National Condiment

Possibly one of the biggest differences that I've encountered since I've been has been the food, particularly the availability of certain foods. With the exception of the Banjul and surrounding area, there are no fast food joints, delis, or white table cloth establishments. In village, there is no ordering a pizza when your feeling lazy and don't want to cook. Good bye McDonald's, Subway, Taco Bell.

This is not to say there aren't places that emulate the look, feel, and to some extent, taste of a franchised eatery. However, the cost of experiencing Western-style dining is 'A Koliyata' (difficult). A few weeks ago, I splurged and when to a classy, white tablecloth place named GFC.

Yes, you did successfully deconstruct that acronym into it's full, but cumbersome form. Gambia Fried Chicken. It had air-conditioning, it had beer, and unexpectedly, had good pizza.

So, since the American tradition of 'eating out' on a regular basis is not fiscally responsible, what do people eat here? How do they manage? You're probably thinking lots and lots of rice, and you are correct. But only half correct.

Sugar......ridiculous amounts of sugar. And not just your run-of-the-mill, white, granulated sugar, but the thick, syrupy, sticky variety commonly known as sweetened condensed milk. It's amazing what you can do with it. You can add it to your tea, your nescafe, your juice. You can add kool-aid, and freeze it in little baggies to sell as 'ice'. You can reduce it over low heat, and roll it into little 'butterscotch' balls. It's everywhere. It's a phenomenon. As a side project, I think I'm going to start a diabetes awareness club.

Seeing the people here mixing it into everything, it's a bit akin to the 'ranch dippers' you find in America. My sister was one of those, putting ranch on french fries, baked potatoes, pinto beans, and sometimes salad. Since those days, I think she has detoxified, and is clean and sober. I'm proud of you, Amy.

--Junkung

Oh Crap!

"Junkung...... what is this?"

"Oh.....that, haha, um....whoa! don't open that....kana wo yele!..... wo mu buwo kabo kono le ti"

"Oh....Junkung, Junkung....haha."

Mumbala, one of the kids in my compound, almost opened a jar of my crap. I had to give a stool sample for what I suspected to be some sort of intestinal parasite. Probably Giardia. Look it up yourself. The symptoms have since waned, but it will come back to haunt me if it is indeed Giardia. I'm not sure exactly where I got it from; there are too many possibilities. But, what this means is that, at some point, I had eaten crap. Just thought that was noteworthy.

--Junkung

A friendly visit

The other day, I went to a Fula village the other day to visit my friend Abdullah, who works at the hospital. Fulas are known for raising cattle and for being light-skinned, beautiful people. Gambian hospitality is something to behold, especially with regards to eating. Right now it is harvest season, with the most notable crop being 'tiyoo' or peanuts. To recap our meals in 5 hour span:

First, we 'roasted' peanuts. The roasting process is a 13 year old boy's dream: You take the raw harvested peanuts, still attached to the peanut plant, throw a bunch of hay on them, and light them on fire. When there is nothing left but the charred peanuts, the roasting process is complete.

Before I'd finished my peanuts, a bowl of futoo with ninsi keke was brought. Futoo is pounded coos, and coos is essentially birdfeed. Ninsi keke is fresh cow's milk. Add a bit of salt, and it's delicious.

A little later I ate lunch twice, and both times I ate more than anyone else.... I'm such a fat American. Lunch was rice (what else) with fish and a peppery sauce.

To cap off my visit, I saw the oldest, saggiest boobs that I (hopefully) will ever see. It seems the women here wear shirts less often the older they get........

I will leave you all with that image now.

-Junkung