The Korean Gift Exchange has begun!

I've been reading about how much Koreans like to exchange small gifts with friends and I had mentally prepared myself to buy a stash of stuff in preparation for the move. I did not, however, expect this gift exhange to begin whilst we were still in Arusha!

My husband Jouni works for the British council, and teaches English at different levels. Turns out some of his students and Korean, and he received a brown paper bag filled with these snacks and instant coffees from one of them last week. We spent a long time thinking about what we could send back: since I had just returned from England and was well stocked in the snack department, we sent some different English chocolate bars and a postcard from London.

This culture of giving and receiving gift for no reason will be an exciting part of our lives very soon!

Rotating Sushi

 I went with my lovely friends Louise and Debbie to eat rotating sushi in Portsmouth. I understand that this style of sushi restaurant has become somewhat passe in England but for someone like me who lives in Tanzania they still represent the very pinnacle of sophistication!

I'm aware of how grey all my photos in England look compared to the ones I take in Tanzania. It's because England is so much darker! I miss the sun already.

Making Pasta with my Mum

 This evening my Mum and I made pasta for dinner, using her pasta making machine. It was really fun: I think I used to have the play-doh version of this machine when I was young. You start with a ball of dough and you keep on sliding it through the machine until it gets really thin.

It was delicious and only took about 10 minutes to make. Whilst I try not to buy machines because we move all the time, I think it'd be worth getting if you are the kind of person who likes to stay in one place.

Happy Easter!

 For Easter I had a Kinder Egg. Words cannot describe the awesomeness of this overpriced import.

Have you had a Kinder Egg as an adult? What did you do with the toy?

Free Lunch

 

 My friend Liz gave me an invitation to a free lunch at Blue Ginger! The restaurant opened about a month ago and is inside the Themi suites complex at Njiro. I guess nobody knew they were open, so they decided to do the free lunch as a promo event.

You could order whatever sandwiches/ croissants you wanted and they made them for you with the fillings. I got a sandwich at first but then I was so jealous of Jouni's croissant that I ordered one of those too!

It was going to be a ladies lunch, but since it was happening two minutes away from Jouni's work I had to call him and inform him of the bounty.

 I wore my hair in this 'fashionable' style that I got from watching Lizzie Mcguire. I recommend trying it. It only took five minutes and your head stays cool on a hot day.

Perhaps in honour of the free lunch the chef had created some impressive bread sculptures:

I guess the free lunch promo tactic worked because a lot of people said they would go there for lunch regularly now that they know it is there. I would, too, if it weren't over an hour from my home! To be honest, everything is far away from my home: we live in the countryside.

Sushi in Arusha

 Finally, good sushi has arrived in Arusha! Although there is a japanese restaurant here which serves warm sushi, and a pub which serves frozen sushi, Picasso's restaurant is the first place to offer sushi at a suitable eating temperature. We went there tonight and enjoyed this big plate alongside cocktails.

I just love sushi! I'm not sure which I love more: the taste or the presentation. Also at Picasso they put out chopstick holders and bamboo place mats and those little bowls for soy sauce.

Someday I'll make some sushi from felt. It's such an appealing-looking food that I'm sure kids would like to play with it even if they don't know what it is. Check out this beautiful set by Sweetie Pie Bakery!

Potato Clock

Do you ever feel that every blog you read is secretly trying to tell you 'My home is better than your home'? I do, and it's annoying. But in this particular instance, my home actually IS better than your home. Unless you too are lucky enough to possess a stylish potato clock:

 It looks fantastic and really works: we've had it up and running for about a week. We have ours in the lounge but I think it would also look cool in a kitchen or in an office, particularly the kind of office with cubicles where everything is kind of blah. I'm no scientist, but I guess that if the potatoes run out of power, you can replace them with some new ones!

To make the potato clock I think you really just need some potatoes and some bits of metal and wire, along with a clock fitting. We used this nifty kit that we got from Amazon:

It doesn't only work with potatoes! Also with lemons and soda, according to the instructions. I'd love to try it with pineapples! What are your ideas for things to test it with?