Woman Who Fell From the Sky - Jennifer Steil [148]
Carolyn looks at me with calm skepticism. “There’s a new ambassador?”
“Yes, oh yes. And he’s the loveliest man on the planet.”
“Isn’t he married?”
I sag. “Yes,” I say. “I’m not going to run off with him or anything. I just love him.”
Fortunately for Carolyn, I get too distracted by preparations for Koosje’s last supper to keep obsessing about Tim. We’re always saying good-bye to someone. Our usual crowd meets at the Arabia Felix hotel, where we have the usual curry and shisha blowout bash. Afterward, the whole gang of us escorts Koosje to a taxi and runs waving after her. “Ma’a salaama! Safe journeys to the First World!”
Koosje’s departure is the beginning of the end of our home. She and Carolyn have become my family, and I miss Koosje like a sister. I’m terribly glad Carolyn has decided to stay.
Later that month, Carolyn and I go to a quiz night at the British Club. Our team does quite well, and I can’t help beaming often and inappropriately at Tim, who is also here, standing across the room at the bar. His wife and their visiting daughter, a vivacious seventeen-year-old, are here too, but in another part of the room. It takes me a while to figure out who they are. I don’t speak to Tim, but we smile at each other an awful lot.
“Incorrigible flirt,” Carolyn says accusingly before heading over to Tim to introduce herself. “He’s my ambassador, after all,” she says. They talk for ages, and when she returns to our table, she looks at me significantly and says, “I see what you mean.”
LOCUST SEASON, WEDDING SEASON, and pomegranate season arrive simultaneously; in August, Sana’a is taken over by bugs, brides, and wheelbarrows spilling over with round yellow-green fruit. On my way to work, I see small boys chase fist-sized locusts, catching them with dusty palms and stuffing them into plastic bottles. They carry these bottles home, where the bugs are roasted and eaten.
The locust infestation inspires my hands-down favorite editorial. One Thursday, we finish the paper by four P.M., and I am closing down my computer when Ali pops his head back into my office, looking alarmed.
“Editorial?”
I look up at him. “Oh no. I totally forgot!”
“So did I.”
I switch my computer back on and open the folder of front-page stories for this issue. Nothing inspires me. Then Jabr’s piece catches my eye. He’s done a marvelous locust story, including the fact that people in the streets are rejoicing in the bounty and eating them. It sports one of my all-time favorite headlines: LOCUSTS INVADE SANA’A, BECOME SNACKFOOD.
“Ali,” I say, “can you get on the Internet and find me locust recipes?”
“Yeah,” he says, laughing. “Let’s do that.”
A few minutes later, he sends me a list of recipes from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization’s website, and I write a brief editorial on why we should eat the critters.
HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR LOCAL LOCUSTS
Swarms of hopping, soaring locusts have begun encroaching on our territory. These pests are a plague to farmers whose crops they threaten. But in the cities, many of us are rejoicing at the ubiquity of one of our favorite snacks. And why not treat yourself to a handful of locusts? They’re cheap, tasty, and readily available. Besides, you’ll be doing your bit to help protect crops from their deadly munching. So, with a little bit of help from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, here are a few recipes to help you make your locusts even tastier. After all, given that these critters are so intent on eating our food supply, it’s only right that we bite back.
Try these at home:
Tinjiya (Tswana recipe)
Remove the wings and hind legs of the locusts, and boil in a little water until soft. Add salt, if desired, and a little fat and fry until brown. Serve with cooked, dried mealies (corn).
Sikonyane (Swazi recipe)
Prepare embers and roast the whole locust on the embers. Remove head, wings, and legs … and the rest set on the coals to roast. The roasted locusts are ground on a grinding stone to a fine powder. This powder can be kept for long periods of time and can