Irio and company

Last night I had the wonderful opportunity to spend the evening with the head of the orthopedic and prosthetic department's, Alex's, wife and daughters. Alex is in Tanzania for the week with one of my LIMBS co-workers, Ricc at a P&O conference. His wife, Joyce,  invited me over for dinner while Alex was gone. She is an excellent cook! She made Irio (spelling?) which contained mashed potatoes, maize, pumpkin leaves, and spices (I think). This is the staple dish for her tribe. It was delicious! She also made a cabbage salad and some kind of meat dish. After dinner, I got to chat with her and allow her 5 year-old daughter, Abigail, to play with my hair. Abigail loved it. So many Kenyan women and girls are enamored by my long hair and I don't mind if they touch it as long as their hands aren't dirty. Anyway, Joyce and I had a wonderful discussion about disabilities and how they affect the lives of people in Kenya and the States. She has one leg that is significantly shorter than the other. However, she was never an outcast growing up because she had very loving parents and was good at sports. She did not even have a brace to correct her limb length discrepancy until she was a preteen. This never stopped her. She played soccer (called football here in Kenya) and was really good at scoring. She and Alex's youngest daughter, Dorothy, is almost one. Her birthday is at the beginning of next month. She is such a sweet, spunky little girl. Joyce, Abigail, and Dorothy are all missing Alex. He has never been away for an entire week before. It was nice to visit with them and provide them with some company. Hopefully, sometime soon, Joyce will teach me how to make Irio.