Watch the Walk

There's a certain class of comment that is common on Clove Island, but rare in the US. Besides the ubiquitous questions about marriage, islanders also like to talk about weight gain and weight loss. They notice slight differences in arms, faces, collar bones that show or not, and of course how you fit your clothes. But weight gain isn't generally viewed in a negative light on the island. A woman who is plump is seen as being in good health, but a woman who is skinny is a subject of concern: - is she getting enough food? - is she worried about things and not eating? - is she being worked too hard? Homemade dumbbells - is she sick with a health condition that prevents her from keeping weight on? And it's not a taboo topic like it is in the US. In English classes here we teach how to describe people, but we've also learned to clarify to students that calling someone fat isn't considered a compliment. I can't tell you the number of times I've had students descri...

It's always better to do work projects together. Well, in island thinking, anyway. And I get it. A lot of activities require some step that is just plain labor intensive. For example, the other day I was learning to make these lovely snacks: Bhajias I'd arranged with a friend who would teach me to make bhajias, I'd gathered a group of friends to all learn together, and our "teacher" had told me the things to have on hand:   - small red beans   - onion   - garlic   - eggs   - spices   - oil for frying She told me to soak the beans the night before, so they'd cook well on the day of. The ladies all gathered, and 10 minutes after the appointed time I called our "teacher" to make sure she was on her way. She was, but she said we could get started before she got there. "Take the skins off the beans" she said. The skins... off the beans? I verified. Yep, that's what she'd said. So we spent the next hour and a half peeling 1 pound of littl...