Learning New Things

Each day I seem to learn something new.  Today it is about RICE.  I'm trying to figure out how our kids can eat at the wedding of Laurent and Eliza Saturday.  Most weddings in Kenya cost $4,000 or more, and we're trying to do this one on only a little more than $1,000.  So...I told the kids this morning, that after the wedding ceremony, they would need to go to their dorms and prepare their lunch there instead of eating at the Learning Center, since it would be for the wedding.  Of course they were disappointed.  

I found out that Laurent (who is a chef himself, so he has planned the menu for the wedding) plans to have rice and beef stew and some other things.  So I sat down with Milly and asked her what they had planned to eat on Saturday, and she said, "rice and beans."  That sounded good, so I asked if we could use the rice she had, then I could add some meat and something else and we could ask Laurent if the kids could join us.  And Milly said, "I don't know; they may not work.  We are using Pakistani rice."  I looked kind of blank, so she explained that when people pilau, they usually use Pishori rice, since the Pakistani gets kind of sticky and the Pishori gets fluffier and is a larger volume.  Wow!  There are so many things I don't know anything about.

Laurent and Eliza came later in the day to plan the wedding, and I asked about the rice.  Laurent said they had Pishori rice (of course!).  When I mentioned the kids, he said, "We couldn't leave them out.  We have 25 kilo of rice, so we have enough for everyone."  I could have just stayed out of the picture and said nothing to the kids, but of course then I would not have learned anything about rice.  Anyway, now the kids are happy.  

Darlene came home from the ladies' Bible study while I was talking to Laurent and Eliza, and then 6 of the girls stopped by because they want to help with the wedding cakes, which Darlene is preparing.  The best price Laurent could find for a wedding cake was about $400 -- a small one.  So Darlene has borrowed and bought circular pans.  The girls were thrilled to look at the dress and to know they would eat at the wedding. 

Laurent and Eliza left because they have to catch public transport back to their apartment, and they need to get home before dark.  I walked out with them and we met John Wambu, who was supervising men who are digging out the black cotton (Louisiana gumbo type) soil for our driveway, and a group of women had come over to look at the house Francis and Maureen are building nearby (I have given house plots to team members who intend to stay with Made in the Streets for a long time), so we saw lots of people on the way.  

The girls stayed and swept and mopped our floor, while some of them mixed cakes with Darlene.  They had a good time.  It's great to have a house where the teenagers can come and spend time with us.  

And it's good to know about rice!