A Taste of Chad

     Hello!  So I have not being going on any big adventures of late, but am simply trying to adjust to my new life.  I can’t tell you about crazy bus rides where it rains in the bus, or long airplane rides.  I can help paint some pictures of what day to day life is like here.  Give you a taste of life in my Chadian compound.

     As far as food goes, we eat pretty American type meals.  Breakfast usually consists of bread with some type of spread or oatmeal in various forms.  We also eat the traditional corn porridge that is made with corn meal, lemon, and peanut butter.  It is an interesting combination but rather delicious.  The afternoon meal is our big meal.  We usually rotate between pasta and rice dishes.  There is usually some type of sauce with veggies, beans, or meat in it.  Most I would describe as stove top casseroles.  We do eat some traditional Kenyan food.  Supper is a lighter meal.  Currently salad is in season, so we have lettuce, cucumber, carrots, and tomatoes.  Then we usually have leftovers, sandwiches, or some other form rice or pasta.   The fruit and veggies come in seasons.



Jars of guava jam

Guavas from the market

     The current season is guava season! All yesterday we spent making guava jam!  Now for those of you in Alaska, making jam here in Chad is very different.  First they went to the market and bought guavas from a lady who then carried it on her head to our house.  Then we had to wash all the fruit.  We used a food processor to chop the fruit.  Then we boiled it and put it through a machine usually seen in making applesauce.  Unlike my mom’s kitchen aid saucer a crank powered this one.  After the seeds and stems were separated out from the delicious part, we then had to bring the sauce to a boil again before adding the sugar and pectin.  Now mind you, stirring this pot, even at night, brought on a lot of sweating. Standing over the pot stirring, I simply had sweat dripping down, almost as if I were standing in the rain.  It is the first time I experienced that amount of sweat from simply stirring a pot.  Not only is the temperature a difference, but also the jars we used.  We didn’t use nice new canning jars, but instead were canning in old mayonnaise jars that someone in the market sells.



     The food is good, though dairy products are a rarity.  We have gotten frozen yogurt which makes for a tasty treat, but cheese is basically non-existent and drinking milk comes from the wonderful powder.  I try to put a little on my cereal or drink the hot chocolate that is primarily the milk so that I get some calcium.  I have no complaints, but am surprised at the lack of fruits and veggies.  It is just the reminder that I am in fact on the edge of the desert.

     Next week I will paint a picture of the town for you!