The Kindness of Strangers

I had another adventure in the grocery store today, as I am attempting to cook (yes, shocking) very simple things. This is largely b/c while I like the outdoor bars here, the food is dubious and not cheap enough to eat at restaurants nightly. Today, I was set on a salad.

I first went to Shrijees, a bit closer to our apartment, but the lettuce looked sad and the tomatoes were ugly. Saturday’s aren’t the best day to buy produce since Tanzania is a largely Muslim country (especially Dar and the coastline) and many do not work on Friday – hence no new produce on Saturday. But, the search was on.

After venturing down the road to Shopper’s Plaza grocery, I was in the produce “section” (that’s not saying much) and was trying to figure out what I needed to do to prepare the lettuce to remove the potential critters and stuff that would make me sick. I asked a lady who was shopping with her husband and daughter for advice on how to prepare the lettuce – and she gave me some tips.

She gave me some general Dar advice, as they have lived here about a year, as her husband works as a health policy expert for the World Bank. She shared that there are definitely cheaper and higher quality produce available through local markets that are much better than the sad produce on the shelves and gave me her number to visit her and their family this week. We parted ways and I headed off to buy white vinegar to rinse my veggies in after I rinse them in local water, then in purified water, and then in a small amount of vinegar before drying and eating.

The nice lady came up to me again as I was checking out and offered to take me by two of her favorite places with their driver before dropping me home, since that was safer than me walking down the road with $25 US (which buys way less than you would think) of grocery.

It turns out the best veggie places are ones I go by every day – you just barely notice they are there. She introduced me to the shop owners who helped me pick out some lettuce and tomatoes, as I wanted salad for dinner. It was literally 1/5 of the price. They then dropped me home and invited me to tea (!) on Monday.

I prepared a salad for myself, closely following her instructions – and I am still alive, so that is a good sign. There is hope for the veggie market yet – both for me (very small buyer) and Tanzania (big!). I am particularly gracious to their kindness and I am glad to feel like I know more about some of the hole in the wall places right around me.