Tanzanian Church and Food

The second Sunday we were in Tanzania we attended a Swahili church service. We especially enjoyed the worship time, although unfortunately we neglected to take pictures. We didn't understand much of the sermon, but a Tanzanian friend who spoke English was able to direct us to the scripture passages being read throughout the service. Afterwards, Tony and I were invited to the house of a Tanzanian family for lunch. We walked about 2km in the hot, hot sun to get to the family's home; on the way, we took many short cuts through people's yards and outdoor shops as our host explained that property is viewed as communal in Tanzania, so it is in no way rude or imposing to walk through other people's yards in your own neighborhood. When we got to their house, a wonderful meal was already being prepared by some of the family's relatives; we ate rice spiced with cinnamon, bananas cooked in a tomato sauce, a cabbage dish similar to cole slaw, and meat cooked in a tomato sauce - it was all delicious. The conversation after lunch was equally enjoyable; we discussed the differences between America and Tanzania on the subjects of food, government, education, family, and marriage. Our host was shocked to discover that Tony hadn't paid my family anything in order to marry me! A Tanzanian groom pays a dowry for his future wife, the amount of which his uncle will generally settle with the bride's family beforehand.
To make up for the lack of pictures, I'm answering a question some friends posted here earlier. They asked us what the most usual thing we ate in Tanzania was. To answer that question, let me tell you a story.... One evening, we were all sitting around waiting for dinner to be ready; one of the course participants ran down to the dining area to see how the food preparation was progressing and came back up to where we were sitting with a mischievous grin and a comment. "Bring your camera to dinner," he said. Heather Pubols grabbed her camera and took the following picture of our meal.

Fish isn't necessarily unusual, but a few of our fellow class members didn't like the idea of staring their dinner in the face.