in-town time

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friends moved into a house in kinondoni in a nice neighborhood with lots of small shops on an unnamed street and lots of delicious street-food. (one of the thigns i will miss most)
went up to a table with chicken heads, chicken feet, chicken intestine wrapped in a ball, different organs, displayed in piles on newspapers.
i stood staring for maybe five minutes after she told me the prices
in luck, she also had bananna so i bought that. she put some delicious saucey on it and i didnt feel bad for starting. but i wonder---how can you eat a chicken head like that? can you just eat the whole thing once its been cooked even though i think there is no meet?
and the legs...can you eat those whole or are they just for chewing?
anyway, i just explained to her that i dont eat meat at all so as to not offend. its funny how i do that because when i tell people in swahili that i dont eat meat they just dont understand me, when i say i only eat vegetables they dont understand me, but when i say "kama rasta" like the rasta men, then they understand. of course the idea of refusing meat for anything other than religious/spiritual reasons is just craziness.
so just been spending time in the city. went to the tailor to get some things made and will hopefully pick them up tomorrow.
avoiding buying too much last-minute stuffs here because not sure what amazing treats i might come across in mbeya in the south on the border or malawi and in malawi, though think i will only spend two days there just to see the lack, get a feel for the people, etc.
cant believe i will be seeing you all so soon. thanks for all the updates/e-mails/responses lately.

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