Mambo Ice cream…Oh how we love you!

The same-ness of life here sometimes gets to you. I actually just sat down and journaled over an hour about the issue and it has me feeling all discombobulated. Actually I think life lately has me feeling like I am swirling and cannot catch my footing and actually sitting and thinking has me realizing just how much is ready to spill over. More on that soon a but for now I will just say we struggle a lot to find new, fun, and santity saving things to do here. And these things are needed. Like desperately craved.

But we recently found a treasure, a gem, a special little fabulous duka that sells locally made and cheap ice cream. We call it “our ice cream duka” and it sorta feels that way. The guy that works there knows us and when we pull up and pile out he always greets us. Two small freezer cases with taunting pictures of ice cream never sold in Tanzania hold whatever was packed into little paper cups or wrapped in newspaper that morning and as long as there is power they have something. The prices range from 8 cents to about 80 cents for the BIG cup so somedays we we feel like big spenders allowing Anni to pick anything she wants! Last time we were heading out a neighbor and her daughter….shoeless and all hopped in and joined us but with those prices we can even treat! There are a group of older men that sit outside the duka next door and they just love seeing our family. Annikah alwasy greets them and they respond with white flashes of teeth and “mtoto mzuri” (good child) declarations. They are always there. That is sort of same-ness I love here. Makes me feel like what I envision small town America used to be like. Everyone knowing everyone’s name and caring about what you are up to. Guys sitting outside the hardware store for hours talking. Their smiles and sweet comments about our girls warm my heart. We enjoy our 1-2 dollars worth of ice cream with many onlookers and then head out, back to the chaos of life.

Dear, Mambo Ice Cream we love you! You rock! The banana ice cream is our fav! Don’t ever change…except maybe start making chocolate…one little girl would love that :). We are so grateful for you and we will be back…many times.