occupying my mind…

Since we are still in Harare writing and revising project proposals I don’t have exciting and new stories to share. Proposal writing is exhausting and really tedious work. I have a wonderful college with whom I’m sharing the work load and has made these last few weeks more bearable! But to satisfy my creative side I’ve had to supplement my long work days with lots of fun projects. What kind of projects you ask? (K doesn’t ask cause he knows he will get roped into some kind of crazy crafting night)

Knitted WashCloths

I just finished knitting my first washcloth. I used this pattern. I like how the washcloths look stacked together, so I’m planning to knit several more just so that I can stack them together. Yes, I know how that sounds. One of my colleges ask me if I knew that I could buy washcloths already made when I showed her. I’m getting lots of craft support here. (Can you hear the sarcasm? Is it coming through the interwebs? Just wanted to make sure you were missing it)

Recipes

I’ve been on the new eating clean kick. The concept behind it is not to eat processed food. Its not super hard to follow but it does require some prep work. But of course once I decide to start eating healthier I come across all these amazing recipes. Like this one. I found this recipe on the Joy The Baker blog. Let me tell you I want to be friends with Joy if she is willing. Also I plan to balloon up to 300 pounds… which is fine right?

Cool Internet Things

I started a new bookmarks list which I call “Time on your hands”. I think K would translate it into “wasting time” but come on where can you come up with a color palette based on a photograph? Oh you can do it here. Oh you are looking for a new craft project. Well why don’t you look here? Are you on a diet and just want to stare at really good looking food? Do it here and or here. If you are in the mood for some entertaining reading, this should do.

Photographs

In our house in Harare, there is a bathroom which is painted white with white tile and in the afternoon around 2pm the light in the room becomes magnificent. No, really its amazing. I make a point to take a break about 2pm and just go in the bathroom and enjoy the light. I will have to take a picture someday to capture the light. It just draws me in and makes me want to stay. But speaking of light, I found this colorful art installation. I love the light and shadow of these pictures.

 Reading

I’ve been reading up a storm these last few months. (Well what I consider a storm) I love coming across great books and the sadness that comes once you finish a book and have to part with the characters. Here’s my little list:

Divergent

The Particular Sadness of Yellow Cake

Small as an Elephant

The Seamstress (currently reading and loving every page)

Listening

I’m always looking for new music, so feel free to share what you are listening to.

Of Monsters and Men

Young the Giant

Bon Iver

So there it is. Pretty much a summary of what my brain focuses on while I’m not writing proposals. (Oh and worrying about the future, but there is nothing new about that one, plus there aren’t any pretty pictures for worrying)

Happy Thursday.

what are you eating?

It’s the classic question that anyone who has traveled internationally gets. Sense most everyone is so keen on knowing our diet I decided it was worth blogging about. We are living with our friends Gene and Melba who have been living here in Turkana for 16 plus years. Their kitchen is fairly American, and we have been eating typical American fare during the week. (however, I have discovered pizza rice, which I’m totally loving)

The work week in Kenya is Monday through Saturday… I know like we need another day to work, but I’m trying to play by their rules. Saturdays are team meeting days, where Gene and Melba and the team of nationals sit down and discuss projects, up coming events, and overall administration. It’s a really great way of hearing from the team how things are going. After the meeting we all have lunch together. Lunch is ordered out earlier that morning and someone has to go pick it up. The meal is very Kenyan and parts are extremely good.  First there is the chapati, this is like flat bread and you use it to wrap around the ugali, which is kind of like collared greens but not really. And then there is the goat stew, I’m gonna be honest and tell you that goat and I do not agree. I have liked it in my mind to the mutton that was served to me at Capenwray, in England. Both the goat and the mutton taste as though you are eating the oldest and grumpiness animal you could find. Long story short, it’s not my favorite. However, I will eat goat in a samosa. Samosas are the best. They are deep fat fried bread pockets of goat meat and spices… its brilliant.

Anyways that is what we are eating… what are you eating?