Thursday, August 2, 2012

Guessing Game: What Are These Things?

Item 1: What is this?


Item 2: What are these?



Item 1: Not a potato, it's a fruit! The closer you get to the center, the more it tastes like caramel.
Item 2: It's a Beninese toothbrush. You chew one end until it flattens and softens; that end should become somewhat like a stiff paintbrush. Then you use it to brush your teeth.

4 comments:

  1. I give up. So what am I looking at? I hope you have a better toothbrush than that. If you send this picture to your dentist he/she might be so concerned that he/she will send brushes to you so that your dental health will not suffer while you're gone. You might tell your trainers you have found a very effective way to ward off prospective husbands so that they can pass it along to other Peace Corp volunteers.:) I love it. It gave me a good laugh. I wonder where the doctor you will be working with has been trained. Your experiences in the village will no doubt be an eye opener. I'm anticipating your reaction to all of that. Jean Ralley

    ReplyDelete
  2. A friend of mine reports that the fruit is called chikoo in India. In French it is called sapotillier.

    I have been quite impressed with Beninese dental hygiene. Their teeth look better than the average American teeth. I am sure part of it is related to diet. They don't eat the same teeth-rotting foods that Americans do.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I was totally going to guess chiku!! It's sooo delicious! You don't get as often in Delhi as you do in Bombay. May be related to tropical climate! They have the stick/toothbrush thing in India too :) Miss you!! --Saloni

    ReplyDelete
  4. I never saw either of them in Delhi, or anywhere in India for that matter.
    Maybe you should come to Benin!
    Alex

    ReplyDelete