Since everyone was feeling better, we decided to venture out for Arabic food at a little Lebanese restaurant (clearly, I like to live dangerously!). Olaf, Sunday and I basically ordered almost everything on the menu that could be shared and dipped. We had tabouli, stuffed grape leaves, baba ghanoush, lentil soup, some other things which I cannot recall the name of, and of course, hummus (those who know me know of my undying love for the stuff, I could quite possibly happily drown in it!) It was again a really fantastic meal, (those who were worried I might starve for lack of fine cuisine can rest assured that this will absolutely not happen here in Dar). The evening was made even better by the wonderful company I had and some of the best do it yourself dj-ing I have come across. The restaurant was great and we sat outside but it became clear that what it missed was a little musical ambience. Sunday to the rescue. To my gleeful surprise, Sunday had all the old school hip hop and R&B your heart could desire saved to his BB and we had a wonderful time listening to some old school jams while we ate (yes, there was some singing along, which probably perturbed the other patrons to no end). I did manage to snap a couple of pictures of the food and will post them tomorrow.
I learned some more lessons this week. One is that what is considered Arabic food has also been called Mediterranean food in certain parts of the world which I find interesting. I also learned that the kissing sound made my men (I have not yet seen or heard a woman do it) on the street in Dar is not meant disrespectfully towards anyone but is in fact used as a way to get attention, whether the conductor on the daladala is letting the driver know someone wants to get off or a bicyclist is warning you to get out of the way. Other things that I have noticed while here is that British football teams are hugely popular. I see a lot of Arsenal and Manchester United gear all over but especially on the daladala and I always wonder if they have teamed up with fellow supporters and have a little Arsenal fan club of daladalas. I’ve also noticed that very few people here smoke. The reason I noticed this is because I smelled a cigarette yesterday at the restaurant and realized that was the first time I had smelled cigarette smoke since I arrived here. (For those of you concerned, no, I have not started smoking again!) Lastly, I have noticed how well-dressed most people are. Now, to be fair, they are probably, just like me, heading to work, but I am quite impressed by the men in their dress pants and long sleeve shirts (it can get quite hot) and the ladies who wear heals even though the roads are mostly dirt and very uneven- now that takes talent! The last thing that is worth noting is that before cell phones I'm not sure how people communicated. At the office I'm working in people do not just approach each other's desks. Instead, they will text each other from less than 4 feet away. By the way, we all sit in a big room, you wouldn't actually have to leave your chair to have a conversation. I realize that this may all be out of politeness to the other workers, but it seems a little bit extreme (and very quiet). Don't people just talk anymore?!
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