Bold Requests & Unsolicited Offers

This blog post comes at the request of my dear friend, co-worker and housemate, Janine (Nuru's Healthcare Program Manager). Apparently I've been "tagged" and it's now my turn to blog about "6 random things". So, here goes. Janine, I hope you read this!

Although they're random, they do sort of have a theme...As I've stated in previous posts, I've gotten a lot of bold requests. But, I've also gotten a lot of very interesting, very generous offers as well. My six:

1) Janine and I are at the butcher (translation: a tiny shack storefront with a couple animals on hooks and a very unsanitary looking scale) getting meat for the night, and a teenage guys rolls up behind up and asks me to buy him a piece of meat. A bold request. I turn him down.

2) The same guy gives up on us after about 6 tries and leaves. Then, he sneaks back up on us a minute later. He's eating a carrot and proceeds to hold it a couple inches from my mouth.

"Eat my carrot!"

he demands. A nice offer, but again, I turn him down.

3) I'm in the field one morning waiting next to a river for Lucas, my Kenyan counterpart, to arrive. He shows up right on time and seems to have picked up a friend along the way (who is, by the way, weilding a machete which is, by the way, totally normal). Although I didn't have my phone out, he let me know that he knew I had a phone and he also wanted one.

"You should buy me a phone. Because you have one, and I don't"

he requested. Wow, very bold. Again, denied.

5) Janine and I are walking down the main road into "town" to get a few things at the market. A man comes storming out of his house and runs up the hill to meet us. He is yelling but sounds kind of happy. When he gets closer, we hear what he says,

"I am sending my son to school to learn English so that he can marry an English woman! You must come and greet me in my home!"

He's ready for one of us to marry his son. Nope, I'm already happily married to Doug and Janine is...busy.

6) And my very favorite...I'm walking back from our very first water/sanitation representatives meeting (over 30 reps showed up!) and I bump into a man named Richard who wants to greet me. He has a lot to say about wanting me to test his well, Obama's joyous victory, and wanting me to permantly move to Kuria. For real! He said,

"I will give you a plot of land for free so that you and your
husband can build a home and live in Kuria forever."

Amazing offer. I explain to Richard that Doug and I are pretty much homeless and might never own a home (this is amazing to people here, they always assume we have some land and a home). But, of course I thanked him for his very generous offer.

There you have it. Six random things.

And now for the tagging....I choose Heidi Griepp, Seren Frost, Tara and Billy (faithful commenters, I love hearing from you!), Jake, and Riley. See what you can come up with!

The "Rules":

1. Post the rules on your blog

2. Write 6 random things about yourself

3. Tag 6 people at the end of your post
4. If you're tagged, DO IT and pass on the tag