On Sunday, Karen and I (Rachelle) went on a visit with three
of the girls (Neema, Jackie, and Rehema). We went up the hill to visit Mama
Steven, one of the cooks and the mama who washes our clothes. Nearly as soon as
we arrived, Mama Steven set to work braiding Jackie’s hair. The girls seemed to
be pretty close with Mama Steven, so we felt at ease from the beginning of the
visit. Mama Steven’s two little daughters got used to us pretty quickly as
well—before we knew it, Karen and I each had a little one on our lap. We were
all offered sodas. Mama Steven’s two little ones, in particular, enjoyed that
treat!
The family’s cat recently had kittens. The girls asked Mama
Steven to bring out the two kittens. I thought the kittens were very cute and
quite small and fragile. The others in our group weren’t too keen on the
kittens. Neema and Jackie at least touched the kittens. Karen actually picked up the kitten in an attempt to get it away from her. Surprisingly, it was
Rehema who was completely terrified. When I walked toward her with one of the
kittens, she squealed and ran in the other direction. (I will admit: it was
nice not to be the being chased with a random creature!)
There was a large rock right by the house. The girls had fun
playing on it. Rehema was quite at home on the rock. She looked just like the
goats we saw later, leaping and bounding around. Even the little girls wanted
to get in on the action. I helped lift them up, and Rehema pulled them the rest
of the way up.
We weren’t fed a meal during this visit, but we were
offered food. Neema convinced us to try sungwi—a type of fruit. It was small,
about the size of a large grape. It gave off a sickly sweet smell. The skin of
the fruit was edible but a bit tougher than we expected. And the taste—wow! It
was tart, bitter, sour, and spicy all at the same time!
Karen threw her fruit away after a few bites, but the girls
caught her in the act and gave her another. I tried to eat mine slowly, hoping
that would help reduce the effect of the fruit. Finally, I just popped the
whole thing in my mouth. It was better that way. My mouth numbed slightly, but
I couldn’t really taste it anymore. I also discovered that keeping the fruit in
my right cheek reduced its punch. Finally, the girls declared that we had eaten
the fruit satisfactorily and could get rid of the pit.
Mama Steven also presented us with another treat—fresh
peanuts from the garden. I’m not sure how peanuts are usually treated before
being ready to eat, but these peanuts were definitely different than any I’ve
had. The shells were still soft and moist, so they were more difficult than normal
to crack open. Inside, the peanuts’ skins were a pale pink and the nuts were
bright white. The taste was different too. The peanuts tasted more like a
vegetable in texture than a nut. As Karen said, the taste was half mud and half
raw green bean.
Although the visit was a bit different than expected, we
were thankful for how smoothly it went. It was great to get to know Mama Steven
and her family a bit better. We were also thankful for yet another opportunity
to practice our Swahili.
Me and some of the kids
Karen and Mama Steven's two daughters on our visit
The girls having fun on the rock by Mama Steven's
