Token's food misadventures

   Let me start this off by saying that the VAST majority of food that I've had here has been nothing short of AMAZING!!! From here on out I will STRAIGHT UP DOMINATE some dry tibbs or lamb anything. As we were sitting on the shores of the lake we had the realization that we eat organic, pretty much everyday. That sounds really bougie and normally, I can't stand people who tout the fact that they eat organic but I don't really have a choice!! Neigh everything I eat is fresh here and sometimes you can see the meat that you're about to eat alive before you eat it (on very rare occasions).

   Now that I have told you guys how awesome the food here is, there are some...... Downsides. As with any new country or group of foods that you might try it will take some, uhhh, getting used to in the stomach. That part about the food here always and consistently sucks. It doesn't suck for very long, couple days and you get over it*. The other downside is the food is not always tasty, especially some of the more favorite local dishes.

 That ladies and Gentlemen is Kitfo, at least I think that's how it's spelled. What you are looking at is (from the top clockwise): raw beef, bread, cheese, oregano and finally anjera. What you do is you take the cheese/ oregano and mix it in with the raw beef. You then take the bread or anjera, break off a piece and pick up some of the meat and eat it.

   I know some of you are saying "I'm not eating raw beef from a third world country" and that's allowable. I find it untenable to go to a foreign country and not sample the local faire. Kitfo is pretty good once you get past the raw meat part. You might be sick for a day or two after eating it but once your stomach adjusts, it's pretty awesome!!! My advice? Don't eat the anjera! Just order extra Dabwo (that's bread, assuming I spelled it correctly).

   I don't currently have a picture of Anjera but I'll do my best to explain it. First, people from Zamunda love this stuff, it's served with everything (even my beloved dry tibs). It normally comes in tight rolls (like the far left in the picture above). It's a sourdough, spongy, pita type bread and you kinda use it like a tortilla. If you have a piece of anjera you really don't need any other silverware as any and everything can get wrapped up in it!

  

     So I just gave you the good, now I'm giving you the bad. What you see there are "special" tibs. I don't know what special is, but since I tried that I am automatically assuming "special" means gross. What you are looking at is lamb in some other gross sauce, with gross toppings surrounding the grossness. You also are looking at some anjera, back when I was trying to force myself to like anjera despite itself. I would not recommend this at all.

   To sum this up, based off of the two weeks that I've been trying my damndest to eat the habishaw food here in Zamunda, this is what I've found (and taken pictures of). A few members of my team have found my quest to eat the most habishaw food that I can to be foolish. I don't really understand why though! It makes zero sense to go to a foreign country and immediately seek out the most American food that you can find. Now, I will offer a word of warning!

Should you find yourself feeling adventurous, know what you are getting yourself into. Make sure that you are near your hotel, or American style toilet. If you are not and you have an extended trip, this is what you have to look forward to. That my friends is a hole in the concrete, I'm not sure what you're supposed to do with those blocks on either side of the hole but I'm not sitting on them.

 

BTW... The servant Semi says hello!

Token no more?????

   I would like to welcome everybody who is reading this post to these words of wisdom from the home of the original, asiatic man, AFRICA! For an African-American such as I ,who sometimes feels like an outsider among the groups of Americans in which I interact with on a day to day basis, Africa has been nothing short of amazing!! As a member of the diaspora, returning to the motherland (although I'm kinda sure I'm "from" the other side of the continent) has been a great experience of coming back to my roots. This is in a very real sense
   I really feel accepted by the people here**. I truly been accepted and wherever I go people say that I am "Habishaw" which means an indigenous person. The rest of my team are "ferendie" which means foreigner (I am quite sure that I am butchering these words as I try and spell them). No matter where I go people take one look at me and tell me that I am habishaw. At the airport when I first got here someone walked up to me and asked if I spoke Amharic and I said no. Then my team's interpreter said that I could pass for Habishaw. At first I thought that people were just messing with me and trying to make me feel good but literally everywhere I go, from major city to mudhut village, people refer to me as Habishaw. In fact, last night while I was out someone walked up to me and spoke to me completely in Amharic and walked away. He had no idea that I was from America. As I am told, this will come with a great many benefits, most notably not having to pay any "skin tax" that the rest of my team will have to pay.
   I really can't underscore how amazing it is that I'm accepted here. I don't feel like I have to speak a certain way to put people at ease that I "belong" here. I am simply just accepted as a member of the community. There will be no daily reminders that I'm some kind of other, too black for some white folks and too white for some black folks. I mean, I've only been here a week but I figure the more Amharic that I learn to speak the more I will be able to seemlessly integrate with the community.
   Since I know some are thinking this, this is not some great slight to Americans or the way I am treated in America. To be honest, it's not as bad as it seems. It's kinda life. The jokes and whatnot that I get roll off my shoulders as what they are, jokes. I love America and Americans. We are the greatest nation on the planet and I would bleed on the flag to make sure the stripes stay red.


**Note: "Here" will be a nebulous place, at least officially. If you manage to put two and two together and figure out where I am, I'm not mad at 'cha I just don't want to make it easy for the terrorists to find me.