Now that I have found a good recipe for my favorite breakfast food from my trip to East Africa, I am going to become the lady on the street selling mandazi in Greenwood.
Mandazi Recipe
Mandazi Recipe
Showing posts with label Cookbooks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cookbooks. Show all posts
Monday, May 11, 2015
My Nose! My Nose!
I am leaving Nairobi on May 20th. Nine days from today. The reality is beginning to sink in and I realize I don't know where this last year has gone or why it is gone so fast. I have been blessed beyond belief with so many new friends and new experiences. In the coming weeks I will introduce you to my new friends. I've decided to keep this blog alive because I may go on other adventures, but for the time being, it will focus on trying to more adequately discuss this adventure.
I am sad about leaving Nairobi because it is a truly fun town. It has a rhythm, a beat much like that of Atlanta. You hear music everywhere, mostly Bob Marley. I like that there is music everywhere. The people are very helpful. If they see you looking lost, they offer to help you. And the vast majority of them do not expect money for helping you. Love, love, love the nightlife! I have been to some of the most fun clubs and bars. When I get back home, I will tell you more about the bars. Incredible, incredible night life.
I will not, however, miss the smell of Nairobi. For reasons that I cannot fathom, people keep livestock in the city. I'm not talking a rooster or chicken or two. I'm talking herds of cattle and passels of pigs. At the end of the day I scrub my feet like Lady MacBeth before going to bed. I want to bleach them everyday not only because of the incredible amount of feces everywhere, but also there is a large amount of rotting garbage everywhere. The stench of all of this, plus an inadequate sewer system makes for a smell that has a life of its own.
Nairobi is a city that grew much, much faster than its infrastructure did. Consequently, there are problems with garbage and sewer handling and traffic. The traffic is always horrible, but not because the drivers are insane like they were in Uganda, but because there are so many cars and matatus to be served. I live about 6 miles from town. On a good day with light traffic it takes over an hour to travel those 6 miles. During rush hour, it takes 3 to 4 hours. And there are many people who spend 6-8 hours 6 days a week going to a job there. And the standard work day here is 10+ hours per day. So much for family life. I don't know how they do it.
But despite the smell, the traffic and the poverty, I love this city. I discover something new almost everyday. Yesterday, I discovered a blooming rose bush at a clinic near where I live. Imagine that! One of the sweetest smelling roses I ever smelled blooming in the middle of Africa. And I had no idea you could grow roses in Africa. While the Masters was going on back home an hour away from my house, an azalea-like bush that grows everywhere here was at its peak of blossoming. It's just another of the many serendipities of Africa, like the pergola that I discovered a few weeks ago.
It goes to show me that even in the most unappealing of circumstances that if I keep my eyes opened and my heart ready for the unexpected and beautiful, it is there. I learn and relearn this lesson every day of my life. Thank you Africa for teaching me this lesson.
I am sad about leaving Nairobi because it is a truly fun town. It has a rhythm, a beat much like that of Atlanta. You hear music everywhere, mostly Bob Marley. I like that there is music everywhere. The people are very helpful. If they see you looking lost, they offer to help you. And the vast majority of them do not expect money for helping you. Love, love, love the nightlife! I have been to some of the most fun clubs and bars. When I get back home, I will tell you more about the bars. Incredible, incredible night life.
I will not, however, miss the smell of Nairobi. For reasons that I cannot fathom, people keep livestock in the city. I'm not talking a rooster or chicken or two. I'm talking herds of cattle and passels of pigs. At the end of the day I scrub my feet like Lady MacBeth before going to bed. I want to bleach them everyday not only because of the incredible amount of feces everywhere, but also there is a large amount of rotting garbage everywhere. The stench of all of this, plus an inadequate sewer system makes for a smell that has a life of its own.
Nairobi is a city that grew much, much faster than its infrastructure did. Consequently, there are problems with garbage and sewer handling and traffic. The traffic is always horrible, but not because the drivers are insane like they were in Uganda, but because there are so many cars and matatus to be served. I live about 6 miles from town. On a good day with light traffic it takes over an hour to travel those 6 miles. During rush hour, it takes 3 to 4 hours. And there are many people who spend 6-8 hours 6 days a week going to a job there. And the standard work day here is 10+ hours per day. So much for family life. I don't know how they do it.
But despite the smell, the traffic and the poverty, I love this city. I discover something new almost everyday. Yesterday, I discovered a blooming rose bush at a clinic near where I live. Imagine that! One of the sweetest smelling roses I ever smelled blooming in the middle of Africa. And I had no idea you could grow roses in Africa. While the Masters was going on back home an hour away from my house, an azalea-like bush that grows everywhere here was at its peak of blossoming. It's just another of the many serendipities of Africa, like the pergola that I discovered a few weeks ago.
It goes to show me that even in the most unappealing of circumstances that if I keep my eyes opened and my heart ready for the unexpected and beautiful, it is there. I learn and relearn this lesson every day of my life. Thank you Africa for teaching me this lesson.
Monday, March 16, 2015
Everybody has their own NGO
Absolutely every single person in Africa has their own NGO. And absolutely every single one of those people wants you to hear about their "program".
There is a neighborhood drunk where I work named "Sam". A couple of weeks ago while I was buying a bottle of water, he accosted me with his "program". Everyone with an NGO feels they MUST tell ME about their "program" every time they see me.
The basic tenets of Sam's particular "program" are as follows:
1) To remain drunk at all times;
2) To "do something" for the youth of Kenya/Africa while remaining drunk 24/7;
3) To "do something" for the youth of Kenya/Africa who suffer directly or indirectly from the scourge that is HIV/AIDS while remaining drunk 24/7;
4) To "do something" for the orphans and other vulnerable populations in Kenya/Africa while remaining drunk 24/7;
and
5) For me to finance all of the above, most particularly the portions of these programs that will allow Sam to remain drunk 24/7.
Nope, I'm not the least bit cynical today. This post is dedicated to Perfesser Kevin Hill, Florida International University
There is a neighborhood drunk where I work named "Sam". A couple of weeks ago while I was buying a bottle of water, he accosted me with his "program". Everyone with an NGO feels they MUST tell ME about their "program" every time they see me.
The basic tenets of Sam's particular "program" are as follows:
1) To remain drunk at all times;
2) To "do something" for the youth of Kenya/Africa while remaining drunk 24/7;
3) To "do something" for the youth of Kenya/Africa who suffer directly or indirectly from the scourge that is HIV/AIDS while remaining drunk 24/7;
4) To "do something" for the orphans and other vulnerable populations in Kenya/Africa while remaining drunk 24/7;
and
5) For me to finance all of the above, most particularly the portions of these programs that will allow Sam to remain drunk 24/7.
Nope, I'm not the least bit cynical today. This post is dedicated to Perfesser Kevin Hill, Florida International University
Saturday, January 24, 2015
News from Nairobi Weekly (Week of 19/01/15)
This week in the Nairobi News (Week of 19/01/15)
Could it be more inappropriate?
20/01/15: As I am working in the slum of Kayole-Soweto this morning fighting with Excel, this gem of Hollywood's early attempt to help people just like the ones I am trying to help comes blaring out of one of the residents' home. Sorry, but this was too strangely funny and too utterly sick not to share.
This post is dedicated to Dr. Lisa Richey. Check out the book she co-authored with her husband Dr. Stephano Ponte Brand Aid: Shopping Well to Save the World. She researches the effects of celebrity fundraising on international development.
Only in Kenya
Thursday 10:00 a.m. EAT (East Africa Time): So I leave my office to go next door to buy the morning caffeine rush. When I get to the little hole in the wall shop, I see that no one is there to sell my drug of choice. I decide to wait a bit. About 5 minutes later, this guy shows up and stands behind me in line for about 5 minutes, then he opens the cage door, which is unlocked (the cage door is the door that is closed when the store is open and closed. When the store is open the cage is closed to prevent someone from just walking in and stealing the money. When the store is closed, you can do the math.). I assume that the shopkeeper is around the corner for a few minutes. Who knows?
So the dude walks into the store, he looks at me and says "What can I get for you?". So I say I want a coke in a plastic bottle. Then he mentions a price that is about 10 bob higher (that's local lingo for a small number of Kenyan shillings) than I normally pay. So I say "No. Sixty bob" and I give my 60 shillings and go back to work.
Was I on Candid Camera or what?
Today in the news
23.01.15 Heard at 7:30 a.m. local time on Nairobi radio station KISS FM:
The International Criminal Court is an unholy alliance.
Almost as good as dubya's Axis of Evil comment. Maybe the Unholy Alliance will publish a cookbook like the Axis of Evil did.
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