Day 59

Of the 14 meals we typically eat at the Isimila hotel per week (breakfast and dinner), I have goulash soup and chapattis for an average of 8-10 of them. It’s hard to explain the irresistible lure of the goulash soup. First of all, it doesn’t resemble goulash whatsoever. I know this because in 2008, my sister and I went on what became an informal goulash tour of Austria, Hungary, and the Czech Republic. What started as an innocent holiday between sisters became a goulash education. That’s how I know that what I eat for breakfast and dinner most days is really just beef vegetable soup. However, that doesn’t make it any less tasty. It reminds me of something my Mom or Baba would make, and it’s filling without being heavy. I tend to want to eat it in the mornings and evening when Iringa is at its coldest. So far, it’s one of the only reliable menu items that doesn’t aggravate my Malarone-sensitive stomach. Finally, I’m pretty sure I’m incapable of getting sick of it. This morning, there was quite literally a fly in my goulash soup. I didn’t think that actually happened! I tried to pick it out and soldier on (after all, we are in Africa) but I was too put off. I swore to myself that I would cool it on the goulash soup for awhile. However, 8 hours later at dinner, I was right back on the soup train. I don’t know what kind of spell it has put on me, but I have a feeling I’m actually going to miss it when I’m back in Canada. That is, after I gorge on every fast food known to man. In the middle of the night it will call to me and I’ll shed a tear for my lost soup.

You may have noticed that I just wrote a blog post about soup. Well boys and girls, that’s because we’ve reached the most high-stress period of this entire field season. I’ll try my best to continue posting, but time is pretty limited these days. Tomorrow is our last day at the site, where we will have roughly 6 hours to excavate one more level, backfill our 2x3 metre trench, and then visit the closest village, Nyamahana, to report of our summer findings. I’m not sure how we intend to bend the laws of space and time to accommodate all that, but I’m interested to see how it goes. Afterwards, we are allowing ourselves one day to wash and catalogue all of the remaining artifacts boxes (which currently stands at 2.5) and pack them for transport back to Dar es Salaam. Wednesday will be dedicated to office visits, packing, and last minute shopping in the hopes that we can leave Iringa on Thursday morning. Needless to say, the next few days are going to get pretty hairy. Not only do we have to close up our excavated pango, but we have to pack up our entire life here in Iringa. After living here for over a month, it seems like a big job. Time to channel the power of the goulash.