genesis domain was triggered too early. This is usually an indicator for some code in the plugin or theme running too early. Translations should be loaded at the init action or later. Please see Debugging in WordPress for more information. (This message was added in version 6.7.0.) in /home3/beginsat/public_html/journal/wp-includes/functions.php on line 6131daily-dish domain was triggered too early. This is usually an indicator for some code in the plugin or theme running too early. Translations should be loaded at the init action or later. Please see Debugging in WordPress for more information. (This message was added in version 6.7.0.) in /home3/beginsat/public_html/journal/wp-includes/functions.php on line 6131I should start off by saying huge thank you to everyone for your questions<\/a>. It has been a wonderful experience. This is probably the longest blogpost I have ever done…but hey…you asked for it.<\/p>\n Also thank you to Angie<\/a> who though didn’t ask a question, left a wonderful and encouraging message. Angie you have done this more than once and I just wanted you to know that I appreciate your words.<\/p>\n So without further ado…here they are: Given me a thick skin, introduced me to a world of people and views that I would probably never have come across. <\/p>\n Most certainly but I would make sure I had an exit plan. There have been a few times when I have wanted to quit this blog and I have never known how.<\/p>\n Yes. There have been some negative aspects but these are outweighed by the positive. If at any time I felt that bad times exceeded the good; I would quit.<\/p>\n African or European? <\/p>\n On a more serious note the answer is said to be 11 meters per second, or 24 miles an hour<\/a>.\n<\/ol>\n Bernie <\/a> wanted to know:<\/p>\n My blog had been in existence for a while before I decided to name it. I blogged about the history <\/a>of the name but there is one thing I forgot to mention.<\/p>\n In Kenya, when the word Mama is used as prefix it usually means, Mother of where the word after is the name of the child e.g. my mother would be Mama Kui.<\/p>\n Other times it can be used to refer to a woman who works in a particular trade, e.g. a woman who sells vegetables can be called Mama Mboga (mboga is Kiswahili for vegetables)<\/p>\n In some instances it can be used to refer to a woman who owns something e.g. a woman who owns cows would be Mama Ngombe. It is with this particular example in mind that I opted to use the once hated nickname as a blog title. <\/p>\n My blog is really where I come to share all the junk that is in my mind: Mama JunkYard\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s sums that up\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00c2\u00a6I hope\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00c2\u00a6.<\/p>\n I decided to ask the true Brit in our household, Mich. His response was, \u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00c5\u201cTell Bernie to go down the pub\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac?. Initially I dismissed this but he does have a point.<\/p>\n To get a real feel of a place it is always better to observe and talk to the people who live there. I can\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00e2\u201e\u00a2t think of a better place to meet, locals than to spend time in an English pub. <\/p>\n Visit as many as you can, be they middle class pubs, countryside pubs. Just go on one big nationwide pub crawl. Though some pubs I would avoid, especially those that have more than one Union Jack adorning the walls.<\/p>\n Today it feels half empty.<\/p>\n<\/ol>\n The next three were posed by Brutha Code<\/a>.<\/p>\n A while back I read about Brown University\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s Michael Jackson\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s Wall of Shame<\/a>. It was a list of \u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00cb\u0153shameful\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00e2\u201e\u00a2 men who dated outside their race. Soon after I read that the UK has one of the fastest growing mixed-race populations in the world<\/a>.<\/p>\n Add to the fact that the US has had anti- miscegenation laws I wrongly concluded that the UK was more accepting of interracial relationships.<\/p>\n Now I realise that both countries have similar attitudes \u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00e2\u20ac\u0153 it is still considered a taboo by many. The only difference is in how this disapproval is expressed. The English with their stiff upper lips settle for the odd glance, the occasional snide remark some even ignore your partner completely. If you don\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00e2\u201e\u00a2t look for the signs, you would think that people are ok with it. In the States, people are a lot more vocal about their likes and dislikes.<\/p>\n The following is based solely on my interaction with both Kenyan and African American men:-<\/p>\n Both men are usually very forward in their approach but their language\/choice of words will differ. African American men can be very blunt and explicit. Kenyan men, perhaps owing to the view that in our culture sex is considered a taboo subject, are more likely to settle for polite chat up lines. <\/p>\n The following are examples of chat up lines that I have been \u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00cb\u0153subjected\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00e2\u201e\u00a2 to:<\/p>\n \u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00c5\u201cAre you sexually active baby\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac? \u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00e2\u20ac\u0153 random African American<\/p>\n \u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00c5\u201cSo, where is your boyfriend\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac? \u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00e2\u20ac\u0153 random Kenyan<\/p>\n Both take rejection badly.<\/p>\n Whoa! This is tough! I\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00e2\u201e\u00a2ll give it a try. I certainly left Belize not just wanting to learn a whole lot more about our people, but I also realise how much more united we would be if we knew more about each other.<\/p>\n<\/ol>\n KBW’s<\/a> keeper of the memory vault, Memoire<\/a> asked:<\/p>\n Girl I am so tempted to say The Wizard of Oz. If I get tired\/bored and decide I want to go home, I just click my shoes and repeat \u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00c5\u201cthere\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s no place like home\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac?. <\/p>\n If there was no way out at all, then I would love to be stuck in the Lion King. Living with Timon and Pumbaa, singing Hakuna Matata sounds like heaven. Not sure about eating bugs though.<\/p>\n Memoire, I have tried to narrow it down to one but I can\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00e2\u201e\u00a2t so I shall list three.<\/p>\n Walking in Memphis (Marc Cohn) the words, his voice, everything about this song just moves me.<\/p>\n The Retreat Song (Miriam Makeba), my aunt used to sing this song to me as a child and I performed this song three years in a row while at University so it really is a big part of my life.<\/p>\n Kabhi kabhi mere dil mein (Lata Mangeshkar, Mukesh\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00e2\u20ac\u0153 from the movie Kabhie Kabhi<\/a>) another song from my childhood, always reminds me of my grandmother.<\/p>\n Ah..so that\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s what the Matrix was about? Sci-Fi stuff is lost on me. If this world was a computer simulation I wouldn\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00e2\u201e\u00a2t even notice.<\/p>\n<\/ol>\n Akiey<\/a> stopped by and left these three:<\/p>\n Without a doubt, it has to be my engagement ring, not just because it looks good but because of it represents. <\/p>\n Whoppi Golderberg \u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00e2\u20ac\u0153 not only has she got amazing dreadlocks but I think she is a fantastic actress.<\/p>\n Edward Norton \u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00e2\u20ac\u0153 I would like to see my life played out by a white man \u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00e2\u20ac\u0153 no idea why \u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00e2\u20ac\u0153 plus I think he is cute.<\/p>\n Can I make it a dinner party? I would invite Winnie Mandela, Malcolm X, Harriet Tubman and Bob Marley. The waiting staff would be made up of the entire Arsenal squad and Marc Bolan. <\/p>\n<\/ol>\n These areCilia’s<\/a> questions:<\/p>\n As vain as this sounds \u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00e2\u20ac\u0153 losing my dreads.<\/p>\n I am one of those people who is either 100% passionate about and committed to something or I just don\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00e2\u201e\u00a2t give a damn. No in between but if I could list a few it would be God, Family, Arsenal, Coffee, anything to do with both Race and Sexuality. <\/p>\n Did you mean like stories about ex-boyfriends, bad dates? I am not the kiss and tell type but I would say this \u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00e2\u20ac\u0153 if you current date refuses to meet your family \u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00e2\u20ac\u0153 dump him\/her. If your current date dislikes your family \u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00e2\u20ac\u0153 dump him\/her. If your family dislikes your current date \u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00e2\u20ac\u0153 dump him\/her.<\/p>\n What funny book are you reading?<\/p>\n<\/ol>\n Another blogless soul, Jaqua<\/b> wanted to find out:<\/p>\n A wise blogger<\/a>, when asked about revealing too much information on his blog said this<\/a>, \u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00c5\u201cmake sure your reality can support the consequences\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac?.<\/p>\n Considering the fact that I do not blog using a pseudonym, I am a member of a profession that doesn\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00e2\u201e\u00a2t approve of indecent acts, my seven year old cousin reads this blog \u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00e2\u20ac\u0153 I can definitely say that my reality can not support the consequences if I opted to answer this question.<\/p>\n I am sure people the states hear this all the time but everything over there is just so much bigger! The cars, the roads, the buildings, the people \u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00e2\u20ac\u0153 everything! <\/p>\n A cross between D & G\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s Light Blue and freshly baked cinnamon rolls.<\/p>\n<\/ol>\n The sometimes cousin\/sometimes husband always dunce Nick<\/a> asked<\/p>\n I really don\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00e2\u201e\u00a2t know\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00c2\u00a6..<\/p>\n Generally an honest and loving relationship though I have a tendency to stray.<\/p>\n Why did you have to go there with that Bree thing? I can only think of a TV character that I have wanted to be like. Remember Living Single\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s<\/a> Max played by Erika Alexander<\/a>? I so wanted to be her. Come to think of it…I am not doing to bad, I’ve got the dreads, the law degree….\n<\/ol>\n No longer pink but still pretty, Ms K <\/a> chose the following:<\/p>\n Is this in reference to belly buttons? If it is, I just have to say that belly buttons are the ugliest part of the human body. The less I see of them \u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00e2\u20ac\u0153 the better so it has to be an innie.<\/p>\n In this order: Get another tattoo, spend some time in Kenya and return to Belize.<\/p>\n My youngest sister Mimu, she is one strong, beautiful, intelligent young woman.\n<\/ol>\n HumanityCritic<\/a> is responsible for these three:<\/p>\n I am trying so hard to remember but for some strange reason all I keep hearing is Lady of Rage \u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00e2\u20ac\u0153 Afro Puffs<\/p>\n LMAO! Me fighting? The only act of violence I can took place a long time ago. I was about 13\/14 and my aunt had given up her apartment so that I could have a Christmas party. The only condition was that no alcohol was allowed. Ha! Of course teenagers never follow rules. Quite a few of my friends turned up to the party already drunk.<\/p>\n One friend began throwing up over my aunt\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s carpet. That was one step too far for me I tried everything to get her to sober up but nothing seemed to work. So I slapped her. <\/p>\n My aunt arrived before the party ended. I can\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00e2\u201e\u00a2t describe the look on her face when she stepped into her bathroom and saw another friend, face down in the toilet bowl.<\/p>\n As an aside: I have a low tolerance for people who get drunk and start behaving stupidly. If you are the type who after a few drinks decides to strip\/grope others\/cry\/pick fights\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00c2\u00a6please either stay sober in my company or keep away from me.<\/p>\n Giving up piano lessons. The lessons were after school and clashed with that dull but terribly addictive Australian soap \u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00e2\u20ac\u0153 Neighbours. It was uncool to turn up at school without an opinion on whether Phoebe should end up with Josh or Todd. <\/p>\n<\/ol>\n Nick<\/a> clearly not content with being linked once:<\/p>\n Hmm..something about you coming back to my blog had me thinking of Tracy Chapman’s Talking ‘Bout a Revolution. You know that line that goes “finally the tables are starting to turn”. Any idea why?\n<\/ol>\n Only one from Ms Guessaurus<\/a><\/p>\n G, I was not offended by your question, just confuddled. Wasn\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00e2\u201e\u00a2t sure if you meant whether my parents had an issue with Mich being white or whether it was difficult to reconcile my pro-black upbringing with my dating a white man. <\/p>\n In the case of the latter, the challenges we faced were less to do with race but more to do with the North\/South divide. Mich is a Yorkshire man\/Northerner born and bred. I was raised a Londoner\/Southerner. In the early days communication was such a problem. E.g. I asked Mich to come round for tea, which to me meant just that, a cup of tea. I had no idea that up North tea is an evening meal. I was shocked when he asked me what I was planning to cook\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00c2\u00a6<\/p>\n As for my parents \u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00e2\u20ac\u0153 his race was never a problem. Mich is a wonderful person it is hard not to like him. <\/p>\n<\/ol>\n Geek-Chic Mshairi<\/a> asked:<\/p>\n In relation to what? <\/p>\n Ask a telephone operator and they will tell it is the country code for Norway.<\/p>\n Knowing you to be a geek, I am guessing this is a Star Trek reference? I could google it but I suspect you would take far greater pleasure in laughing at me for not knowing the answer and who am I to spoil your fun?<\/p>\n In the unlikely event that one desires to eat such a common bird one\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s servants would be responsible for it\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s cooking.<\/p>\n Possibly.<\/p>\n<\/ol>\n Questions below left byCiru<\/b> no blog:<\/p>\n Cigarettes and laptop<\/p>\n Why bother filing charges against a corpse.<\/p>\n I can\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00e2\u201e\u00a2t speak for all white men, but Mich is by far the best man I have ever dated…that is why I am marrying him.<\/p>\n<\/ol>\n Butterfly loving Kipepeo<\/a> asked: <\/p>\n Hmm\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00c2\u00a6I think I would rather keep my ability to hear.<\/p>\n I wouldn\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00e2\u201e\u00a2t, the less people eating chocolate the more there is for me.<\/p>\n Joy\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00c2\u00a6no reason.<\/p>\n<\/ol>\n Thanks to smart and sexy Larry <\/a>for these three:<\/p>\n Bearing in mind that I consider myself a Christian is it wrong to say I have never really thought about this and I don\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00e2\u201e\u00a2t care? <\/p>\n No. I feel a lot better than I did a year ago. Now I know exactly where I want to be and how to get there. The only problem is that there is something standing in my way.<\/p>\n Hmm\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00c2\u00a6I was tempted to say 2 but knowing that it can\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00e2\u201e\u00a2t get any worse than this leads me to say 7.\n<\/ol>\n Clearly a woman with a lot to say Ciru ‘get-your-own-blog’ <\/b> returned to find out:<\/p>\n The law should ensure homosexuals and heterosexuals are entitled to the same rights. Why? Discrimination is wrong. Homophobia is wrong. To me it really as simple as that.<\/p>\n Girl, you are funny\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00c2\u00a6I don\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00e2\u201e\u00a2t think I am special, be that in a positive or negative way.<\/p>\n It is never ok but sometimes it is necessary.<\/p>\n<\/ol>\n Wg-k<\/a> my newly found twin asks:<\/p>\n Arsenal changing rooms.<\/p>\n A bright purple cardboard hat<\/p>\n Mich is forever tidying up. Anything left lying around ends up in the bin. <\/p>\n My insomnia annoys Mich. That and having friends who text at odd hours.<\/p>\n Either I have very wonderful friends or I have a bad memory \u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00e2\u20ac\u0153 nothing comes to mind.<\/p>\n<\/ol>\n
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\nAsking questions that only a non-blogger would ask Mich<\/b> wanted to know<\/p>\n\n
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\nWe as black people know very little about ourselves. Sure, we may know about the black people who share our national identity but as a group, we still have a lot to learn about each other. As an African I always imagined that the blacks in the Caribbean region were all the same. It was a real shock to meet two very different groups of black people both with their own language and culture in one Caribbean\/Central American nation. <\/p>\n\n
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