I've had this blog ready since the last one but haven't had a good amount of time for blogging... so I've included a "bonus sketch" for you!
2. Ok. On to MOVIES!
At the supermarket, we are able to purchase a few random DVDs for our entertainment. But these aren't the DVDs you find at an American supermarket! Here, you buy one DVD with anywhere from 5 to maybe 20 movies on it--all ripped off in one way or another. There are no "legal" movies for sale. So if you want to get a movie, well, there's no other option. Many of these are terrible quality--especially the ones like what we watched a few weekends ago--recorded IN a movie theatre! Talk about terrible audio..... "What? What did they just say?" (pause, rewind, play again... and again) and "Oh, bless you! Wait... did the movie just sneeze?" Not to mention the people who keep getting up and walking across the bottom of the screen throughout the whole film... "Could you please sit down already!?!" Now try following a complex film like George Clooney's Syriana with all that distraction. I was a wreck!
(the next subject is a BONUS sketch, inspired by my own experience today... I hope this makes up for the time it's been since the last sketch...enjoy!)
3. G-NUT LADY.
In Jinja, it is common to see women walking down the street carrying huge loads on their heads. One particular kind of lady you will see on any given day in Jinja-Towm is "the G-nut lady". She carries a large basket, maybe 2 1/2 or 3 feet in diameter, full of nuts, on her head. The most common nut here is the Ground Nut or "G-nut". In America, we know this very common nut as none other than the... peanut! She also has a number of other nuts: soya nuts, corn nuts, "sim-sims", etc... If you want to buy, you can choose between two sizes, and whether you want only one kind of nut or a mixture. (I chose corn nuts today--yum! My friend Agatha calls them "hard corns"). The woman then fills a cone made from a rolled sheet of newspaper and you pay her 100 shillings for the small or 200 for the bigger size. This comes out to about 6 cents or 12 cents! And it is probably the woman's only source of income... day in, day out, walking the streets of Jinja, selling G-nuts. AMAZING, yes?
(Sketches--3 coming soon--subject: ANTS)
Официантка
5 years ago
9 comments:
This is so cool. I hope you are taking one million pictures to show me one day. LOVE to the pal and her man!!
LOL, who would'a thought....gnuts?! Hey speaking of ladies walking down the street....we heard they are outlawing mini-skirts in Uganda? The spokesperson said "the men in our country have very weak minds". :) I guess you gotta get rid of your mini's now ma'm! Oh, and I can already tell right now that I'm gonna love the next sketch...because we are completely being taken over by ants in our townhome! They are coming out of everywhere (and especially our shower!)~Miss and Love ya!
Very interesting!!!
Where did the American's get the name P-Nut?
Do most of the Jinjans speak Englisch or Ugandan? Do they interpret words into Englisch to make them more familiar to the Mzungu's? or in their own tongue are they also calling them the G-Nuts.
There are some people here at CTK and MCF that could be called G-Nuts - God Nuts! Your own sister belongs to that Tribe!
I have two secrets for you....
both involve your sistah and you'll have to ask her for an answer
Mama
Crazy Awesome! I'm always fascinated by other cultures that still do things like buy milk from the milk cart and nuts from the g-nut lady on a daily basis.
O Man! THE best peanut butter in the world is that from the ladies grinding the gnuts. I tired bringing some home, but couldn't! Makes me "homesick" to read all the things you describe, love Aunt Mary
Miss you girl.....You two are so cute together..just perfect. What a way to spend the first year of your lives together...
Hey....Mercy and Madi could use a haircut....how about popping in for a quick visit? We miss you so much...around here....but you are exactly where you need to be.
Love you!
i haven't seen anyone walking down the street in a mini skirt so i don't know what that rule is about! only on tv during the big celebrations have i seen anything of the sort... but not on the streets of jinja! you wouldn't see it!
most in jinja speak "lugandan" or maybe "swahili" but there are also a number of tribal languages. they don't know each other's languages but most people know some bit of english so it is the connecting language.
i LOVE your sketches! if i close my eyes (which ruins the effect 'cause i can't read with my eyes closed), i can hear you telling the story, which is even better. =)
miss you, and i need a haircut too. haven't had one since you cut it last. it's getting really really bushy.
keep writing!
i'll! cut your hair Happy Lady!
I love reading Linds' sketches too... I think she should write a book!!! after she cuts all the collective heads of hair when she gets back home.....
oh no! she'll never come back.....
i promise, I'll wait my turn...
write more sketches!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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