Squash

A couple weeks ago, we stopped at the grocery market on the way home, and I asked the driver, Mike, if he needed anything that I could pick up for him while I was shopping. He replied, “I don’t know, maybe squash?” I thought his request was a bit curious, but as soon as I entered the market, I saw a big pile of butternut squash, and thought, oh, I guess that’s why he requested squash. I picked up a nice one for him, and didn’t think any more of it.

This past week, we had a 4-5 hour ride to Lilongwe, and we passed many markets, and folks selling veggies on the roadside. When we went by someone selling butternut squash, Mike pointed at it, and said, “Do you call this squash?” I answered, “Yes, butternut squash.” He said, “We call this pumpkin. When I asked for squash that time, I wanted a drink, it’s like orange soda.” After we finished laughing, I said, “You must have thought I was crazy, bringing a pumpkin when you wanted a drink!” He smiled and said, “Well… it was very good! I have never cooked this before, and it was so nice, I invited my neighbor to join me for dinner.”