After a fun evening celebrating the New Year, we started our morning bright and early with Spanish omelets at the Lutheran Center before heading off to class across the street. In lecture, we learned about design constraints and talked about expectations for our upcoming stay in rural villages near Iringa. We finished off our morning walking back and forth across the parking lot to figure out the length of our strides.
For lunch, we went to a local restaurant called Hasty Tasty and enjoyed some local cuisine before heading back to the Lutheran Center to work on our first homework assignment—practicing analysis of a gravity-fed water distribution system in preparation for our projects.
After homework, we had some free time to explore Iringa. First on our list was the marketplace, where we enjoyed the colorful fruits, but not so much the smell of dried fish. Our next priority was to find fabric to bring to a tailor for suits, shirts and dresses—stay tuned for the funky outfits ahead! We encountered many firsts on our walk through the city, such as giant avocados, green oranges, and large snails.
Our last stop of the day was Sai Villa, a beautiful restaurant with an amazing view of the city below. The trenches at the sides of the road claimed their first victim on our walk there. “Matt’s not the tallest one in the group when he’s in the ditch.” Not to worry though, all injuries were to the ego. Others were late to arrive to dinner due to pressing salon appointments. It’s hard to pass up a $7 manicure! Our family-style dinner was fun and great conversation as we enjoy this amazing country and look forward to our projects ahead.
