For me it's coffee break. For most others, it's tea break.The other day, a Kenyan friend remarked how he thought I was crazy to drink my coffee without milk or sugar.
I'm an introvert. I'm lazy. I usually go into my office for tea break and have my dark muddy coffee and a mandazi (a hollow donut-like pastry made with about 95% cooking fat). When they're hot and have the right mix of crispness and lightness, they're pretty heavenly. I read Google News. If I were more extroverted, I'd join in the conversation outside. The men talk Kenyan politics, mostly in Swahili. The women separately talk about whatever it is women talk about, also in Swahili - or Sheng, a mixture of English and Swahili.
8 comments:
Kenyan men seem to talk about politics most, most of the time. Hopefully this will bring in a much more positive change in the coming elections.
ya know, they sound like Krispy kreme donuts...when they are good, they are very good. but after that, they are, well, not.
and coffee is made for black or with real cream. Tea is made for sugar!
this (watchthe link) is my Italian coffee (with or without sugar) your coffee is here considered "light". hello from Italy :¬)
http://digilander.libero.it/WinstonMontag/immblo_file/caffeitaliano.jpg
I would have tea, and no donut. In fact, I boycott donuts. At work, I try to eat either peanut butter or a granola bar with milk or juice. These choices are much healthier=:)
If the ndazi is cold but not old, you can achieve something close to its original glory by microwaving it for 10 seconds. Not the real hot thing but close you eyes and pretend.
The best place for hot mandazi are roadside kiosks. Most "internet-aware" Kenyans would be too stuck-up and/or health-conscious to eat there...
Hey Paul,
I thought of you Saturday night. I spoke at a church in Pittsburg and afterward visited three of their missys who were presenting on their work. One couple lives in Nairobi where they help out with NIST. As part of their presentation, they served chai and mandazis. I think the mandazis were actually donut holes from Safeway, but they got the point across.
Keep up the blogging. You're inspiring me to get going. Thanks.
cheers,
Shane
I love mandazia. My first memory of mandazis was eating one (and drinking a warm soda) on the back of a guard's van on a train out of Uganda. We were eacaping early one morning as Idi Amin had bombed the guesthouse where we were staying the night before. As a child I don't remember the danger, just the madazi and soda for breakfast.
I think I will make some for my kids for morning tea.
That is mandazis, not 'mandazia'.
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