Today I cooked for myself for the first time here. Saumu
(younger niece of my mkuu, a.k.a my headmistress) took me to town to get food
and then helped me along with lighting my jiko (stove). It’s pretty much like
lighting a BBQ, so I’ll be fine from here on out. More importantly, I am very
happy that I can get quite a number of items right in town, even on non-market
days. I bought salt, pepper, ginger, tea packets, tomatoes, spinach, kerosene,
and garlic. There weren’t many fresh produce options, but I figure I will get
plenty of fresh fruits and veggies on Mondays and Thursdays.
Saumu had me cook inside, but I think I will try to cook
outside whenever possible. The sparks flying made me a bit nervous, and I don’t
want my house to smell like smoke, even if it does stop smoking pretty quickly.
Plus cooking with charcoal just inherently seems like an outdoor activity when
looking through my American paradigm, so I’ll probably cook inside with the gas
stove I hope to purchase, and outside with my charcoal jiko.
Anyway, I made my own chipsi mayai (french fry omelet). It
was unlike others I’ve had before, but equally delicious. I covered it in chili
sauce and had a field day. I also boiled my own drinking water. I’m terrified
of using a khanga as a pot-holder, though, so I’m really hoping to receive some
real pot-holders in the mail. I don’t have the same heat tolerance as everyone
here, so picking up a metal pot full of boiling water with my bare hands just
isn’t going to happen. I’m a wimp, but I’m okay with that.
Today I also went with Emmanuel to the fundi (carpenter),
and we finally agreed on a price for my cabinets. I still think the price is a
bit too steep, but I got it down 130,000 from last time, and 70,000 from his
original offer today. Mzungu (white person) bargaining actually working!
My mkuu came back today. It was great to see her. We talked
about education structure differences and what weather is like back in Maine.
She also told me she’d host a meeting with the staff to make sure they know I’m
here to teach, not sleep around or get married to one of them. AMEN. I also
went down to the river with Saumu and Kibena (the two nieces) and saw one of
the big gardens in my village where I can apparently buy things like spinach
and cabbage.
In other news, I think I will start running tomorrow. I
haven’t been feeling well, but I have been itching to exercise, so I think I
will just suck it up and push through the abdominal pain and nausea.
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