Conversations with Majabiya

Watching some dumb Nicolas Cage movie I had the following conversation in Hausa with Majabiya, in which I try to explain aliens:
MAJ: Who are they?
ME: Uh, they’re from the stars.
MAJ: There are people in the stars?
ME: Well, some people think, just like we have a world and people, there are worlds and people out there, in the stars.
MAJ: Oh.
ME: But, there are people who think ‘one Allah, one world, that’s it.’ So, I don’t know. A lot of movies are about people from the stars.
MAJ: Ok.

On Vegetarians, as informed by Michael Pollen’s Omnivore’s Dilemma:
ME: I have 3 friends here who don’t eat meat. What did they do during Tabaski?
MAJ: Oh right! (A beat, then: ) Why don’t they eat meat?
ME: Uh, well, in America, it’s not like here, where each family has one or two or three goats or cows. In America, one person can have lots of cows-thousands! And when there are a lot, they don’t have health. They give them medicine all the time.
MAJ: They don’t eat meat because the animals aren’t healthy like animals here.
ME: …Yeah sure. Also, there are people who love animals, so they don’t want to eat them. I don’t understand, because meat is so delicious!
MAJ: Does the meat taste better here or in America?
ME: I don’t know, because we don’t eat sheep much in America. Mostly cows, and chicken, and pork! (end of discussion)

While she walked me part of the way home one particularly moonlit night:
ME: The moon is beautiful tonight.
MAJ: Do you have a moon in the US?
ME: (scoffs) Yes! Of course! One world!
MAJ: (laughs) One world, different people.
ME: Exactly!