Kuuliza si ujinga

I'm finally learning to cook for myself. This may sound amusing given that I had no problems cooking in America, and in fact I was confident about my cooking abilities here until I actually tried cooking. Things that differ between Tanzanian and American cooking:
-stoves. I use kerosene if I'm in a hurry, but most of the time I use the cheaper and more common charcoal stove. It takes time. First you have to break up the charcoal into small enough pieces and put it in the stove, turning your hands a pleasant black color. Then you put some pieces of wood on top, douse the whole thing in kerosene, light it with a match, and wait. After five or ten minutes it stops smoking and can be used without imparting that pleasant charcoal taste to your food.
-"chagua" (to choose). Any dry goods have to be picked through for rocks before use. You put the rice on a wide, flat basket, pick out the rocks, shake it to move everything around, pick out more rocks, and continue until the chances of hearing a crunching sound as you eat your rice are reasonably low. This is also done with beans, dried peas, lentils, chickpeas . . .
-oil and salt. The main Tanzanian spices. Rice is cooked with oil and salt, as is pasta. Originally I planned to reduce my oil and salt intake as soon as I started cooking for myself; unfortunately, by now I've gotten used to it. And the good thing about cooking rice with oil and salt is that it tastes good even if you have nothing to eat with it.
-no counters. Food prep is generally done while sitting on a small bench, with the pot of food on the ground. Tanzanians don't use cutting boards, though this is one American habit I plan to retain for fear of cutting myself.
-no handles on the pots (I use small cloths to grip them; a lot of people have hands of leather and use their hands)
-no fridge. Throw out the extra food, or, better yet, store it in a hot pot and boil before eating again the next day.