Trafika Europe 11 - Swiss Delights
Max Lobe
him dry like that. She wants to do in my child or what? Or maybe he doesn’t like the food there? —The only thing to do is pray. —The Lord helps those who help themselves, my mother concluded. And so Monga Míngá decided to help herself so the Lord would then step in with His help. She took drastic measures to solve the problem. And acted fast. Letting the child waste away without doing a thing was out of the question. She decided to send me much-much provisions: some ndolè. Oh, that famous ndolè! My mother never leaves decisions to chance; she knows how much I love those vegetables! Fumbwa, saka- saka, makayabu, okra, dried impwa. Boiled peanut, grilled peanuts, dried peanuts, caramelized peanuts, peanut oil, peanut butter, peanuts, peanuts, and more peanuts. Cassava sticks, cassava powder, cassava doughnuts, tapioca, cassava pancakes, cassava, cassava, and more cassava. Squash seed cake, goat pea cake, coconut cake, cake, cake, and more cake. Taro, macabo. Palm oil, dried bushmeat, etc., etc. Serious food, that is. Real serious food. Everything needed to fatten up her Bantu colt in Switzerland. My mother ’s no fool. She chose these foods because she knows that a mouth that has been breast-fed never forgets the taste of milk. All my provisions had been carefully packed, first in
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