bright eyes + blue eyes

Maasai Mama

This is a story that I told a lot over the summer, so you may have heard it. But I wanted to put it up here, you know – for posterity.

At the end of our two-year Tanzanian adventure, we built a few days on Zanzibar into our schedule. We had to leave Masasi about a week before our final departure from the country, because we had meetings in Dar es Salaam. We used a few remaining vacation days to tack on a trip to Zanzibar. It gave us a little incentive to look forward to during all the packing, selling, and donating.

So we were going to Zanzibar. Where to stay? In general, we tend to like "authentic" places, with a bit of a local flair. But we wanted to be on the beach, so Zanzibar Coffee House was out. We'd stayed at Robinson's Place on our first trip to Zanzibar, and loved it. It's got a perfect flavor of laid-back authenticity. But it was closed for renovations at the time. So that left us at square one in terms of finding a place to stay.

And actually, when we got down to talking about it, we weren't really all that interested in "going local" this time around. We'd kind of had enough of local. We wanted civilization, pure and simple! Neither of us had ever felt a strong draw to stay at an all-inclusive resort, but now we did. We wanted to be take care of - waffles for breakfast and rooms with A/C…ahh! We decided that we would pick one of the big resorts on the East Coast. A colleague recommended a website, and we picked a three-night vacation package with one of those Thomas Cook-type holidaymaker companies.

I think our reticence about all-inclusive stemmed from a slight fear that the resort would be filled with chirpy Activity Directors bouncing around, calling for "one more game of water polo, guys!!!" In fact, there were very few organized activities, and we pretty much stuck to our habits of using vacation time to catch up on sleep, do a lot of reading, and just hang out together.

The only special event that I remember was on one night, when the resort arranged for a Maasai show to demonstrate the tribal traditions of chanting and jumping. A man from the resort staff introduced the Maasai group, in English, of course. The hilarious thing was that we understood the Swahili that the MC spoke to the Maasai “warriors”.

The script called for the MC to present various members of the Maasai tribe. So, for example, he needed to showcase a Maasai child. Quickly, under his breath, in Swahili he asked, “Where is the child?” The Maasai group answered, “There is no child here today.” MC: “Okay… you. [indicating to one Maasai guy] You’re short. You’re the child today.” The short guy stepped forward, and the MC switched back to English to give a pretty simplified, glossy blurb about the role of children in Maasai society.

As you can imagine, H and I were pretty tickled by the time he got around to introducing Maasai women. And then the MC told the resort guests this:

“And now we have Maasai mama. Maasai mama, she beautiful and wear lots of beads. She try to have lots of children to help with the herds. Maasai they live in Kenya and Tanzania, but they move around. Maasai now also available in Uganda. Everyone, give big round of applause for Maasai Mama!”

We were falling apart with laughter. Now also available in Uganda!!!

So that evening was a delightful night of unintentional comedy in the midst of a very pleasant few days. Overall, we really enjoyed our all-inclusive experience at the PlanHotel Neptune Pwani Beach Resort. The food was really good. The grounds were immaculate. The shoreline was, as always, stunning. And best of all, the staff was very kind, relaxed, and charming… and best of all, funny!!

Green Man Says Go

… except he rarely does!

I told you I was going to be walking a lot in my new city. To be more specific, I am doing quite a lot of jaywalking.

The pedestrian signals are really badly timed. Cars will be standing still, but the pedestrian signal is still red. So everyone ignores the signals, more or less. Now that I kind of know the traffic patterns, I am right there with the rest of them, blazing through the crosswalks, regardless of what “green man” is saying.

I was caught in a quandary the other day, though. A motorcycle cop was stopped, waiting for his traffic light to turn. I had a red pedestrian signal. No vehicles were moving, but I was afraid to jaywalk right in front of this policeman. I almost asked him if it’s illegal to jaywalk in the UK, but I restrained myself and just waited the long 45 seconds for a signal to change. He knew what I was thinking. As he drove off, he passed by me and yelled, “You can cross now, love, now that I’m gone!”

I Recommend RadioLab

I remember driving back to university after being home for Thanksgiving. I think it was my Junior year. I was driving by myself in the old Oldsmobile 88 [with red plush interior] on Highway 78 through northern Mississippi and Alabama. This was back when you used to have to get off the good road in Hamilton and then take surface roads through Gu-win and Guin.

That stretch of road is pretty boring, so I was trying to find a good radio station. I finally found something. A man was taking about being in a well, and children kept coming to talk to him, but they didn’t help rescue him from the well. The way the story was told was so arresting to me. The signal must have been coming from Mississippi, because the station started to fade. I could only get a clear signal when I was driving up a hill. But I didn’t try to find another station, because I wanted to hear what happened. In fact, I started to drive slower. I was hooked.

It turns out, that was the first time I heard This American Life – the classic Cruelty of Children episode, to be exact. I’ve been a committed TAL listener ever since. A few years ago, Ira Glass started making a recommendation at the end of the show, encouraging people to check out RadioLab. I gave it a listen. Now RadioLab has surpassed TAL to become my favorite public radio program.

RadioLab takes a topic and examines it from scientific angles. For example, a recent RadioLab podcast was about Words. They explored the concept of words from the perspectives of public health, neurology, literature, and three sub-disciplines of psychology. 

(BTW: The question we talked about at the family dinner table over the summer of how you use language to think (i.e. the language in which deaf people think) – it’s directly addressed in this episode.)

If you don’t have one hour to spare, listen to this shorter, 14 minute discussion about how children’s language development is integrally linked to their cognitive development. The video below is something that RadioLab had filmmakers create to visualize words.

Not only does RadioLab select fascinating topics, but the production values are also top class. The shows are beautiful. Some of my favorite RadioLab episodes are Animal Minds, Parasites, and Laughter.

That’s four hours of radio for your aural pleasure. I don’t want to overload you, so I’ll leave it at that. Let me if you come to love RadioLab, too.

tonight's to do list

My hubby is teaching a class tonight & won't be home until late. This is a task-oriented night for me; I'm busy crossing things off my list.

Here are a few of my remaining "to do" items for the night:

(1) Wrap party favors for Superboy's b-day party, which is being held tomorrow...

(2) ...while simultaneously watching part of my latest netflix.

(3) ...while maybe also finishing off the last little bit of New York Super Fudge Chunk. I'm not a huge ice cream fan, and I'm not a huge chocolate fan. But there's something about that flavor that clicks with me. (So therefore I try not to buy it, of course.) It tastes especially good when served in a little white ramekin.

(4) Put this movie on my "must rent soon" list: Princess Kaiulani. Just saw the preview before my movie started. Looks like a really good one. {Ellie: more food for thought about the Age of Imperialism. I told you--things on this topic/timeframe keep coming across my path! Crazy.}

(5) Print labels for the following "specialty drinks" : Spanish Sea Foam, Great Barrier Reef Extract, Icelandic Lava Juice. (These drinks have to do with the birthday party tomorrow. Will explain in a future post. If I remember to do so.)

(6) E-mail my aunt & uncle to confirm the plans for our trip to visit them in Chicago. Cannot wait. Just bought two travel books & I'm raring to go.

(7) Fold laundry. The people in my house wear clothing very consistently.

(8) While folding, listen to my new favorite song: Kick Drum Heart, by the Avett Brothers. My my my heart like a kick drum.

(9) Wrap a baby gift for a shower I'm going to in the morning.

(10) Pay a few bills if I get around to it.

And since no post is quite complete without a photo, I'll post a couple of Hawaii-inspired photos. (inspired by #4 above) These photos were actually taken in Cabo, but since there are seashells & palm trees involved, they are somewhat related to Hawaii photos. (My real Hawaii photos are burned on a disc and stored in the other room. I can't be bothered to go get them right at this moment.)

Anyway, so our dear friends Ben & MK were taking a trip to Cabo in 2008, and asked us if we wanted to tag along. Um, yes. (Thank you x100, Ben & MK)

It was so incredibly beautiful. And so incredibly fun. Still to this day, if you ever ask Superboy where he'd like to go--if he could go anywhere in the world, he *always* says: back to Cabo.

 

yo quiero taco bell

(please do not take that title literally--I actually cannot remotely stand even the idea of Taco Bell. Yuck-o. How do you make a sentence negative en espanol? I don't know. But I do know a bit of French. So I will merge the two together: "Yo ne quiero pas Taco Bell"....ha ha)

In the summer of 2008, Pumpkin's cousin got a little bitty dog. A teacup chihuahua, to be precise.

 

I myself grew up in a "big dog" family....not a "small dog" family. The whole idea of a chihuahua was unfamiliar to me. Nevertheless, it was fun to be around little Cocoa. Hunter & I both got a kick out Cocoa. ("He's sooo little!") Superboy enjoyed him as well.

But Pumpkin.....

Well, let's just put it this way: To say that Pumpkin *loved* Cocoa would be a major understatement. She would sit on the screen porch for HOURS playing with Cocoa. We would have to coax her away from Cocoa to eat her meals.

That has been the consistent theme ever since Cocoa joined our extended family. Pumpkin basically counts the days until she gets to play with Cocoa again.

Meanwhile, in our own immediate family, Hunter and I have been wanting to get a dog for YEARS. We've toyed with the idea of a Weimaraner. We've toyed with the idea of a Black Lab. We've toyed with the idea of a Boykin Spaniel (based on Abigail & Matt's great experience with their new dog.)

Hunter would love to train a hunting dog someday. The problem is, those first couple of years of dog training (for a hunting dog at least) are crucial...and we just don't have the time right now. Hopefully we will in a few years.

So we have struggled with dog fever. For years.

Well. Here's where the story takes an unexpected twist.

We got a phone call from Hunter's sister last week. Her neighbor's sister has a dog that she needs to find a new home for. The dog is healthy & happy; she just needs a new home.

And the dog is a chihuahua.

Hunter and I talked and talked about it. What should we do....this isn't what we were planning on....but the kids sure would love to go ahead and get a dog....maybe this will be dog #1, and dog #2 will be a hunting dog....

After much analysis & contemplation, we've decided to go for it.

We're going to have a 1 yr old chihuahua join our little home in about a month.

Not sure if our new perra poco will be much of a help in the duck woods (ha!! can you imagine?), but she will definitely provide some smiles here on the homefront. 

(These are all pictures I took of Cocoa when he was a teensy puppy.)

 

 

craftsanity podcast : lilly bean market

(This is another old post that I'm re-publishing. Can you tell I'm busy this week? Not much time for original words. But thankfully I'm not too busy to cut and paste text. Here ya go! And by the way, the font always acts a little strange when I cut and paste. Various sizes, etc. Very odd.)

I listened to an interesting Craftsanity podcast recently. Episode 66 features felt-play-food-designer Hilary Seabolt, who shares the story of how her creative hobby turned into a thriving business.

I've always loved play food. Seabolt, in the podcast, helped me put my finger on why exactly this toy category is so special. In the interview, she says something along the lines of: play food is so incredibly versatile. The child can play house. Or restaurant. Or store. Toddlers love play food. Pre-schoolers love it. Elementary school children love it as well.

Additionally, food play is a creative outlet that has been present throughout the centuries--regardless of geographical location. Children have been creating make-believe worlds with play food...generation after generation...all over the globe.

Also, the best toys for little ones (IMHO) are the ones which inspire creative play. These sort of toys function as "props" for the little plots and scenarios dreamed up by that particular child, at that particular age, on that particular day. These plots change from month to month and year to year....which is why the same toy can be enjoyed over a period of five (or more!) years. Play food is definitely in the "creative play" category, which is one reason why it is such a universal phenomenon.

A few of my favorite items from Lilly Bean Market: the pita sandwich, the sushi (which  would delight SG, considering her current fascination with california rolls...), and the tea bag (so very cute!) 

The Lily Bean Market prices are higher than what you would pay for a big package full of factory-made plastic food at Target (btw, we have that kind here at our house as well!) However: there is certainly something special about handmade toys. Children recognize this as well as adults. There are certain play food items which we own (most of our "special ones" are wooden...felt is new to me) which are simply more cherished. On a related note, I haven't jumped  into the deep end of the Buy Handmade movement, but I have rolled up my jeans, sat on the side of the pool, and stuck my feet in. And I must say--the water feels refreshing. 

After all, if we all bought more handmade, meaning-filled, living-wage-producing items for our children, what would the result be? Perhaps fewer toys (given the price discrepancy?) Well, frankly, I'm not sure that fewer toys is such a terrible idea.

Then again, there are no handmade Legos (which are fantastic, if you ask me)...so I'm not really sure where I fit into this whole issue. Definitely food for thought. (ha!)

In the meantime, I think I'll make it a point today to ask Pumpkin if we can play restaurant so that I can have a piece of this fabulous cake. :-)  (Remember buying it with me, EBS?)

P.S. Part of my fascination with play food involves a certain item which holds, in my family, the title of "most treasured toy which has been enjoyed for six consecutive decades." It's a wooden ice cream set which lives in the bottom of a chest of drawers in my grandmother's living room.

My mother played with it when she was little. So did my Aunt Helen & my Uncle Joe (to my knowledge they played with it as well...must check on when this toy was actually purchased.) I played with it when I was little, as did my siblings and my cousins. And now, when we go to Nannie's house, my children love to "play ice cream shop."

P.P.S. Do you have favorite play food toys to recommend? What about play food memories?

mommy, when do we get to go on the yellow slide?

I wrote this post (below) in October 2007. It was published on my previous blog. I'm re-posting it here. I'd like to write more to write about that fun trip....note to self: write about Germany '07 trip sometime soon here on the blog.

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A word of explanation: my family and I lived in Scotland from 2002-2006. We took one trip to the States each year to visit family. On the initial airplane ride on our way over to Scotland (when we moved there), childcare/entertainment was super easy. Superboy was 3 months old. (At that point, it was pretty much "have breast milk, will travel.") But by the second trip, it got a bit more tricky. (Try holding a 13 month old in your lap for 8 consecutive hours.)

Over the years, Hunter and I had to come up with all sorts of strategies to keep everyone happy, fed, and entertained during the flight. When we moved back to the USA from Strathpeffer, we had an almost 2 yr old and an almost 4 yr old. Someday I'll write another post about how we kept the youngsters entertained at those ages.

(It would be so much easier now with a 6yr old + 8 yr old! I read a magazine article once about a family who decided to take a trip all the way around the world. They saved up & planned their year long trip. And then they waited until all the children were fluent readers. Once the children were readers, they were capable of enduring all the train/bus/air travel for the long journey.)

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October 2007  

I was so thrilled to be able to travel to Germany to visit my sister and her husband earlier this month. It was such a wonderful & refreshing trip. Since my last 50 airline trips (I am exaggerating on that number...I have no idea how many flights....) have revolved around how to keep the kids busy/happy/fed/clean/safe on the airplane, I hardly knew what to do with myself when it was just me, myself, and I!

Here's one thing that was different:

I usually come up with some sort of creative answer when asked the inevitable question:

"Mommy, why are those people in the picture sliding out of the plane and down a big yellow slide?"

(To the kids, it looks like so much fun! Let's face it, it is definitely the most cartoonish looking thing in the seat pocket. And if you'll notice in the illustrations, the facial expressions of the people are pretty normal looking----not panic-filled.)

So this time, I took out the emergency pamphlet, opened it up, missed my kiddos for a minute, and then went right back to my book.