What to Eat?

September 17, 2005

When we were preparing to come here, we were under the impression that there would not be many things available at the store. We thought we would be without dairy products, fresh meat, and packaged food. In reality we are only without packaged food.

There is a variety of yogurt available, but you must buy it on the day it arrives or you won’t get any. There are several different types of cheese; Gouda, brie, American slices, but no cheddar. Milk is a dairy product that is double pasteurized so it has a long shelf life. There is ice cream, both powdered mix and regular, but there is no cream cheese or sour cream.

We have lamb, chicken, hamburger, prawns, a white fish called Capitan, as well as a variety of cold cuts. The eggs are brown and usually have a few feathers stuck to them. It’s all very tasty, but it all tastes different than what we are used to. This, of course, doesn’t really bother anyone except Zachary.

We don’t have bread. There is flour and yeast, but no bread. We have learned that bread is baked fresh every day at the club and may be purchased there for about $2 a loaf. There is also a Malian man that sells baguettes for twenty cents a loaf. He comes around each day about 6:00 (1800h), but he generally doesn’t have bread for the Toubabs (white folks). We have rice and noodles and some spice mixes, as well as locally grown produce like potatoes, beets, onions, apples, garlic, and corn.

As a result, the things we cook are basic and fairly boring. We eat a lot of rice, noodles, and stews. Everyone says the same about their own meals. Carrie and I have each lost about ten pounds since arriving. The reasons are varied; food is expensive, meals are generally not that interesting, and there are no snack foods. If you are hungry between meals, there is nothing available to nibble on. The ice cream is expensive and a treat so we content ourselves with smaller portions.

We have been to several parties at the club. Ellen, the manager, insists that she gets her food the same place as everyone else, but I don’t know how that can be. Today we went to a birthday party for a six year old. The theme was Peter Pan. The birthday girl was dressed as Tinkerbell and the cake was prepared to match her. There were crepes with two kinds of sauce, quiche, hamburger pie (made with crepes as there are no tortillas), and cherry cheesecake. Last week there was a Spanish themed party for which she had prepared Oxtail Soup, seafood with Spanish rice, a variety of appetizers, and several different desserts. It is amazing. She is truly the life saver here.

The birthday party was attended by every student from the school and their mothers. The folks who work for the mine have to work on Saturdays (some of them only get one weekend off a month). We had tons of fun. There was a treasure hunt, goody bags, music, and of course wonderful food. As it turned towards noon, we all got into our swimming suits and played in the pool. It was the first time any of my students had seen my tattoos. Some were stunned, some asked to examine them more closely, some just looked and went on playing. It was really refreshing to be able to just play with these kids instead of being the authority figure. They all tried to catch me and sink me and I in turn threw each of them across the pool and gave them a big time. Nobody wanted to go home.