Saturday Journal

There is a goat outside my window right now that sounds like it is seriously in distress... Meanwhile I am sitting on my bed waiting for Asnati to "shower" so we can go out to the market. New observation: There is more than one mosque within earshot of my bed. Morning call to prayer = 5 AM wake-up call. Everyday... but the sounds of this place are beautiful.

My host mama has a hair salon so she sat me down and braided my hair (like corn-rows) on our livingroom floor last night. Feels like I got a face-lift :) Also I look slightly bald... but everyone here loves it and keeps telling me I look like a real African haha. Asnati has extensions and had to sit for 4 hours to get her hair done (mine only took 2)... don't think I'd ever be able to sit through that! Oh dear I am getting tired already - I miss drinking coffee! So far I've only seen instant and my family seems more into drinking tea. Pole sana (so sorry, i.e. poor baby...) Off to the market!

So I bought myself a kanga (kind of like a sarong with two parts), and a traditional kitenge (to make a dress out of for church). That place is incredibly busy with yelling and bodies and stuff everywhere! Piles of clothing and random underwear hanging and shoes and housewares etc. Glad I had someone to lead me around! On the way back we stopped at a salon that is owned by Asnati's friend. Everyone still seems pretty amused by the "mzungu" and the fact that I have no clue what they are saying. They also seem to feel the need to comment on my "huge" legs... hint?

Then, as if out of nowhere, two guys shoed up on bikes with bags full of nailpolish. I knew Asnati wanted to get her toes re-polished but I was not quite prepared for the procedure. One of them plopped down in front of me as well, pointing out some designs that I could choose from. Slightly dumbfounded at this point I just chose a plain pink but Asnati got something fancier that looks almost airbrushed! In conclusion I payed about $1.50 for something that would have cost me over $20 in Canada - and had my toes painted by a guy! Then back home of course for some ugali and samaki (fish). Woot for productive days :)