Foods

I have been really lucky so far with my food. Every morning in training village the four of us in my group all get our breakfast brought to us by our families after school has started. I am the only one whose food is ready each morning before I leave. Its kind of like my oatmeal in high school. Some people get white ricer porridge and a bag of sugar, most Gambian people would put the sugar in right away, but our families have been instructed to keep it on the side for us. I personally dont get rice, I get a late season millet called coos, or locally called noo, when its cooked its called mono. Its healthier than rice and has more fiber, plus it creates a little diversity in my diet. At training we all gave money so that we could eat a big lunch together. It is presented as a huge bowl of rice, and then the second bowl about half as big is full of vegetables and maybe chicken meat. Our main vegetables are squash, which is kind of an indulgence, and potatos, onions, and a very starchy fiber called cassaba, or namboo. Things are all cooked by boiling them, and then they are left to simmer in an oil sauce with chopped onions and a bouillion spice packet called Jimbo. We put the meat and veggies in the middle of the huge bowl of rice, and then thee four students and our teacher sit around the bowl. We all dig in with our right hands. The method is kind of whatever you find best for you, some people take big handfuls and squeeze the food into balls, I personally just use my first three fingers to take a small helping from the bowl to my mouth. I lost too much rice and veggies when I had a big handful. It was like seeing an 18 wheeler full of hay go down the highway and you think about all the lost product blowing away. That's how  I felt when I saw all the rice on my ankles that fell out of my hand. For dinner in Kaif every night I get a bowl of white rice with peanut sause, fish sauce, or sometimes a leaf sauce, either Jamboo, or Kucha. Jamboo is potato leaves and kucha is wild sorrel. It is pounded into a pesto like paste and put right on top of the rice. Wether in a communal bowl or your own personal bowl the idea is to take just enough sauce from the middle to flavor your bite. You dont want to ravage the bowl and mix everrything up, because if you dont eat it all your plate will be handed over to someone else, and just think if you were second in line you wouldnt want some rice and beans and enchiladas all mixed up in the middle, you would like things still seperate as they were presented so that you could make your own judgements about what to eat. When you eat communally it is very nice manners to reach into the middle, take something large and mash it between your fingers and then distribute it to other people. Its the equivalent of being the barbecuer at a cookout, your handing out the sausage, and in a group meal you are just serving every one.