Shopping day

I woke up about 1:00am and went to the bathroom. I was surprised to see Debi in the living room. She couldn’t sleep so she was planning the menu for thanksgiving. So we talked for about half hour and then I went back to bed. Don left for work in the morning and Debi slept in. Mabo, the housekeeper, came and started doing the dishes. After Debi and I had breakfast, she was about to jump in the shower when the power went out! There was still hot water but you need a pump for the shower to work.
Linda told us that it wasn’t too later to order a turkey but they are about $7 a pound. We invited Rebecca, the wife of one of the visiting residents, to join us. She gets a bit lonely so was happy to come along. On the way, Debi made a right turn on the new traffic light’s green arrow. Guess what? We were pulled over again! The policeman said she made an illegal turn and Debi said there was a green arrow. Just then we saw the cop from yesterday and he recognized Debi. He came over with a big smile and said hello, kind of laughing. He put out his hand to shake but Debi wasn’t having it. She said there was a green arrow so he said that we could go. Debi was just livid. This was the 19th time she has been pulled over since she’s been here.
So we went to Meat King and Debi decided to splurge and ordered a turkey. We went on to a spice shop, a tee shirt shop and 2 grocery stores. We couldn’t find canned pumpkin, no surprise, but no fresh pumpkin either. We dropped Rebecca back home and went back to our place. We have been invited to Upendo’s house for a special dinner along with a few of the medical residents. So Debi was bringing rice and appetizers. We still had no power but she put the rice cooker on their back up line. I helped make the guacamole. Then the alternate power went off too and the rice wasn’t done. So we took it with us and all our goodies. We stopped to pick up Verdianna, a Tanzanian medical student who had been in an accident with a motorcycle and hurt her leg. She came on crutches.
The party was next door at Upendo’s rental house which was being repaired. This is real Tanzanian living. Actually they are better off than many, since they own rental property. The house was very bare and small but had indoor bathroom. Orjantan took me on a tour. We went next door to their house where Upendo’s and another relative were making chapate. It’s bread, kind of like a tortilla in shape. He showed me their two cows and the new baby. The other cow is pregnant so they are doing well. They also have a lot of chickens. They recently built a new bathroom on the property. There is a place to bathe but you bring a bucket of water in with you. And there is a toilet like they have in India. Known as a squatty potty.
When dinner was ready, we had rice and beans and cooked greens with chapte. The beans were delicious and the chapate the best. And they served chai masala to drink. It is spiced tea with hot milk and sugar. I love it!
Don had brought his projector so we watched Charlie Chaplin silent movies. It was really a special evening and I was honored to be invited to their home.
We drove back and there was still no power so I used my iPhone flashlight to get ready for bed. Another great day!