1. Do not use "black henna" paint on skin. It is actually not henna but a chemically dye used usually for dying hair or clothes and is much too powerful to be used on human skin. I've got some gory blisters on my forearms and backs of my hands and fingers. Medications and ointments don't seem to be helping. Lesson learned.
2. Dates "mbichi" are my new favorite thing! Well also dates "mbivu" AND custard apples. Okay less of a "note to self" and more just a proclamation.
"mbichi"= unripe and "mbivu"= ripe How can I explain their loveliness when mbichi? They are yellow, charming, crisp, tangy, small little bursts of refreshment. Collectively clinging to their small, yellow branch from their tree (I saw a date tree in Majengo, one of my favorite parts of town and it looked like a palm tree almost but with a shorter and sturdier trunk!) these little jewels make me smile when I take them out of the fridge. I can only eat them in twos. The texture is aaaaalmost like a very crisp, fresh apple, but the flavor is completely its own. The skin is somehow a tiny bit bitter and the almost sweet tang of the fruit inside compliments it deliciously. Alright, alright enough about dates.
Custard Apple! I must post a picture of this, there is no real explaining except that it is more unique than most fruits I have eaten and the seed to fruit ratio is extremely high. The shiny black seeds are like artwork in and of themselves and the pulpy part that sticks both around them and to the skin is almost milky, gooey and delicious. I think they are at least 70% seed and 30% edible fruit but the work of getting the fruit is so worth it.
3. It is HIGH time that I quit stressing about finding a job that is an absolute, great fit and just FIND SOMETHING. It is making me crazy not having a set path. I used to love that kind of life, but I'm 30 now and I want to have kids while I can which means I need to start earning money for them, like, yesterday. Blah. Of course I also need to pay rent and eat etc and all of those boring realities.
4. I need not let myself feel inferior for having beliefs that are different than everyone around me. This is tough, since I am already an "outsider" in so many ways. The fact that I am not a Muslim in this town only magnifies that. I am working hard not to let it make me feel alienated but at times, let's be honest, I fail. I don't blame this on anyone but myself since everyone (whom I know- and even some I don't) has been quite welcoming. Though I do feel pressure to conform and end up feeling stuck at times in between wanting to make everyone happy and really accept me, and being true to myself. This situation is, well, awful. Rock and a hard place is an understatement. Yesterday evening I was having dinner at a friend's home. The Adhan from the nearby mosque began (call to prayer) and the two girls and the mother in the house rushed to put the couch covers over their heads and pulled one off and put it on my head, too. I sort of new about this rule, but still have NO idea why women must cover their heads during the call to prayer. I felt a little like I was in one of those confusing dreams where people are doing things that don't make sense but you just convince yourself that it's natural. I asked the oldest girl thinking that I would finally get an answer, but her answer was just that they must cover their heads when the Adhan is calling. Right. Add that to the list of questions I still would like to have answered.
5. Going to the gym is ALWAYS a good idea. Unless I have broken bones or am seriously ill. It is especially the best idea when I don't feel like going. Tonight I dragged myself in there with massively itchy arms and feet hating the socks and shoes on them and I stayed over an hour. In spite of the painfully awful soft rock music station that was playing on the radio next to me. I even tried running (yes on a treadmill which i never believed in, but i'm beginning to embrace due to practicality and the fact that tons of people in public aren't staring at me pretending to know what the hell I am doing).
6. Don't judge a day by the horrible dreams I have had the night before. This seems obvious but really powerful, bad dreams have a way of affecting my mood and mindset throughout the following day.
7. On that note, try to also accept the feeling of my skin being on fire with the worst mosquito bites you can imagine (the only way i can describe my allergic blisters). I need not let the out of control of my own body feeling let my brain go reeling out of control too. This is much harder than it sounds. I have even been forgetting to breathe at times because I am so focused on how crazy itchy I am on my arms, hands and feet.
8. Check out African herbal medicine. I feel like Moringa could help me in some way but I don't know how to access it even though I have two baby trees in my apartment. I've already tried and will NOT try again Masaai medicine, but there are herbal clinics all around town and if I can get a recommendation I definitely want to go in and ask some questions and at least see how they operate and then do my own research. Ah, forever a student.
2. Dates "mbichi" are my new favorite thing! Well also dates "mbivu" AND custard apples. Okay less of a "note to self" and more just a proclamation.
"mbichi"= unripe and "mbivu"= ripe How can I explain their loveliness when mbichi? They are yellow, charming, crisp, tangy, small little bursts of refreshment. Collectively clinging to their small, yellow branch from their tree (I saw a date tree in Majengo, one of my favorite parts of town and it looked like a palm tree almost but with a shorter and sturdier trunk!) these little jewels make me smile when I take them out of the fridge. I can only eat them in twos. The texture is aaaaalmost like a very crisp, fresh apple, but the flavor is completely its own. The skin is somehow a tiny bit bitter and the almost sweet tang of the fruit inside compliments it deliciously. Alright, alright enough about dates.
Custard Apple! I must post a picture of this, there is no real explaining except that it is more unique than most fruits I have eaten and the seed to fruit ratio is extremely high. The shiny black seeds are like artwork in and of themselves and the pulpy part that sticks both around them and to the skin is almost milky, gooey and delicious. I think they are at least 70% seed and 30% edible fruit but the work of getting the fruit is so worth it.
3. It is HIGH time that I quit stressing about finding a job that is an absolute, great fit and just FIND SOMETHING. It is making me crazy not having a set path. I used to love that kind of life, but I'm 30 now and I want to have kids while I can which means I need to start earning money for them, like, yesterday. Blah. Of course I also need to pay rent and eat etc and all of those boring realities.
4. I need not let myself feel inferior for having beliefs that are different than everyone around me. This is tough, since I am already an "outsider" in so many ways. The fact that I am not a Muslim in this town only magnifies that. I am working hard not to let it make me feel alienated but at times, let's be honest, I fail. I don't blame this on anyone but myself since everyone (whom I know- and even some I don't) has been quite welcoming. Though I do feel pressure to conform and end up feeling stuck at times in between wanting to make everyone happy and really accept me, and being true to myself. This situation is, well, awful. Rock and a hard place is an understatement. Yesterday evening I was having dinner at a friend's home. The Adhan from the nearby mosque began (call to prayer) and the two girls and the mother in the house rushed to put the couch covers over their heads and pulled one off and put it on my head, too. I sort of new about this rule, but still have NO idea why women must cover their heads during the call to prayer. I felt a little like I was in one of those confusing dreams where people are doing things that don't make sense but you just convince yourself that it's natural. I asked the oldest girl thinking that I would finally get an answer, but her answer was just that they must cover their heads when the Adhan is calling. Right. Add that to the list of questions I still would like to have answered.
5. Going to the gym is ALWAYS a good idea. Unless I have broken bones or am seriously ill. It is especially the best idea when I don't feel like going. Tonight I dragged myself in there with massively itchy arms and feet hating the socks and shoes on them and I stayed over an hour. In spite of the painfully awful soft rock music station that was playing on the radio next to me. I even tried running (yes on a treadmill which i never believed in, but i'm beginning to embrace due to practicality and the fact that tons of people in public aren't staring at me pretending to know what the hell I am doing).
6. Don't judge a day by the horrible dreams I have had the night before. This seems obvious but really powerful, bad dreams have a way of affecting my mood and mindset throughout the following day.
7. On that note, try to also accept the feeling of my skin being on fire with the worst mosquito bites you can imagine (the only way i can describe my allergic blisters). I need not let the out of control of my own body feeling let my brain go reeling out of control too. This is much harder than it sounds. I have even been forgetting to breathe at times because I am so focused on how crazy itchy I am on my arms, hands and feet.
8. Check out African herbal medicine. I feel like Moringa could help me in some way but I don't know how to access it even though I have two baby trees in my apartment. I've already tried and will NOT try again Masaai medicine, but there are herbal clinics all around town and if I can get a recommendation I definitely want to go in and ask some questions and at least see how they operate and then do my own research. Ah, forever a student.
4 comments:
Indeed! So sorry about the black henna; hope you feel better soon. Love your perspectives. Breathing is good. Hugs, Momma
oooooh! i hope you learn about native medicine. i feel like it would be really helpful knowing what old school folks use on bites, what can deter them maybe and for your poor henna arms!!!! are you still in kenya?? xo
Thanks Mom, funny how the reminder to breathe is still relevant a few weeks after you suggested it... Cancelled all my plans for tonight and having a mellow day of solitude to digest my trip. Looking forward to talking!
Shilo! Lovely hearing from you. Yes, still in Kenya! New posting right around the corner... That music video on your blog was incredible. Like the music, too.xo
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