Buy my daughter some sardines so she can remember you…..

A Muslim finished preaching to nine fishermen near the beach and was headed home. He stopped to introduce himself and dialoged with Scott and I about sending his nine-year old son American stamps. He asked us to follow him to his home which is a normal custom in Africa. We walked a half block and went into his small compound, which was complete with a large trash pile and miscellaneous junk. We entered his living room and he introduced us to his wife and one of his nine daughters and her baby. We excused ourselves back to the front yard as the heat and humidity, sans breeze, was smothering.

He said he had something for us (another custom) and disappeared into the home, returning with a Kikoy, a type of (skirt) wrap for men in this area. He tightly tied it into a plastic bag and handed it to me. I opened the bag and looked in. He said, “It is very old”, which translated into English meant, “It is well used and not worth me keeping”. He told me to use it as a wall hanging and added, “Please buy my daughter some sardines so she can remember you. I gave you something to remember me, now you can give her something to remember you”. I was unsure how to interpret that other than, “Hey, I have this piece of crap I dug out of the cleaning rag pile and want some sardines in exchange (about $3 worth)”, and he told me where I could buy them. I thanked him for the gesture (I think it was) and politely handed his gift back, excusing the trade with “I only had enough money for lunch (which was true). He looked at me with hope, stating, “Perhaps when you come back.” I waved goodbye and said…. "Perhaps”.