Maria began and then fell silent when Lars started to talk about the upcoming wedding of Troels, one of Gunnar's nephews.
And as they talked about Troels and his wedding in Esbjerg, the coastal city in southern Jylland, Gunnar wondered how people could even imagine that he, an old dried-up man, could have anything remotely sexual to do with a girl as young as Raihana. It was disgusting.
EIGHT
ENTRY FROM ANNA'S DIARY
A Year of Keeping Bees
10 JUNE 1980
Today I saw some bees kick out another bee that was trying to enter their hive. I was quite impressed. If a bee doesn't smell like the queen bee, guard bees will not let the bee into the hive. They do this because robber bees are everywhere.
Robber bees rob. If you are trying to feed a new or weak colony that has other strong colonies nearby, there is a good chance the weak colony will get killed by robber bees that come to loot and pillage if there are no strong guard bees to stop them.
” S mager godt?” Raihana asked nervously.
Gunnar dipped the naan in the spicy lamb curry again and chewed slowly. “It's excellent,” he said with a smile.
Raihana smiled too. She had been nervous as she packed her lunch with the leftover curry and naan from the night before. She did it in secret so that Layla would not know. Layla left at six in the morning for the supermarket on Tuesdays. It was the only day she worked the morning shift and Raihana had chosen that day to bring food for Gunnar.
The previous week Raihana had brought the leftover lamb curry with pita bread for lunch to the Danish man's house on a whim. In a rare moment of conversation not about bees, the Danish man had said that he could smell garlic in the kitchen and asked her what she'd had for lunch. Raihana told him it was a lamb dish and he replied that it smelled very interesting. Raihana then decided to bring some Afghan food for him, so that he could taste the interesting smell.
Usually Raihana made herself a white bread sandwich as she could not eat the popular Danish rye bread, rugbrød. Layla bought chicken and roast beef cold cuts from the supermarket and they made sandwiches for their madpakke , lunch pack. Sometimes they made pita sandwiches with leftover lamb or chicken curry, but only if they didn't have bread and cold cuts in the fridge. The pita sandwiches were messy and Layla thought they should eat like Danes because that would help them integrate into the Danish society faster.
They went through ten of the colonies on the morning that Raihana packed lunch for herself and Gunnar. They added new frames and new boxes for colonies to grow. They cleaned up the dead bees from the base of the colonies. And they checked all the colonies for new larvae and diseases. All the colonies were doing well, except one where the bees were not producing much brood.
When they decided to break for lunch, Raihana asked the Danish man if he would like to eat some Afghan food. He seemed surprised, but he agreed. Raihana was surprised herself that she'd had the courage to ask. Layla had told her that Danes weren't interested in the Afghan culture, their food, or their lives. Danes just wanted the foreigners to learn Danish, find jobs, and stop taking money from their government. But the Danish man had taught her so much and Raihana wanted to give something back.
“We have drink with honey,” she said and opened her Thermos. “It is called shumlay.”
“Shumlay,” Gunnar said, rolling the word around his mouth.
Shumlay was a traditional drink Pashtuns made. Raihana hadn't drunk it in a long time. But it seemed like the perfect drink for the Danish man because it was made with honey.
Raihana mixed a glass for him with the yogurt mixture she got from home, some ice cubes, and the liquid acacia honey.
“Try,” she said, excited.
He didn't seem so sure. He sniffed and then looked uncomfortable. “What's in it?” he asked.
“Green chiles, coriander, cumin, and …,” Raihana said nervously.
He looked
And as they talked about Troels and his wedding in Esbjerg, the coastal city in southern Jylland, Gunnar wondered how people could even imagine that he, an old dried-up man, could have anything remotely sexual to do with a girl as young as Raihana. It was disgusting.
EIGHT
ENTRY FROM ANNA'S DIARY
A Year of Keeping Bees
10 JUNE 1980
Today I saw some bees kick out another bee that was trying to enter their hive. I was quite impressed. If a bee doesn't smell like the queen bee, guard bees will not let the bee into the hive. They do this because robber bees are everywhere.
Robber bees rob. If you are trying to feed a new or weak colony that has other strong colonies nearby, there is a good chance the weak colony will get killed by robber bees that come to loot and pillage if there are no strong guard bees to stop them.
” S mager godt?” Raihana asked nervously.
Gunnar dipped the naan in the spicy lamb curry again and chewed slowly. “It's excellent,” he said with a smile.
Raihana smiled too. She had been nervous as she packed her lunch with the leftover curry and naan from the night before. She did it in secret so that Layla would not know. Layla left at six in the morning for the supermarket on Tuesdays. It was the only day she worked the morning shift and Raihana had chosen that day to bring food for Gunnar.
The previous week Raihana had brought the leftover lamb curry with pita bread for lunch to the Danish man's house on a whim. In a rare moment of conversation not about bees, the Danish man had said that he could smell garlic in the kitchen and asked her what she'd had for lunch. Raihana told him it was a lamb dish and he replied that it smelled very interesting. Raihana then decided to bring some Afghan food for him, so that he could taste the interesting smell.
Usually Raihana made herself a white bread sandwich as she could not eat the popular Danish rye bread, rugbrød. Layla bought chicken and roast beef cold cuts from the supermarket and they made sandwiches for their madpakke , lunch pack. Sometimes they made pita sandwiches with leftover lamb or chicken curry, but only if they didn't have bread and cold cuts in the fridge. The pita sandwiches were messy and Layla thought they should eat like Danes because that would help them integrate into the Danish society faster.
They went through ten of the colonies on the morning that Raihana packed lunch for herself and Gunnar. They added new frames and new boxes for colonies to grow. They cleaned up the dead bees from the base of the colonies. And they checked all the colonies for new larvae and diseases. All the colonies were doing well, except one where the bees were not producing much brood.
When they decided to break for lunch, Raihana asked the Danish man if he would like to eat some Afghan food. He seemed surprised, but he agreed. Raihana was surprised herself that she'd had the courage to ask. Layla had told her that Danes weren't interested in the Afghan culture, their food, or their lives. Danes just wanted the foreigners to learn Danish, find jobs, and stop taking money from their government. But the Danish man had taught her so much and Raihana wanted to give something back.
“We have drink with honey,” she said and opened her Thermos. “It is called shumlay.”
“Shumlay,” Gunnar said, rolling the word around his mouth.
Shumlay was a traditional drink Pashtuns made. Raihana hadn't drunk it in a long time. But it seemed like the perfect drink for the Danish man because it was made with honey.
Raihana mixed a glass for him with the yogurt mixture she got from home, some ice cubes, and the liquid acacia honey.
“Try,” she said, excited.
He didn't seem so sure. He sniffed and then looked uncomfortable. “What's in it?” he asked.
“Green chiles, coriander, cumin, and …,” Raihana said nervously.
He looked
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