The heat is on: perfecting popcorn

My apartment is fantastic. Granted, right now, my kitchen ceiling is dripping, but that’s because the apartment above mine has a leak in the dishwasher; it’ll get fixed. But in general, I really love my apartment, and the kitchen is wonderful. It’s got a fridge and a giant freezer. This is because of our frequent power outages, I think, or maybe because stuff isn’t available all year so you’re encouraged to buy a lot when you find whatever it is you want.

Sad cookop results

Friday, I bought a little convection oven-type thing. It’s not a legit high-end appliance, but it will come on with the generator, which is a step above the oven that came with the apartment. Like the air conditioning, that oven isn’t on the generator, so now I can make toast no matter what. The downside to the stove is that the cooktop isn’t especially hot.

I also have a hotplate that works with the generator and while it’s marginally hotter than the cooktop, my early efforts to make popcorn proved unsuccessful. And by that I mean really, really bleak. I cook popcorn on the stovetop, using just a little bit of oil and then adding, post-pop, a lot of spices. Salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, Tony’s or Slap … it’s addicting. And it’s a pretty quick and easy after school snack that’s really not bad for you.

But man, my cooktop. I tend to use a small fist of popcorn kernels, which makes about one overflowing bowl with just a few unpopped kernels, but this cooktop just doesn’t get hot enough. My tea-making has also been less than stellar, but at least tea you can steep. Popcorn, not so much.

My microwave also operates on a generator so I sought out a way to nuke the kernels. Although I had never tried it, I’d heard of it. Unfortunately, my understanding had been that it involved using paper lunch sacks, and not only have no source for those but I also have no interest in contributing to the trash piles here. Recycling is not a thing, though I do my best.

So dadgum easy

An internet search for directions yielded the site “Downshiftology,”which suggested that not only was microwave popcorn doable, it was doable in other ways that didn’t included trashing the environment. One suggested way was to toss kernel into a glass bowl and put a plate on top of it. It was such a simple method it seemed like something I should have thought of on my own, but why would I? I don’t own glass bowls!

Suggestion No. 3, and the Downshifter glossed right over this, was to use a “stasher” bag. Anyone heard of that? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

Yeah, me neither, but, after doing an image search, I discovered I had a useable one. It’s just a silicone baggie. I had no idea there was a proper name. I thought “silicone baggie” was the proper name.

Mmm...pop

And ya know what? It works! It’s ridiculously easy to put in a little oil (which is optional but I do it), a small fist full of kernels and hit “add 30 seconds” four times on the microwave. I’ve yet to figure out how to work the microwave any other way, and it works.

The cleanup is easier, too, because, although the silicone baggie gets super, super hot, it doesn’t sizzle when I throw it in the sink. Or when the leaky ceiling drips on it.

Sometimes it’s the little things. Popcorn is a real thing here. Last week we had a Christmas party and I manned the popcorn table. We ran out from time to time, and the line just stacked up and the people waited patiently – no one wanted to miss out on the popcorn.

I will freely acknowledge the goofiness of a popcorn cooking method changing my snacking ways but it’s a great snack. It might not be a game-changer, but I just cannot get over how easy it was.

Leapin’ Lemurs!

It took three months, but I’ve seen lemurs here on the fourth largest island in the world. Well, on an island off the island, to be more specific.

 

Blessed with my very first non-Foreign Service visitor, I went to Mantasoa, which is the closest “road trip” from home. It’s only 60-70 kilometers, but the drive was over two hours. It was definitely almost two, or maybe a solid two, when we turned off the main road, after which the last stretch lasted an hour but only around 15 kilometers. Yes, our roads are awful. We wound up hiring a car and a driver since my car hasn’t arrived and I was very thankful for that. Those roads would have ripped Cassian to shreds, and I don’t think I would have wanted to drive. “Awful” really doesn’t begin to describe how bad the roads are.

 

We stayed at the lodge there, which has a little “barge” that takes passengers on a 20-minute ride to a little island, where ringtail lemurs immediately welcome new arrivals. After a lovely dinner, that’s what we did on Thursday morning.

 

My friend and I were the only visitors at the time so we got a personal tour, a kilometer walk around the island, where we saw four of the five different types of lemurs living there. (We didn’t see the little nocturnal one.) Oh my, they were so very cute. There were lots of babies hitching riding piggyback on moms, and as I was taking pictures, I suddenly felt one jump on my head. It rode, parrot-style, with its little hands on my hat.

 

They’re just so cute. One species gave us a spectacular demonstration of movement – those things are on springs, it seems. Their leaps and bounds cover amazing ground; it was quite incredible to watch. (And even harder to capture on film, I learned.) Their paws are also incredible; there’s a large space between the thumb and the rest of the fingers/toes, so they can really get a grip. I could have watched them for hours.

 

But there was more to see on the little island, including colorful frogs, snakes and Nile crocodiles. It really was incredible.

 

The next day, we stopped at a reptile park, which was on the bottom of a very windy mountain road that pretty much had me queasy upon arrival, but I shook it off to again see lemurs. This time, we saw mostly brown common lemurs, which were super inquisitive and hungry – the guides bring bananas so we were able to feed them. Let’s just say I took lots of pictures.

That park was mostly a reptile park, so they also had frogs, geckos, snakes plus a host of chameleons, which were really amazing. The critters are kept in what could be called greenhouses; they’re super large cages that give lots of roaming room. There are plants and bushes everywhere and guests follow a guide to find them and see the varieties. And oh, my, the camouflage works. They are incredibly hard to spot, and then when you do, it’s a shock to realize how close you got without realizing they were looking at you the whole time. Once, I looked up and realized I’d been about to walk into one.

 

It was a lot of fun. I’d really waffled over which of three road trips to choose and that one won out because it was the closest. I’d really expected to have my car and figured that’d be an easier first excursion, as I fully expected to drive. It didn’t work out that way and I wondered if, since I hired a car and driver, I should have opted for a further-away place instead, but I’m glad that’s the one we did. It was really a lovely getaway.

 

Now it’s time to dig in. My car should be arriving soon, I guess, but there’s no hurry. The roads pretty much freaked me out and I don’t anticipate a lot of driving, but at least that will be an option. But a lot of the stuff to see – the baobab trees, Nosy Be, Saint Marie island – are all flights away, not road trips. I’m still trying to pace myself.

 

Right now, I’m not thinking beyond next week anyway because I have a DC-based class to do after work. It’s only Monday through Thursday, but it runs to midnight and unfortunately, there’s stuff I have to do in the office each day, so I can’t just work from home. Monday and Tuesday shouldn’t be too bad but ugh for the rest of the week. I thought I’d try to work from home on Friday since it’s a short day, but that’s the day of our office Christmas party, so I can’t skip it. But this time next week I should have recovered and be ready for Christmas. 

She snags seashells from the Seychelles

 Chugging along here in my new home. My apartment is lovely; I adore the fact I have a little yard and a wonderful patio. The landscaping – not my doing – is gorgeous and since it’s warm, there are beautiful flowers. Today I absconded with some lavender. I’ve tried to root some, but that hasn’t worked. Nor have the seeds I planted a but ago, but that doesn’t really surprise me. My thumb is not green, although I love to garden. The weather is changing, though, and the rains are coming so I may try again. I really would like a couple rosemary plants, which are year-round outdoor plants here.

 

My walks home continue. Today I had a gaggle of kids who wanted to walk and talk. I amuse them because my French is so, so bad. I tried to tell them where I lived (“over there”) but they didn’t understand, so who knows what I communicated. I feel bad because they really wanted the attention of the Tall White Redheaded Stranger, but I didn’t really want to slow down so they could chat, especially since I absolutely couldn’t communicate. Our office closes at 4:30, and if I am not on the road by 4:35 (I usually change shirts and shoes), the last leg is in dusk, and that’s a super crowded part where I’d rather be visible to all cars. So I tend to walk at a fast clip, lookiloos be damned.

 

It seems like forever since I’ve walked home, though, because the past couple weeks I’ve been trying to burn some leave. I spent one long weekend in the Seychelles and then most of Thanksgiving week in Tanzania/Zanzibar. Lovely! Of course, beaches usually are.

 

I find that I do very little, if any, vacation planning anymore and as a result, usually wind up in a less populated area with nothing much to do outside reading. And you know what? It’s fantastic! I wound up randomly taking the bus in Seychelles. I asked my AirBnB host for directions and then went to catch one, but I got SQUIRREL! distracted and didn’t remember if she’d told me to cross the street and catch it or get the one on my side of the street. I took a chance and made the wrong choice, but that’s subjective. I didn’t do what I set out to do, but I did plenty! I hit the city – Victoria – and wandered around taking pictures, which is my favorite thing to do. Later, I went to the beach and found some beautiful seashells.

 

Travel to the Seychelles was fairly easy. There’s a nonstop on a plane that continues to Dubai or Abu Dhabi. It’s only about two and a half hours, and the giant flight has very few passengers, like maybe 40-50. Apparently people get on at Seychelles and do that leg, but both directions there was no one sitting near me.

 

Tanzania, or at least Zanzibar, is about the same distance but the travel there is horrid because there’s no direct flight. Instead of another two-and-a-half-hour flight, it’s quadruple that. My flight left at 3:20 a.m. – the hour for fish, not people! – and I arrived in the afternoon to Dar es Salam but not to where I could catch the 2 p.m. ferry to Zanzibar; I had to wait on the 4:30 one. Then, there was a mix-up with my pre-paid driver (refund received) and, once I solidified a driver, a traffic jam. Essentially I got to the lovely lodging around 7-8 p.m. The following day, I was stupid tired. I woke up and went looking for breakfast, groceries and a snorkeling trip but once I went 2-for-3 on that, I essentially went back to my lodging and hung out by the pool. No regrets.

 

Eventually, I did book a snorkeling trip and did the thing where you chase dolphins (I have mixed feelings about this) and the snorkel and swim. I really needed the break, but I am paying for it now because the backs of my legs are peeling and itch.

 

The visa for Tanzania had been pretty challenging and I really didn’t know until I arrived that it went through. It did and it appears it’s good until November 2025. If that really is the case, I would absolutely go again. I just need to forget how brutal the travel was.

 

This is a hard place to get out of. I’m looking now for a trip in January or February, and a couple of places are two flights but still the journey is 20+ hours because of an 11-hour layover here or a 14-hour one there. We’re limited on the nonstops and I’m trying to save those for when I desperately need out.

 

In the meantime, though, I’m still enjoying it.