Day 2: Uji
I came upon today's street food by invitation. I was buying a quarter kilo of carrots when I heard a jambo (hello) from behind me. I turned around and saw a young man holding a green plastic cup full of steaming something; it didn't look very appetizing. That's when I noticed about five other people sitting amongst the food crates blissfully sipping the hot liquid. He asked if I had ever had Swahili porridge and I said I hadn't, so he offered me a swig. I think I said hapana (no) at first after a bit of a pause. The guy I was buying carrots from said "No worries, I know him, he can be trusted." His trustworthiness really wasn't what I was concerned about, I was more anxious about the cleanliness of the kid's mouth. But curiosity won me over in the end and I took a swallow. I fit right in with the other people sitting around with a contented look plastered across my face. Imagine the best oatmeal you've ever had, but without the oats, a thick and creamy steamy drink with coconut milk, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. I bought I bag of the stuff from a woman and returned home to share it with Daren. He'd had it before. Sad. Daren told me it's really called uji, but in Nairobi, where he'd gotten it, they don’t add any of the spices or coconut milk and usually serve it as the government subsidized meal at schools. Gross! Daren said the added flavorings really made it and he definitely preferred Lamu uji.
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