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One Day I Will Write About This Place
By Binyavanga Wainaina

The story behind the memoir: A boy's joyous and politically uncertain childhood in Kenya, his travels around the globe as a full-grown man—and then all the way back to Kenya to learn about the meaning of home.

The person we loved: Mum, whose "voice is soft, and tingly" so that "people get tingly with her and do what she says."

The Swahili word we learned: nyatiti  (a traditional instrument)

The scene made for falling in love with Africa: "The wind swoops down, God breathes, and across the lake a million flamingos rise, the edges of Lake Nakuru lift, like pink skirts swollen by petticoats..."

The scene made for considering the complexities of Africa: The Swedish men who come to Wainaina's elementary school to teach the young but English-speaking children about cow manure, which the Swedes mistakenly call "fecal martyr." "With this new fuel," the Swedes kindly explain, "you can light your bulbs and cook your food. You will become balance dieted; if you are industrious perhaps you can run a small ... food mill and engage in income-generating activities. ... This is called development and we are here to raise your awareness." 

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