plastic or plastic?

I had a couple of confusing conversations before I figured out that what people refer to as "paper"
bags are actually those thin plastic bags that are everywhere (but particularly on the ground). I hate them! I hate using plastic bags in the U.S. because I am aware that they end up in the oceans, being burned (releasing lots of pleasant gases) but here they line the ground or are burned (people actually like to burn them because they burn longer). I was speaking with John about the environmental issue of the bags and he said that they had actually been banned in Nairobi. As in, you can be fined in Nairobi for carrying one. That seems really strange but I have to admit that I like the idea. At first, one would think that it's the poorest who will suffer b/c they can't buy other bags or they can't offer the customers at their fruit stand anything but those bags but who complained (according to John)? Not the people, but the manufacturers of those plastic bags.

Other thoughts on Nairobi: Nairobi is surprisingly clean. I'm told that it was awful 10 years ago with litter everyone and so much crime. I'm harldy saying it's crimefree but it's not a bad city to walk around in. From what I've gathered it was a Guliani-style clean-up so I can only hope that the street kids that are no longer on the street are actually someplace better. hmmmm

Pizza- I'm making pizza for my family tonight. We'll see how that goes. I was going to make tacos but they requested to try pizza despite 2 of the family members professing to dislike cheese. Should be interesting.

Skumaweeki.... is a kind of green (not spinach, not kale) that's eaten here a lot. Skuma means to push and as far as I can tell, is the real name of this vegetable. But.... it's called skumaweeki (I think jokingly) because since everyone has to eat those greens a lot (they're cheaper than many other foods and widely available) eating it 'pushes' the week forward.

Dogs and cats- not pets here but there are 2 of each in the household. Thomas and Snoopy are the dogs and Tina and Lied (named for volunteers) are the cats. They each have their jobs- the dogs to act as guards, the cats as pest control. Since the house often has Western guests the animals have become a little more pet-like. Thomas has a habit of escorting me places. Since I can't go into the main grocery store (yes a STORE- most people buy food at little stands which I do like the idea of better but the STORE- Tusky's, has fixed prices so I can't be charged a higher Mazungu (white) price) with Thomas I was trying to get him to go home and failing that, I was trying to lose him on one of the bigger roads. I already stand out but hiding from a dog added some amusement to the spectacle. (I did succeed in the end).