And the Hard Work Pays Off

Tonight we stopped by the store to get some sugar for our chai, well that and some cookies. Usually a man runs the shop, and he jumps at the chance to talk to us in English. Tonight though, a woman was there. I'm proud to say, that other than the fact that we are white, we pretty much could have blended in. YAY, for learning some Swahili.

Here's how it went: We asked for sugar and biscuits, and she told us she was out. Then the man next door came over to say he had sugar, and she ordered it from him. She asked me how many kilograms I wanted, and I told her. Then she told me how much it cost, and I dug through my purse and paid her. We walked away extremely content with ourselves.

Now just imagine that being an accomplishment, let alone after four months. But really, if we're not in the lab, we are around people that speak English or Luo, not Swahili. I think the only reason we even did it is because it was Karen and me. I think if I had been with Sarah, she would have spoken in English and pointed and hoped they understood. Also Sara, the other Sara, would have taken care of the whole thing without letting me try. And if I had been by myself, I wouldn't have gotten sugar or cookies. Karen and I made a perfect pair at that moment, and it was satisfying.

As a side note, this afternoon we went up on a small mountain that overlooks the lake, and just did our stuff and enjoyed ourselves. When I got home, I decided to scrub my feet with a used face wipe. I used to think my feet were tan, but then I washed them. Today when I scrubbed, I couldn't get the dirt off, so now I'm really confused as to whether they're dirty or the wrong color of tan. If I scrubbed any harder my skin would have come off. That means that if it's not a tan, the dirt has basically become me. Now that's scuz!!!