Coca Cola

If you've ever had Coke in a glass bottle, you know that without a doubt, it's the best Coke in the world. Upon my arrival back on this glorious continent, I was so excited about being back in the land of glass Coke bottles and greatly savored my first Coke. However, for some Coke isn't as refreshing as we think it is!

A few weeks ago now, I went to visit my African family and upon arrival I was informed that Rabdou, a cousin who lives with my family, was sick. I asked what he was sick with, but no one knew. We sat down, made ourselves comfortable and began to chat when Rabdou made his appearance. He looked fine. He didn't appear to be sick or in discomfort, however, when he opened his mouth to greet me, a soft, scratch voice, barely above a whisper came out. It sounded like he had awful strep or something like that. It hurt to even list to him try to speak.

Rabdou

While often one of the entertainers of the group, Rabdou sat quietly and when there was something he needed to add to the conversation, he'd scribble it in a notebook and hand it to the person next to him to read out what he'd written to the group.

Concerned, I insisted that he go visit our team doctor the next day, and this is when the true story came out. Rabdou had spent a day working with my cousin Paul, learning how to weld. He had had a great time learning and working, excited for once to have something to do! At the end of a long, hot day of work, Paul had given Rabdou a nice, cold Coke to finish off the day with. Whether it was the acid in the Coke that hurt his throat or the icy temperature of the beverage, the end result was that Rabdou was unable to speak for the next two days!! It really makes to wonder about what they put in Coke and should we really be putting it in our bodies!

Rabdou has a great sense of humour and continually joked that Paul had given him the Coke to steal his voice so that Paul could use his voice to speak Tamasheq!! To be honest, I haven't been able to resist and every so often will turn to Rabdou and ask, "Hey, do you want a Coke?"