This a great story from back in December when I went on my first date in Tanzania.
Eric took me out in Morogoro to a nice restaurant near the bus stand. I was happy with his choice, the place had nice vibe- traditional Tanzanian food and live music. It was almost 8pm, we were both hungry so we quickly ordered french fries cooked with fried eggs (chipsi mayai). Within five minutes our food was ready. We received our hot greasy plates but only Eric’s came to the table with a fork. He called the waiter back over and asked for another utensil.
A few minutes passed and I looked over at the kitchen area. I noticed a bunch of the wait staff were in a heated discussion and pointing at me. I didn’t think too much of it since I was the only white person around. Its quite normal to be elevated to celebrity status while in public. Then all the sudden the cook came out from the back kitchen and over to our table.
In Kiswahili he asked, "You want Fork?"
Eric replied "Yes, we need another fork"
that was when the cook simply stated, “I am fork... You see, my name is Fork.”
We all had a good laugh as we simultaneously realized the mistake and the irony of this man named Fork working in a restaurant.
P.S. I also met a man named Onion on Easter Sunday…
Me and Onion!
Eric took me out in Morogoro to a nice restaurant near the bus stand. I was happy with his choice, the place had nice vibe- traditional Tanzanian food and live music. It was almost 8pm, we were both hungry so we quickly ordered french fries cooked with fried eggs (chipsi mayai). Within five minutes our food was ready. We received our hot greasy plates but only Eric’s came to the table with a fork. He called the waiter back over and asked for another utensil.
A few minutes passed and I looked over at the kitchen area. I noticed a bunch of the wait staff were in a heated discussion and pointing at me. I didn’t think too much of it since I was the only white person around. Its quite normal to be elevated to celebrity status while in public. Then all the sudden the cook came out from the back kitchen and over to our table.
In Kiswahili he asked, "You want Fork?"
Eric replied "Yes, we need another fork"
that was when the cook simply stated, “I am fork... You see, my name is Fork.”
We all had a good laugh as we simultaneously realized the mistake and the irony of this man named Fork working in a restaurant.
P.S. I also met a man named Onion on Easter Sunday…
