Literary Stuff

 

While in Thailand, Zoe and I went to the resort's library: a small, beautiful lending library of books in 5 or 6 languages. I did not find any sign indicating lending policies, and never saw a librarian. There was a sign outside indicating to remove shoes before entering, and we did.

I should explain a little background here. When we were packed out of New Orleans by the movers, we discovered that we had far too many possessions, or -more accurately- possessions that were far too heavy for the regulations allowing for overseas shipment of a family our size. We still don't understand how this occurred, since we were moving out of a 2-bedroom apartment that I have never heard described as large. We don't have bowling-ball collections or a lot of tools. I suppose one of the factors would have to be the large collection of reference books we have both collected in our professions. And our other books didn't help either, as we don't like to get rid of books we like, and I've built quite a collection of books in my "to read" files, but have never had time. So we had to cull more than 1500 pounds of household goods from our shipment to go to a storage unit in Minnesota, and that included 18 boxes (I believe) of books. I'm told that one box will come to Africa, and we have no idea which type of books they will be: cookbooks, novels, Zoe books. The irony of the situation drove me crazy: I would finally have time to really read like I want, and no books.

Back to Pimalai. Thanks to our siesta times, I had finished my historical whodunit. I knew I'd have a lot more time on my hands, so I picked up another one at the library, The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher or The Murder at Road Hill House, and immediately was hooked. It's a nonfiction account of a murder in a locked English country house in 1860. It was a sensation that captured the attention of the whole nation and served as the model for countless fictional mysteries by writers of the time, such as Dickens and Wilkie Collins, as well as later writers including A.C. Doyle, Agatha Christie, and the like. Suffice it to say that when we left, I took the half-finished book with me. For mystery fans, I don't think I could recommend it highly enough.

Since returning to Kigali, I have read The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins, a serialized novel directly and openly inspired by the details of the murder. It was a really wonderful read. I had never heard of Collins, and have since read of him that he was a friend and contemporary of Dickens, and that they were often compared. I have read a few Dickens novels and novellas, and do like him, but have always had to work a little to get involved. This was not a problem for The Moonstone. It was a fun and captivating work from the start, and plotted with impressive complexity. Kind of cool how I happened upon a book in a resort library that opens me up to an era and style of writing that I likely would not have read on my own.

Since leaving the United States about 7 weeks ago, I have read:

• The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith
  
• The Crediton Killings by Michael Jecks
  
• The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher by Kate Summerscale
  
• O Jerusalem by Laurie R. King
  
• The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins
  
• The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling (loved, loved it)
  
• Tom Clancy's Op-Center: State of Siege (actually written by ____, I do recommend it as purely mindless action, though admit it is horribly written and with a strangely anti-United Nations agenda, quite sympathetic to the terrorists. Kind of like watching a Stallone movie).
  
• and I am now firmly into For Whom The Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway.
  
• I have also read about half each of The Expat Expert by Melissa Brayer Hess and Patricia Linderman and of Lynne Rossetto Kasper and Sally Swift's food book How To Eat Supper: Recipes, Stories, and Opinions from Public Radio's Award-Winning Food Show.
  

When I look at a list like this it really amazes me, since last year I probably read three books total. It's hard to gather momentum in the five minutes before you fall asleep a few nights per week.

As far as the Children's Fiction Department, Andrea, Zoe, and I have read about 30 books cover-to-cover at least 10 times each. I wish to God I was exaggerating. We usually read two books at nap time, one or two at bedtime, one or two in bed in the morning, and one or two or more throughout the day. And now Zoe's nanny Consolee is doing her share as well. Somehow Zoe is the only one not totally sick of any of these, though she does take little breaks from each occasionally.

By the way, I have been able to buy a small cache of paperbacks from someone's moving sale (hence the Tom Clancy), and Nakumatt, our local "department store," does carry a rack of Penguin Popular Classics (hence The Moonstone), so we do have a handful of unread books to go. I have a feeling that any of you who come to visit will be bringing in a few books, whether you know it yet or not.

NEWS FLASH: At lunch today, Andrea brought home our first package of mail since arriving here. We get a DHL bag (mail only, no books or CDs usually) delivered from the Washington headquarters of Andrea's work about two or three times per month, and my Father's Day gift of a subscription to Time magazine began with the first issue. It was from a week ago, but it's still news to me, and I gobbled it up during Zoe's nap. And much more importantly, Zoe got three new books, including her first one here in French! We have read it to her no less than 15 times so far, and it hasn't been out of the package for more than 3 hours (again, no exaggeration necessary). Thanks, Mom and Dad!

The Next Week in Our Story (Part 2 of 2)

So I guess I have been procrastinating the second half of this post. I was pretty pleased with the first one, and have been telling myself that the second should be better, and it has been a little daunting. Nonetheless, if I don’t get something on this subject out soon, it will likely not happen at all, so here goes.

The rest of the daily ritual

After Zoe’s (and sometimes my) long nap, the next step usually involved finding something to eat. Years ago, when Andrea and I visited Bangkok, we found street food incredibly good, safe (at least we were never ill), fresh, and cheaper than anything in a vending machine in the US. However, we were on the (rather large) compound of a 5-star resort. That’s not a complaint, but an observation that everything around us was pretty expensive, other than breakfast, which was included. So Zoe ate a lot of banana milkshakes (more like smoothies, no ice cream), and I ate appetizers and salads to keep the prices down. We went to the library a few times, which I will describe later. We went to the front desk to look through the bootleg DVD catalog. We watched a couple movies over the week.

This was the beginning of the low season, and so the place was relatively empty. So everywhere we went, the young Thai men and women adored Zoe and wanted so much to cuddle her or hug her or pinch her cheeks or to get her to say “Sawatdee Kha” back to them. It was a bit reminiscent of Eloise: Zoe and I were like beloved orphans living at the Plaza. By this time in the day, of course, we were rejoined by Andrea, and we were even happier. It was so fun for us to reunite that it intimidated Zoe a few times, and she would just stay silent and shy for awhile. This daily schedule was broken a few times (to my relief) of note.


Then one day Zoe and I were generously invited to participate in the team-building activity of the retreat: a half-day's Thai cooking class at a school nearby. We rode there in the back of a pickup truck with a canvas cover and benches, which Zoe found very adventurous. Then we had a little instruction before diving in with making 5 dishes: Tom Yam (a delicious, chicken soup with really bright fresh flavors and ingredients), glass noodle salad, Pad Thai (the national noodle dish), chicken with cashews, and Penang beef curry. Zoe helped us with prep work (she was in charge of tearing herbs), and took turns cooking. It was really hot, and the ice-cold beer and water flowed like wine. Surprisingly to us, we were on the last trip back to the resort. Every time another bus or pickup was going back, we asked Zoe if she'd rather go back or stay and cook more. She chose well, in my opinion, because we ate very well indeed, and will likely be able to reproduce some of these another time. We also left with a souvenir of a very cheap and very sharp Thai knife. I have accidentally bent the blade several times, but it goes right back and is still really sharp somehow.


The other "excursion" for us was actually within the resort. Zoe and I were again invited to have lunch with the retreat in order to see where they spent their days and to see Andrea some more. We took a shuttle up to the top of the hill where Pimalai's premier restaurants -and views- are. It was good to see some of Andrea's cohorts. It was good to have lunch with Andrea. It was good to eat some incredible food. And it was great to enjoy the views. Then we went back, napped, etc.


The Big Breakthrough

Somehow while we were there we discovered that Zoe is a really confident swimmer. For those of you who have seen her in the water, it is not astonishing news. But during this trip, she went from being pretty good at following drills in swimming lessons to really putting it all together in practice. And she deserves all the credit. I suppose it helps that we swam at least once every day we were there.

One of the last afternoons, Zoe and I were splashing around on some of the steps leading into the pool when she had the idea to jump from the steps, pushing off, and to swim underwater to me. The first time she did this I was about 4 feet away, and astonished. I lifted her up and told her how great that was. She responded by jumping out of my arms and pushing back to the step. She immediately turned around and did it again. I think we could have continued in this manner for a few days without eating or sleeping if it had been up to her. I gradually stepped back a little further from the steps to about 6 feet away. And I gradually started more practice with kicking and moving her hands, but she just likes to be underwater and moving. When Andrea met us and got in the water, we kept going, but also swimming underwater from Mommy to Daddy. It was really a rush for all 3 of us.


All in all, a great week. To learn how the trip back to Kigali went, read the first few paragraphs of the first Thailand post in reverse order. One notable difference was that we had several hours in the Addis Ababa airport, and actually had fun. We went for breakfast then did a lot of duty-free shopping (a lot of looking, a little buying). The Ethiopian duty-free ladies love Zoe and gave her a stuffed animal/backpack that she loves. Then we came home, and now we are all back to the present!

Sunday Afternoon Ice Cream

Happy Independence Day!

Because my birthday is July 3rd, I have always been a little oversensitive to the name of our national holiday in July. Calling it "The Fourth of July" has always seemed a little silly. Whenever people would ask me about my birthday, I nearly always hear the reply of "Oh, that's the day before the Fourth!" I doubt very much that people born on December 24th hear "Oh, that's the day before the 25th!" It just seems like we have a national holiday to commemorate an important and specific event, and not just because it's an arbitrary date on the calendar.

Anyway, enough of my silly rant. It is my blog, after all, so here's where I get to say whatever harebrained idea I find interesting.

So we had a really fun time celebrating my birthday last night by going to a pizza / pasta restaurant in Kigali that was really wonderful. It is run by an Italian guy who has been here for many years, and is really a fun place. The pizza was really unusually good, and reminded me very much of Punch, near my folks' house in St. Paul. This is meant as a high compliment. And Andrea and Zoe gave me a couple of good Penguin Popular Classic paperback books (which are worth a mint to me as we have no books here), and a real food processor! It was made in Kenya and seems pretty good, though I haven't used it yet.

This morning we slept in a little and then went to the US Embassy where a cookout is held for U.S. expatriates annually. We ate hot dogs and hamburgers, drank beer and talked with other Americans. Zoe got her face painted and got to run on the lovely lawn. That has to be the best grass in Kigali. And the compound walls are the thickest, as well. Zoe even picked up a few trophies of the day: a white balloon with blue ribbon (Rest In Peace), a small US flag, and a pinwheel of the Stars and Stripes. She thinks the world of them, and who can argue with that. Then the ambassador read a statement from our president, that ended with "Have a great Fourth of July," or some such thing.


The photos were taken after Zoe's nap later in the day, on our porch. We couldn't bring our camera in to the event due to security concerns.

Zoe-isms

With my apologies to our friend Jane on my plagiarizing the title of this post, I hope to make a recurrent feature of things Zoe says that I find interesting. Today's issue will be simply pronunciation in Zoese:

• "Bottom" = "Bobbin"
• "Doing" = "Doodin"
• "Stuff" = "Tuff"
• "I" or "Me" or "Mine" = Zoe. Example: "Zoe not get Zoe's balloon. Zoe get Zoe's flag."

Also, she has given us code names: "Not Zoe. Little Cat. Dat not Daddy. Dat Goat. Dat not Mommy. Dat Big Cat."

And, lastly, she was pointing out something in the kitchen, and announced that it was not there. Then she quickly added, "Zoe just makin' joke."

Kids These Days

A friend recently asked me if there are any wildlife like zebras running around in our backyards here, like deer often do in the States. Well, so far in Kigali, no. But I do encounter goats and chickens and dogs just about every time I go for a run. Sometimes they are being herded (the goats), but usually they just congregate in the road (all three). The dogs remind me very much of Guamanian Boonie Dogs. And people everywhere, especially little children, meet me in the road or say "hey, Muzungu!" The little kids often run along with me for a block or two in their flip-flops, or barefoot. They usually don't get at all winded or break a sweat. The school-aged kids usually shout out for me to give them money or chocolates or my water bottle. I just smile and say "Bon jour!" and hope they get bored running so slowly.

The Next Week In Our Story (Part 1 of 2)

Well, to continue our little series of flashbacks, I should tell the tale of Thailand.
After one week exactly of life in Kigali, we boarded a plane to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. We then spent some quality time in this airport before heading off to Bangkok. We then had a great time (no sarcasm, it's a wonderful airport) there before heading off on a small jet for Krabi, Thailand. Then came the van, followed by a boat, then another van, then a ferry. Then another van, and then we arrived at the Pimalai resort.
Then, we really knew we had arrived when the staff nudged us into comfortable couches and gave us cool wet towels for our hands and faces, and tall glasses of lemongrass juice for our throats while we endured the wait of checking-in. We were surprised to discover that -since we were accompanied by a toddler- we had been upgraded to "VIP" status, and placed in a private beach house.

When we were shown through the door of this place, our jaws dropped. It was between 50 - 100 feet from the ocean, depending on the tide. It had remarkable views of nearby cliffs and the sunset. It had several decorative pools and gardens. It a few gorgeous rooms, and a luxurious bathroom. It even had fresh tropical fruit and cookies waiting for our enraged stomachs. We gobbled these down, ordered room service, bathed, and started enjoying our jet-lagged selves by promptly falling asleep.

Waking the next morning meant breakfast first of all. Part of our stay there included a breakfast buffet that I have rarely seen the likes of. It was (by my taste) and excellent offering of things we find traditional for breakfast such as an omelet bar, fresh-baked breads and pastries, bacon, sausages (strange for a part of the world that's 80% Muslim, but business is business), yogurt, cereals, fresh tropical fruits and juices, with really good coffee. We especially loved the fruit selection. But then there were the other foods that reminded you of where you were. Boiled rice porridge with fish and a compliment of 6-8 spicy condiments to add. Roast duck with sesame-pepper sauce over rice. Crispy chicken. Tomatoes steamed with spinach and garlic. Wonderful curry dumplings and steamed buns and shumai. My mouth is watering thinking of it. Don't worry, readers: I won't go into this detail over every meal we ate, but this is the first thing we say our first day here, and the first thing we say every day. I don't miss many meals, but I definitely wouldn't be caught dead missing one of these.

Anyway, then Andrea had to go to work: meetings all day with other like-minded researchers. And Zoe and I went to get serious about playing. Our first action of the day was to take some bread pilfered from the buffet down to the koi pond to get some fish fed. Then we had to decide between morning at the beach or morning at the pool. Zoe did enjoy a few mornings at the beach, but generally found it to be too "messy," and preferred the pool. She defintely did well with both, and we had our fun. Then it was back to the house for a quick bath for Zoe. Most days she would dry off by lying in her underwear on a towel on our bed, watching Cartoon Network, while I took my shower. She was invariably asleep before I stepped out. So I would read or try to read your emails or watch more cartoon network or write notes or just join her in a nap. Not a bad first half of a day at all.

I think I will have to abridge this post as it has already grown longer than our entire stay. I will post the second half of the story soon.