When i returned back to Swaziland i met one of my friends and as I was walking toward her she said, “Becca, you are looking so…white!” and grinned. How do you respond to that? Thank you?
Tonight I had my Pastor and his wife over for dinner and 3 hours before dinner he texted me and asked if i had begun cooking. They were coming over at 6:30 so of course i wasn’t going to start cooking until 6 so i texted him back and said, it will only take 30 minutes to prepare. When he arrived he said he had been praying for the food already because no meal that takes 30 minutes could taste good. As he took his first bite he said “It doesn’t taste bad”. And how to do you respond to that? Thank you?
Of course my favorite compliments are about my weight. I walked into my local store and one of the clerks yelled across the store “Jabu (my SiSwati name), you are looking fat today.” And how do you respond to that? Thank you?
And the sweetest one was Swazie’s 10 year old sister. “Jabu, when i grow up, i want to be fat like you…How do you do it?” And of course to that i responded – “Well, you eat fatty foods and don’t exercise”. To be “fat” here though is to be healthy, it is more desired in the rural areas, the urban areas lean more towards being thin, they have more Western influence 🙂
