Yesterday I got to go to Sarah’s class and tell them about Kenya. I took various artifacts, including my rungu and spear, and talked a little about growing up in Kenya, and in what ways things are different there from here.

I read them When Africa Was Home, which is a wonderful book about what it’s like for a kid who has to move from one culture to another – in this case, from Malawi to America – and back again. I love this book because in a small way it’s about me.

Kids ask the funniest questions. One kid asked how people cut their fingernails in Africa. I’m not sure what thought process went into that question, but I talked about how most of the time one can get the same stuff in Africa, although it might be a different brand, or work differently.

In all the years that I’ve done these “what is Africa like” talk, there’s one consistent question that I always get. “Did you get to ride an elephant?” So now, the first time when I can actually say “Yes, but not in Africa”, nobody asked it. It was very disappointing. 😉