Special Edition: What about the food?

As a special request from a super fan of the blog (thanks Marc McGee!), I will share a few more details about what my meals have been like these last two weeks.

Food is plentiful. Most families farm and use what they produce to sell and eat. Typical crops are corn, tomatoes, potatoes (Irish and sweet), matooke (a banana varietal), mango, banana, avocado, peppers, cabbage, and beans. Many families also keep chickens, goats, pigs and cows. In the market in Kisoga, there are numerous stalls selling these fruits and vegetables. Eggs too. You can also buy whole fish (Lake perch or tilapia) and meat. There are specific stands to buy beef. A huge hunk of raw meat is suspended from a meat hook and the owner will hack off the amount you want, weigh it and wrap it for you. There are also small stores where you can buy things like bread, tea, milk, pasta, etc. Last week, I spent the equivalent of $2 on a loaf of bread, a box of black tea, and two apples.

Ugandans don't really do breakfast, so I fend for myself in the morning and usually have a bit of oatmeal, a piece of bread or fruit. And coffee! Before I came, I did some research and discovered that Ugandans mostly drink tea, not coffee (kaawa). This was not going to work for me, and my lovely Ian thoughtfully purchased two pounds of high quality coffee grounds for me to bring. So every morning, I have that small indulgence using the French press left behind by another volunteer (I am having my first cup right now). I will not be sharing my coffee with the 6 new volunteers scheduled to arrive tomorrow...

As for meals, we are fortunate at Omni Med to have two women who cook and clean for the volunteers. Ruth and Garetti are excellent cooks- which is no small task. There is no oven, microwave, running water or immersion blender to assist with this. Meals are made using a cook stove- a safer and more efficient alternative to an open fire. What comes out of that is always very good. Lunch is the big meal of the day. Typically there are two starches served (matooke-mashed, posho-a spongy type of white polenta, and/or white rice). With this goes a "sauce" which could be beans (so good), g-nut (peanut) sauce, or a broth of some kind. Depending on the day, there might also be fish (served whole), spaghetti, beef or pork. Garetti also makes a really nice cabbage "salad" and sometimes delicious stewed greens. Avocado and fruit (usually mango or pineapple) is almost always available too (an avocado fell out of the tree in the back yard last night and I retrieved it for breakfast). Ugandans feel that food should be hot and cooked, so they don't do raw veggies like in a salad. As much as I complain at home about salad, I do miss fresh, raw greens and veggies.

Dinner is very simple. Often an omelette served with tomato, a bit of onion and fried potatoes. I love this meal and the hot sauce they have here to go with it! Last night was a treat of pan fried chicken leg and potatoes. So good!

Snacking doesn't seem to be too much of a thing here, although there are stands where you can buy samosa and chapati (there used to be a large Indian population in Uganda before Idi Amin forced them to leave in the 70's) A rolex is also popular. This is a chapati wrapped around an omelette. Really good and cheap (.50), but super greasy and not something I could eat everyday.

All in all, I am loving the food here and appreciating (mostly) the fact that there are no vending machines where I can get my Milky Way or Cheezit fix at 3pm. That said, I do miss chocolate, cheese, wine, and salad (a little bit anyway).

Check out the pics of some of my meals so far.

And just a final note. Knowing that I am due to travel to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in early June, many of you have asked about the Ebola outbreak the country is experiencing right now. The outbreak is currently 1,000 miles from where I am scheduled to be (near the Rwandan border). DRC frequently experiences small outbreaks in very remote areas and has typically been able to quell the spread pretty quickly. There is concern however that some new cases have been reported in a larger city on the Congo River (very far from my site visit location). I am in close contact with the security and staff team for the organization I am due to visit, in addition to receiving alerts from the State Department. If there is any danger in travelling to the country in June, I will not go. I will keep everyone updated, but in the meantime, please know that I am happy and healthy (if quite a bit more disheveled that I would like to be).