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• July 17, 2002 • Nairobi, Kenya • |
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"What's the Swahili word for 'dumb-ass' ?"
The closed gate and padlock was not proof enough that we could not enter. I put my hands on the bars and Marta looked at the lock. We were like cavemen, banging two rocks together. A man passing by noticed us, paused, and told us in heavily accented English to go to the entrance at the corner. I wonder, did he pause in order to search for the appropriate foreign words? or was he trying to think of the Swahili word for "dumb-ass"?
We are unfazed. We continue to make peculiar demands of waiters and hotel staff. We insist on sleeping on the same bedsheets at least four days running. We re-use yesterday's bar of soap. Moreover, we will not be stopped from ordering mandazi in the afternoon. They can snicker all they want: we will not add sugar to our Milo! Marta will not eat meat! Sometimes all we want really IS ugali na sukuma wiki -- or hell, just plain mokimo! Bring it on! and afterwards, we'll WALK home! Yes!
- Nicole
July 17, 2002 • Nairobi, Kenya
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