Tala

Kenya, Miscellaneous

I’ve often felt all eyes in Tala were focused on me. Yesterday I was riding my bike pretty fast and I hit some loose dirt and ate $#@% pretty hard. So everyone was laughing and pointing at me, but then they ran to see if I was ok.  I am totally fine (a few scratches) but I ripped a really nice shirt and destroyed my only pair of jeans.

I don’t think it takes much to make people in Tala laugh. For instance, when I wear shorts they all laugh because my legs are so hairy.  I went to greet a woman one time and she shrieked when she saw the hair on my arm.  I’m a MONSTER!

I will be more careful from now on, mom! Anyways, maisha iendelee (life goes on)!

Food, Kenya, Miscellaneous

I have enjoyed cooking before so this should come as no surprise, but lately I have been breaking new ground in the kitchen! Yesterday, for the first time ever, I walked into a butchery in Tala market and ordered one quarter of a kilogram of beef. I wanted to cook pilau (a spiced rice dish, usually with beef) but I didn’t know where to start. The mamas in the market were happy to share their recipes, so I collected several opinions and went home to give it a try. Result: success! I had some problems cutting the meat, I never noticed how dull my knife is because all I ever chop is veggies!

I’ve also been cooking some pretty awesome fried rice. Lots of vegetables and spices; it’s pretty tasty. I only learned how to make non-mushy rice in the last few months, so that’s helped my fried rice dish immensely. So you can see savory dishes are covered, but I’ve also made a foray into sweet.
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Kenya, Teaching

My students were supposed to report to school on August 18th but there was apparently a mix-up, so they came yesterday, September 1st. The students picked their classes and then the teachers sat down to figure out the time table. I was assigned two units, Intro to Programming and Algorithms and Network Essentials. I taught these same two classes last semester so I’ve already prepared notes, assignments, and tests; all I have to do this semester is review/revise my notes kidogo (a bit) and show up to class!
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