Another Perspective

Closest girl is not a blogger by nature (but then again, who is?). She decided to be a guest blogger today and I do hope you will enjoy.

I like carrots, I don’t love them. I like maybe one/two per week. Unfortunately unlike all veggies that are scarce, in high demand, and therefore can be bought individually, carrots can only be bought in bulk. Like 25 carrots at a time in bulk. Okay this is an exaggeration, but to me it might as well be the truth. You’re probably saying, “But carrots last a long time so what’s the problem.” Ha! You made an assumption about a commonly eaten vegetable. Didn’t your teacher/mother/friend ever tell you not to ass-u-me? No worries, I did the same. I was silly (very useful Basotho word), bought a pack, saw them rot within a week and then proceed to purchase another one. After some time, I gave up and was preparing for a somewhat long life without carrots in my daily cooking repertoire. Fast forward to January 2011, S.M.H. enters the Thaba-Tseka district and brings her very distinct eating style. Viola, carrots were back!

S.M.H. is a believer that eating food doesn’t need to be proceeded by cooking of any means, unless it’s popcorn. There are exceptions to everything, don’t judge. As a result, she is a superb eater of fruits and vegetables by volumes. I thought I like apples and bananas, but since S.M.H.s arrival I’ve been reduced to an average eater-Phepi me. Same goes for hiking up hills-phepi me again. Now because of this ability to eat raw fruits and vegetables I’ve been able to secretly loot two to three carrots a week for my vegetables curries, soups and more importantly fake fried rice which I haven’t really cooked yet, but have put a lot of time thinking about cooking. Waiting on American teriyaki sauce-life is a drag sometimes. The best part is that S.M.H. hasn’t even noticed this stealing of vegetables since she consumes five bags a week. Ha! Not only do I get carrots, but I save a whopping two rand. That is four fat cakes, half a Basotho lunch. This also has caused problems for the general Thaba-Tseka carrot market (used very loosely here) since Basotho are now also having trouble finding carrots for their general consumption. Don’t even get me started on the S.M.H. effect on the apple and pear market, that’s a five page thesis. I’ve even started contemplating on leaving work early on delivery days just to beat her to the shops. My biggest hope from this carrot situation is that maybe they will start selling them individually like everything else. Double yes, since it would solve the overarching problem and the act of stealing does give me a little anxiety.