Food

  Okay, so, I'm finally getting around to this post. For those of you who have not eaten yet, I'd recommend doing that first, since I'm going to be talking about food, so it's probably best not to read this on an empty stomach (or before grocery shopping). So, this post will be in two parts. First is about my Thanksgiving celebration, followed by what I eat here.

  So, to start, Thanksgiving. A bunch of us decided we wanted to celebrate a "real" American Thanksgiving, so, the weekend before Thanksgiving, we gathered in Otjiwarrango. By the time I arrived, the cooking was underway. Steve, a SEED volunteer who had been in Khorixas but now works for COSDEC in Otjiwarrango, and got permission for us to use the kitchen used for their hospitality trainings. One of the new teaching volunteers was a professional cook before he came here, and his talents put me to shame (and those who've had my cooking no I'm not being overly arrogant when I say that's saying something). A massive pot of mashed potatoes, squash, several kilos of stuffing, cornbread, and 3 turkeys. No, it wasn't my Thanksgivings in New Orleans,but the food was amazing and quite plentiful. Since actual Thanksgiving coincided with Hanukkah this year, I also make some latkes the night before and brought them with me, so we had something to snack on while we cooked. And we did cook. In total, they'd spent about 8 hours cooking the meal, and a number of wine and beer bottles were emptied in the process.

  Once we were done cooking (and following a nasty burn, for which we were thankful for my EMT training), we returned to the home of a teaching PCV, Marsha, who was opening her house to us as part of her last hurrah (as I am writing this, she is boarding her COS flight home). While we were cooking the above mentioned food, she and a couple others were making pies; 2 pumpkin and an apple. Needless to say, the food was plentiful. I probably ate more turkey that night than I eat meat in a normal week. Before eating, we went around the room and shared what we were Thankful for, and then we dug in to one of the best meals I've had in a while.

  After we finished dinner, a bunch of us went to a shabeen to pick up some more drinks, and we brought them back to enjoy while we relaxed and enjoyed pies. By the time we finished, we were all stuffed, a bit intoxicated, and ready to relax. I returned, with a couple others, to Steve's, while the rest stayed at Marsha and enjoyed movies. The next morning, we woke up, returned to Marsha's for leftovers and boardgames, and then went to the Otjiwarrango Spar for coffee (my favorite part of going to Otjiwarrango is real coffee, rather than the powdered crap I'm generally forced to slug down) before returning to Khorixas.

  I really enjoyed having a chance to say "goodbye" to Marsha, who opened her home to me on multiple occasions, and it was awesome getting to meet the new group of PCVs around my area, as well as Brett, the new PCVL in Otjiwarrango for the next year (also, got to say goodbye to Edward, the current PCVL who will COS in late December and who it takes 3 people to replace).

  Okay, so that was Thanksgiving. But, clearly, I don't eat massive plates of turkey, stuffing, potatoes, squash, and pie until I have to loosen my belt on a regular basis. Beyond the fact that it would be impractical, since it would be hard to get the right stuff in my town, it would also be impossible on my Peace Corps budget. So, what do I eat? Well, let me walk you through my meals.

Breakfast: I've really never been much of a breakfast eater. On work days, I'll usually just have a cup of coffee or 2, maybe a slice or 2 of toast, maybe a piece of fruit (generally an apple, sometimes an orange).  I often keep a dozen or so hard-boiled eggs in my refrigerator, a decent quick snack and useful for lunches. On weekends, I have a bit more time, and will generally be a bit more substantial with my breakfasts. Occasionally, I'll have an egg or 2, either hard-boiled or in omelet form ( eggs, some cabbage, some onion, maybe some peppers or other vegetables I can afford). Usually, though, I'll either have porridge or Weet-Bix (sort of like oatmeal, which I'll add some cinnamon or a little sugar, maybe milk, to). If I do porridge, I'll essentally treat it like grits, adding a little butter/margarine, maybe some spices, some onion, if I have any meat (biltong or dried sausages called droerwoers), cheese if I have it.

Lunch: Lunch is usually either leftovers from dinner or a peanut butter sandwich (I eat a lot of those). Sometimes I'll make soup, starting with some 3 minute noodles (basically ramen), with some vegetables, maybe meat, maybe some cayenne to it. Once or twice a week I'll eat out for lunch. It's my way of supporting local businesses. I'll either go to the gas station (only true "fast" food in my town) for a burger/sandwich/meatpie with some chips (fries) and a cool drink, the fried chicken place (not as greasy as it is in America, but still pretty bad), or one of the many braai meat (street meat) stands, for a piece or  of meat and some porridge. Generally, my choice depends on stopping at a couple braai stands and seeing what they have that day. Once in a blue moon, I'll go to the !Gowati lodge in my town for a salad or fresh burger, but that takes a while and is a bit pricy, so I do that only once every month or two. Generally, I'll have a cup of tea or coffee with it.

Dinner: Beans and rice. Or some variation. Vary the spices. Usually with some vegetables, maybe meat worked in. Occasionally replace the rice with lentil, porridge, or pasta. Once in a while, I'll braai, in which case I do fresh meat. Once a month, I'll treat myself to a bag of chicken. I'll usually have an egg or two, maybe some toast, with my beans and rice (I like to make a lot, so I can eat it over a few days, just reheating it on my stove). I'll often do something with pumpkin, generally mashing it or making soup, which I can cool before I eat on a hot day. I know a lot of PCVs who eat better dinners, and think I'm crazy for my nightly beans and rice (especially because I'm a good and creative cook), but it's hot, so I can let that simmer while I work, rather than standing over a hot stove. I've made pizza a couple times. I'll sometimes make tortillas for my beans and rice, eat that with some homemade guacamole when avocados are cheaper.

Other: I put hot sauce on pretty much everything. Namibians tend to like their food a lot blander than I do, so I'm lucky that Tabasco is easy to get (though pricy in my town, so I stock up when I go to Otjiwarrango or Windhoek). I'll also use "tomato sauce" (ketchup) or chutney on a lot of things (I especially love the chili chutney by Mrs. Balls, and no, not just for the sophomoric humor of the name). Namibians often use soup packets to spice their foods, and I've gotten in the habit, generally using oxtail soup, tomato soup, or onion soup. Most of the time, if I want to snack, I'll either make some popcorn on my stove or eat some fruit. If I'm really hungry, but not in the mood to cook, I'll do a peanut butter sandwich. I'll occasionally buy potato chips or "biscuits" (in the British sense) called "rusks." I'll make icies with Oros (concentrated juice). Most Namibians do this in plastic sandwich bags, I generally use emptied soda/water/juice/milk bottles. When it's super hot out, I'll go to the gas station or supermarket for an ice cream or popsicle. They really help. Between icies, popscicles, and my fan, I barely miss air conditioning, even on the hottest days. I used to buy a large bottle of soda or juice every week or so to have it with dinner, but I've started making iced tea, since it's a bit more refreshing after work. I drink a lot of coffee. It's powdered, so I need about two to get the effect of one cup back home. Sometimes I'll buy chocolate, but not often, not being much of a dessert person. I keep canned goods and a lot of bread and peanut butter around for when I have no electricity. I drink a couple beers a week, generally going out for a drink after work with my friends or for while I'm watching soccer. Oh, and I would say I drink close to 6 liters of water a day (easily measured, since the bottles I use are generally either 1/2, 1, or 2 liters).

  So, that's my usual diet. If varies at time, but that's the average. And now, it's time to go eat my lunch.