Before we headed to Nairobi for swearing-in we had a Family Appreciation Day to thank our host family for everything they did for us.
We also had to put on skits. I was in a group of 3 other people (Ethan, Rachel, and Cindy) and we decided to put on a skit about cooking.
Ethan: American PCT
Me: Kenyan Mama
Rachel: Narrator
Cindy: Gave a brief thank you speech
Basically we had 3 different parts to our brief skit.
The first part was about cooking chicken.
Me: “Hi, welcome to Kenya! You must be hungry?”
Ethan: “Hi! Yes, I’m hungry.”
Me: “Would you like some chicken?”
Ethan: “Sure!”
Me: *Catches and picks up a live chicken then hands it to Ethan*
Ethan: “But…it’s alive”
Me: “Yeah, you can kill it.” *hands a knife to Ethan*
Ethan: *Takes the chicken and attempts to distract me* “Look over there!”
Me: *I look away as Ethan sets the chicken free* “Where did the chicken go?”
Ethan: “I dunno.”
The second part was about cooking ugali. Ugali is a popular food in Kenya and many Americans don’t care too much for it. Ugali is basically maize flour (cornmeal) cooked with water…it’s filling, cheap, and quick to make. It does take some strength to make though because you have to be able to stir it.
Me: “Well, we’ll have ugali instead of chicken.”
Ethan: “Sure!”
Me: *Stirs the ugali*
Ethan: “Can I try?”
Me: “Sure”
Ethan: *Struggles to stir* “I think it’s done”
Me: *Throws ugali against wall…it doesn’t stick (if it doesn’t stick, it’s not ready). Continues to stir until it’s ready and it sticks on the wall*
The third part was about cleaning up after cooking. Kenyans are known for having a high toleration when it comes to touching hot things and for having a strong back.
Ethan: “I’m full, that was good. Can I help clean up?”
Me: “Sure! Why don’t you move the jiko stove outside?” *Picks up hot jiko stove with bare hands and gives it to Ethan*
Ethan: *Grabs the jiko with his bare hands* HOT! HOT!
Me: *Throws water on Ethan’s hands* “Maybe it would be better if you helped wash dishes instead.”
Ethan: *Washes dishes and breaks a dish*
Me: “That’s okay. Maybe it’ll be better if you swept the floor instead?”
Ethan: *Okay*
Me: *Hands Ethan a broom (brooms in Kenya are different…they’re about 1/3 the size of American brooms, are made of straws, and have no handle)*
Ethan: *Attempts to sweep the floor and throws his back out”
Me: “Oh, my American son”
The End
We also had a nice lunch with our host families afterwards, it was kind of sad to say good-bye to them. My first host family stopped by for a few minutes and my second host family came as well.
Life Is About Creating Yourself 