Walking along the row of meat vendors, I was having difficulty choosing a place to buy meat. For some reason, the places that had good meat hanging had no salesperson, and the ones that had dry, crusty, fly eaten meat had people wanting me to buy. Finally, an energetic man at the end of the meat aisle said that he had meat for me... both beef and goat. I don't really care for beef, unless it is minced or ground, so I wished for goat.
I quickly told the guy that I wanted nice meat with no bones, and if it did come with bones, I would cut them out. He said, "Oh, it's your lucky day, I have a nice thigh for you." The piece did look nice - the perfect size, and an appetizing colour. :) Then the guy started talking about how bones were good for you. Bones make you strong. Bones make you work hard and you can give the left overs to the dog.
I described to the guy that I liked bones, but not bone shards, and that I don't have a dog and that I am strong. Trust me, this guy completely understood English, but instead of listening, he proceeded to hack and whack the nice piece of meat with his big machete. Now I was frustrated. I don't like raising my voice... but I had been very clear about the bones. Even if a piece of meat comes with bones, I want to cut the whole thing out, not dig out hundreds of shards - and miss a few that make my teeth scream when I crunch on them.
As he showed me the meat, I started to shake my head, he was confused. I showed him all the bone pieces and told him I was not impressed. I asked for a good piece of meat. Then my speech started to become more energetic. I quickly stated that if he wanted to see a strong woman I was going to go to another vendor and get the piece of meat I wanted. I told him that he didn't do what I asked. Strong = stubborn for me. The guy put the piece of meat away then and was going to offer me another piece of meat. He wanted to keep me as his customer.
After more discussion about how mzungus make different recipes - where bones are not always appropriate or desired... he started to understand. Now I don't know what is worse... that he didn't listen to me, or that I softened and bought the piece of meat that he had hacked and whacked. The meat still looked good and if I took the time, I could remove the bone pieces. He was grateful and said that next time he would do better. He now understood what I wanted.
What cracked me up as I was walking away was almost every vendor saying: "Bones, she doesn't want bones... don't cut!!"
I quickly told the guy that I wanted nice meat with no bones, and if it did come with bones, I would cut them out. He said, "Oh, it's your lucky day, I have a nice thigh for you." The piece did look nice - the perfect size, and an appetizing colour. :) Then the guy started talking about how bones were good for you. Bones make you strong. Bones make you work hard and you can give the left overs to the dog.
I described to the guy that I liked bones, but not bone shards, and that I don't have a dog and that I am strong. Trust me, this guy completely understood English, but instead of listening, he proceeded to hack and whack the nice piece of meat with his big machete. Now I was frustrated. I don't like raising my voice... but I had been very clear about the bones. Even if a piece of meat comes with bones, I want to cut the whole thing out, not dig out hundreds of shards - and miss a few that make my teeth scream when I crunch on them.
As he showed me the meat, I started to shake my head, he was confused. I showed him all the bone pieces and told him I was not impressed. I asked for a good piece of meat. Then my speech started to become more energetic. I quickly stated that if he wanted to see a strong woman I was going to go to another vendor and get the piece of meat I wanted. I told him that he didn't do what I asked. Strong = stubborn for me. The guy put the piece of meat away then and was going to offer me another piece of meat. He wanted to keep me as his customer.
After more discussion about how mzungus make different recipes - where bones are not always appropriate or desired... he started to understand. Now I don't know what is worse... that he didn't listen to me, or that I softened and bought the piece of meat that he had hacked and whacked. The meat still looked good and if I took the time, I could remove the bone pieces. He was grateful and said that next time he would do better. He now understood what I wanted.
What cracked me up as I was walking away was almost every vendor saying: "Bones, she doesn't want bones... don't cut!!"
most of my friends suck the marrow out of the bones - it's an excellent source of iron in what is otherwise a sometimes very limited diet.
ReplyDeletein kenya, if you don't take milk in your tea, or you offer tea without milk, it's a sign of extreme poverty.
perhaps they think you might be wasting a precious source of extra vitamins?