During the second half of our week at MS-TCDC, we had a cultural cooking session with our teachers & grounds staff. At this class session, my class of Aisling, Sean, and I, joined with the other beginner Swahili class there, and the intermediate class, to help prepare various Tanzanian dishes.
We made chips mayai (French fries cooked with egg and vegetables), samosas (veggie & beef alike), a fruit juice blend or cocktail, pilau (seasoned rice with beef), and meats on the grill. I diced up a whole chicken with the help of Vincent (grounds crew gentleman pictured above) setting the marks where I would ultimately dice.
The beautiful thing about this afternoon, is that we helped prepare a lot of the dishes that we had been consistently enjoying for some time, and then shared the meal with everyone; other staff, faculty, and administration.
Plus, at MS-TCDC, the team feel, where everyone is committed to the mission of helping people learn how to speak Swahili, was on full display with people in addition to the teachers, helping us practice and learn how to cook Tanzanian food!
Tanzanian Times 