Kipilefti

One of the first things mama said to me when I arrived at my homestay was “you must learn to bend”. I looked at her, confused. “To bend?” “Like this,” she said, doubling over so her legs were straight but both hands touched the floor.

“I’ll try,” I told her.

She does everything in that pose. It’s how she cleans the floor, how she washes clothes, even how she kneads bread, in a plastic bowl. I watch, and try to imitate, but after five or ten minutes my back aches and my legs hurt and I have to stand, to lean against the wall panting. Mama will smile up at me and say “polepole”–“slowly”.

And I am learning, slowly, but my legs are killing me!