I made my first Thanksgiving dinner and did it in Kigoma--surely I get extra points for that. No one died of salmonella poisoning. And although a giardia and/or E. Coli outbreak did pop up post-dinner, nobody can prove it came from my kitchen--I blame Sun City. Americans got enough food, and then I plied the Spanish community of Kigoma with drinks and pies. Success!
There are special challenges that come with preparing a turkey dinner in Kigoma. Foremost is turkey. I did some preliminary research in September by wandering around the market and asking the guys who hang out next to the poultry stalls, full of chickens about to meet their maker, if they know where to get a...kind of bird.
-No not a chicken it's bigger than that. No, not a duck either, it's even bigger. And it has this weird red thing that hangs down from it's neck. (waggling hand motion).
-Oh! Yes! Bata mzinga! Hmm. Well, a few years ago there were some Baptists who kept bata mzinga. But I haven't seen them in a while. Maybe you can try Mwanga.
That was enough research for me. I was confident that if people at least had some idea what a turkey was, I would be able to find one somewhere in Kigoma Urban District suitable for a real Thanksgiving meal. And plus you can find anything in Mwanga; why not a turkey?
Then last Monday I realized I had made a mistake that only a novice to Tanzania would make; not enough follow-up. Because while everything does work out in the end, usually it works out best if you constantly are calling people and meeting with people and having them meet with their people about getting done what you need to get done. I needed expert help to remedy my lack of foresight. Asha.
-A big bird with a red thing that hangs down that's not a chicken or a guinea fowl or a duck? Oh, yes! Bata mzinga! I think I saw one walking around Mwanga. Let me look for you tomorrow and I'll let you know how much it is.
She walked through Mwanga and up the hill of Kilimahewa, got lost, turned around, and then finally found herself in the sprawling home of a retired Chagga guy who keeps all sorts of fowl in his yard and charges exorbitant prices for turkey. Which, by the way, are absolutely disgusting live. But delicious roasted, so on Wednesday we bought the turkey and proceeded to the butcher in Mwanga. Asha did the dirty work while Carson and I huddled in a nearby kanga stall. She emerged victorious, and we followed docilely behind while she strutted through the market carrying a plastic bag with two limp turkey feet and a few long turkey feathers spilling over the top.
24 hours later, this is what we got.
*photo credit to Rob, who incidentally was a key player in the anti-salmonella effort. Asante sana.