Day 4: First day in Iringa!

Hi everyone! We had a great first day in Iringa. We woke up nice and early for a Swahili lesson taught by Joyce, where we learned many things, including subject, tense, and verb. Our favorite phrase was “Ninaweza kununua maembe wapi?” (Where can I buy mangos?). Afterward, we split into groups and headed to three different restaurants: Clock Work Café, Neema, and Ruksana. Clock Work Café was a classic hole-in-the-wall with traditional Tanzanian cuisine. 

Hi everyone! We had a great first day in Iringa. We woke up nice and early for a Swahili lesson taught by Joyce, where we learned many things, including subject, tense, and verb. Our favorite phrase was “Ninaweza kununua maembe wapi?” (Where can I buy mangos?).

Afterward, we split into groups and headed to three different restaurants: Clock Work Café, Neema, and Ruksana. Clock Work Café was a classic hole-in-the-wall with traditional Tanzanian cuisine. We ordered food, and three hours later, we finally made it out of the restaurant. This gave us a good experience of operating on Tanzanian time. Unfortunately, this meant our planned fluid mechanics lecture had to be postponed until tomorrow.

We then made our way to the fabric store to pick out beautiful patterns for custom clothes. It was so hard to choose that Nick and Santi ended up selecting fabrics for each other as a surprise.

We then headed to the tailor to share our design ideas and get measured. Afterward, some groups visited the fruit market to find ripe avocados, juicy mangoes, a fresh pineapple, and a disappointing watermelon. One group rode back in a bajaji, which was surprisingly safe and fun.

When we returned to the Lutheran Center, we were ravenous for the fruit, so we grabbed a multitool and sliced up the mangoes. We brought them outside and sat there, eating the fruit and enjoying the ethereal experience of a ripe mango. During our downtime, people also purchased various carvings and paintings from Paul, the local carver at the Lutheran Center. Big hits included cribbage boards, paintings, and carved animals. Zane also found a chameleon, which is definitely our new favorite reptile!

Our next stop was the Iringa Sunset Hotel, where we enjoyed stunning views and a delicious meal.

We ended the day with some fun games before heading to bed. It was a fantastic day in Iringa!

- Blog post by Ali and Austin