Tuesday 7/7/2009

Breakfast
3 Weetabix with room temperature whole milk. White coffee, made from an instant brand called Pancaffe. Its the most delicious coffee I have ever had in my life. On weekends Jane cooks mandazi. Mandazi is just a deep fried sweet dough which you might compare to triangular doughnut.

Lunch
All the teachers eat the same thing as the students every day, Gidheri. Gidheri is Kenyan corn (very hard and flavorless) cooked with red beans. Its very hard to chew, and really doesn't taste like much except for red beans.

I am lucky that Jane leaves some bread, peanut butter and jelly (not sure what kind, but its extremely sweet and somewhat sour) out for me every day to pack. The Gidheri smells very pungent so I try to hurry up and eat before its served, otherwise whatever I am eating tastes like Gidheri too.

There is a place down the street, Chicken and Chips, which I really like. A wall of glass separates my table from a butchered animal hanging from the ceiling. Flies swarm, but the greasy fries are delicious, and they're only about 50 cents.

I always feel guilty eating my yummy (comparatively) food when the other teachers are eating Gidheri.

Dinner
White Rice, Kale (Margit my friend who wears "Eghjuat would be so proud - Kale is a part of every Kenyan's dinner I've seen so far!), sometimes a green mash with corn in it. Then there's always a stew of sorts. It may be lentils and potatoes, beans and carrots, or sometimes, if I'm very lucky, it will have some meat in it.

In Between
Lots of tea. Its not as delicious as some of the more exotic teas you find in the US, but I really dig it. Its a good way to stay hydrated. It is so dry here that I went one day drinking an entire nalgene bottle of water, a coke and tea without peeing in between waking up and dinner time.