Tarzan, Pumpkin Seeds, Sport Legs
on Erin in Kenya (Kenya), 18/Feb/2010 16:52, 34 days ago
If this photo looks familiar to you I'm guessing you might be older than me :) This is where the old Tarzan movies were filmed. It is 14 Falls located just outside of Thika about 1.5 hours from where I live. A couple of volunteers, Martha and I went a few weeks ago for the afternoon. It's not as tall as Niagara Falls but there are 14 of them!***********************************My last language lesson was a bit of a bust. We went to a restaurant after work so I could practice ordering food. We asked for a menu, they didn't have one. We asked what food they had, they didn't have any. My intrepid language teacher was unfazed and had the waitress go to another restaurant and bring us back some fries. Sadly, the waitress kept talking to us in Kikuyu even though it was a Swahili day. Oh well, I'm making definite progress and this is word for word an actual text sent to me by my language teacher that day after a lesson:Good morning, congratulations you performed excellent in Kikuyu language practice in the market i was very happy thank you 4ua hardwork n wishing u success as we continue our lesson. Have a blesed day.With enthusiasm like that it's hard not to improve :) At least I've stopped trying to use Spanish when I don't know the word in Swahili or Kikuyu...*******************************************I'm blowing people's minds with pumpkin seeds of late. People here eat pumpkin all the time but they never eat the seeds. When I was at my friend Grace's house she made mukimo (mashed pumpkin and potatoes with corn and beans mixed in) and I toasted the seeds for her kids. They all went absolutely nuts over them. Last night I decided to make some mukimo of my own and after wrestling with the pumpkin for an hour or so (something I've decided is not worth it for one person) I had my mukimo and a jar of pumpkin seeds to take to work. Everyone who came in today got to try a handful and you would never guess people would be so easy to impress! I think everyone asked for instructions on how to make them. I have requests to make more applesauce, more pumpkin seeds, and a few adventurous souls even want to try my banana pancakes :) After being fed by every mama in the district it's nice to be able to offer something back!****************************************Today I wore a skirt. I did not bring any skirts with me to Kenya as I don't wear them often and all the skirts I own are above the knee (inappropriate). However, MANY people have commented that I never wear skirts and one of my co-workers even suggested I should buy one so I finally took the hint. Unfortunately clothes shopping here is not what I'm used to so it wasn't as simple as I'd hoped. But this morning all 3 pairs of pants were dirty and there is no water again so I can't do laundry. Ever resourceful I pulled out a piece of material I'd bought in Mombasa with the intention of using as a curtain or tablecloth, wrapped it around my waist, and headed to work. This may sound strange but it is called a leso and it is the traditional clothing here.The skirts may or may not have elicited the following comments I received today but I'll let you draw your own conclusions.Erin, you are a gutha (a complete woman)!You are so glamorous!Turn around. You have sport legs! Your legs are so smart! You have such a nice shape! See what Stephen likes!Erin, you do everything perfectly.Erin, you'll soon be like Margaret Thatcher!****************************************No electricity again today so I'm using part of my precious laptop battery for this post...how did my uncle Duffy do the Peace Corps with no internet? Now that's hardcore!