Manioc

He starts with the description of manioc, what it is, how it prepared, how it is served.

pg 29: misunderstandings/language

pg 30: good description of his house, surroundings

pg 31: impeccable comparison to museum display (anthropology); market with "dead yovo clothes"

*in Same we bartered too

Ama takes Packer in, teaches him

* how cruel we are to go abroad, where we are taught the local ways by an invested teacher, only to leave again

*while reflecting on the people is important, reflecting on my own thoughts and struggles is more (embarrassment, futility, humility, awe, fear - learning the language slowly, thrilled to finally speak)

pg 42: men constantly buzzed from alcohol (coca leaves, bua)

pg 44: palm wine (tua), "the color of soapy dishwater"

*"The taste of dirty gym socks," Jay would say.

*I want to see the writer writing, thinking about writing, journaling, but why? Would I feel more involved?

pg 45: ghosts/gods

*Timor had them too. Jose told us that if you got lost, turn your clothes inside out and you'll confuse the evil spirits

Is Packer's writing inconspicuous glorification? I wonder.

His Yale prose is beautiful but not real. I want to tell my story as a story, verbal, oral-like, telling a friend