Tanzania: The First Week in Iringa

After the events of my first weekend in Iringa, I was ready to settle down into a quiet week of classes. Unfortunately, this was not to be. Unlike the US, classes in Tanzania seem to run to a flexible time schedule. Although we were supposed to start classes on the Monday, our professors and the university simply weren't ready for us! It definitely is very different from the US, where there would be outrage (from parents, if not students) if classes did not begin on the date specified.

Nonetheless, we had a very relaxed week, which mainly involved spending a couple of hours in Swahili and Research Methodology (the two classes taught by our CIEE team, which were definitely not cancelled) and exploring Iringa! I felt pretty crummy for the first few days--the side effects of the medicine I was taking to kill off the parasite. Fortunately, it killed them off before it did too much harm to me!

Given our wide-open schedule this week, I took the opportunity to sample Iringa's culinary offerings. For a small town, with a very small ex-pat community, Iringa has a surprisingly large number of authentically foreign restaurants. Two of the places I visited this week were unique in their own ways. The first place, Info Iringa, is a small cafe located right on one of the main roads in Iringa. Although you wouldn't know it from the front, the back of the cafe has a lovely patio where you can sit, enjoy the beautiful weather (it hasn't rained yet in Iringa), and eat amazing food!

During my visit to Info Iringa, I partook in a coffee milkshake (making up for both a lack of dairy and a lack of coffee in my diet) and several small savory pies. Although I would wager that the pies at PieBird (for those who live in Raleigh) are slightly better, these were pretty tasty. That said, given our standard diet of rice, beans, and meat at the university (it's perfectly edible, but doesn't change much), anything would taste nice. See below for photos of the food!

The Milkshake...very creamy!

The pies...which were equally tasty!

In the middle of the week, we got the opportunity to go to Gangilonga Rock. Our friend at the cafe, James, offered to take us up there. We had been looking for an opportunity to go, but we needed guides and Tanzanian backup, since it is a crime hotspot where many thieves (apparently) hide out. As a result, we went with our Tanzanian friend plus Justin and his dogs. (Many of the Tanzanians we passed were terrified of the dogs...a cultural difference from the states probably caused by the many stray dogs here)

Our Canine Companions

It was a short hike to the top of Gangilonga Rock, which required a bit of scrambling (including a very narrow bit). Before long, however, we were at the top--and the views were unbelievable. Iringa was laid out below us, a mismatched quilt of buildings covering the valley. It was very pretty!

The narrow climb up to the top!

Looking out over the valley

Looking out in the other direction

Following our climb up to the rock, I was hungry! After our tasty experience at Info Iringa, I was skeptical that any food experience here could top that. However, I was about to be proven wrong during my visit later in the week to the Greek Club. Located behind the Greek Orthodox church (yes, there's one in Iringa, of all places), the Greek Club is perhaps the most unmarked and hard to find place in Iringa. Even once we found it, we weren't sure if we were in the right place. There was nobody else around and only a few tables to sit out. Fortunately, someone came out and invited us to sit down. According to Justin, our director, the Greek Club serves the best hamburgers in Iringa. Although the other 3 in my group decided to go with the hamburger, I went with a bacon and cheese calzone, plus coffee. I was not to be disappointed. The calzone was good, but the star was the coffee. Justin had mentioned that the Greek Club's coffee was possibly the best in Iringa. It was certainly an impressive display. When the coffee arrived, I was given a French Press, steamed milk, cup and saucer, sugar, chocolate shavings (?!), and a sugar biscuit. I'd never had chocolate shavings served with coffee before, but they were amazing. See below for a photo:

The best coffee I've had in a while!

As we left the Greek Club, we were treated to a rather spectacular sunset with the Greek Orthodox church in the background. I also snapped a shot of the sunset on campus a bit later--equally beautiful. Although I might not fully appreciate American sunsets, the sunsets here are truly gorgeous. The hues of the sun were truly beautiful. It seemed like a fitting way to round out the day!

The Sunset & Greek Orthodox Church

The sunset on campus

Later this week, I will have an update about the weekend--we went on an expedition to two sites near Iringa. Until then--baadaye (later)!