Wander Susan Wonder

So I get to eat an authentic meal from my country every day. I spend the afternoon with an arabic-speaking family to learn language and lunch is included. I help a little in preparing it of course. My official job has been to peel the garlic. After you peel it, you crush it really finely to put in the sauces used for lunch. I have to admit, I’ve gotten pretty good at this job, but I would still rather walk into Super Targetand just grab a bottle of minced garlic off the shelf. Guess I need to stop living in a fantasy world. Once lunch is finished (this usually happens around 2:30 or 3:00pm so I hope you ate breakfast), all the food is placed on a very large tray.A usual meal consists of a moulah (sauce) with meat, potatoes, etc, and something to sop up the moulah with, such as bread, rice, kisar, or esh.Kisar is a thin, light tortilla looking thing, and esh pretty much resembles playdough. The tray is placed on the ground and anywhere between 4 and 12 people gather around it, and then it pretty much turns into a free for all. You eat with your hands (right hand only actually),and it gets tricky to get the hot food in your mouth without burning your fingers. Most of the locals are really good at making sauce and rice stick together to go neatly in their mouth. After 2 months, I would not describe my eating habits as neat at all. I usually end up with more food on my clothes than in my mouth…the skills are slowly coming though. It’s polite to eat only what’s directly in front of you. The host will occasionally throw extra meat or bread your way. This concept also gets tricky when a small child keeps stilling your bread. You have to get pretty good at stealing it back without getting caught. Now I’ve also gotten to eat some pretty interesting things as well. I’ve learned not to ask what kind of meat we’re having, but sometimes the family tells me anyways. There was the time I had sheep’s head and another time when i ate something’s stomach. These situations have really improved my hiding skills. I have learned to play with something just enough so people think I’m eating it, and slip it under a plate at the last second. Everyday is not like that though…I’ve actually had some really good food. Just wanted to share some of the wonderful things I’ve been learning!!

So I just had a birthday. I was a little worried about what kind of day it would be since I was half way around the world where the people I see everyday still don’t know me that well. I wasn’t gonna have my mom’s chocolate layer cake with amazing home-made icing. There wasn’t gonna be any really big hugs from friends who have known me since I can remember. This day was definitely gonna be different and I have to admit, I was a little anxious as to how this day was gonna turn out. It’s not that my life depends on whether I have a good birthday or not, but everyone wants a little bit of a special day.
Well, I went over to my supervisor’s house for dinner and there was a Happy Birthday banner with balloons that made me smile. We had a great dinner and everybody played along that I was turning 19 (which made me so happy). We had cake and I got to blow out candles. I even got presents! People who barely knew me took the time to get me a few special things, actually really nice special things. It was really overwhelming, and I suddenly felt undeserving of such a great day. To top it all off, I got some amazing emails and phone calls from people back home…you know those people that you can always count on to call you on your birthday, even if you’re on a different continent. I am so blessed to have those kinds of people. Thanks to everyone who made this day special. It was very different from any other November 7th that I’ve experienced, but that was part of the beauty of this day.

Lafye ( I don’t think that’s the right spelling but that’s really not important)- a piece of material about the size of a double sheet. It comes in a myriad of colors and patterns. This is what all the women wear over their clothes and it covers their head as well. Following are the instructions on how to put it on. First, take a corner of the material and tie it in a knot and hold it in your left hand. Gather the rest of it behind your back, with the top of it at your waistline. Bring the knot around to your right side in the front. Bring the rest of he fabric that should be on the right, over to the left. Cinch the two ends over each other very tightly. (Trust me, the tighter the better). You will have a lot of extra fabric hanging down on your left side. Make a small dog ear with your fabric at the top by your waist and tuck it at your left hip. (Don’t make too much of a dog ear because it will hurt you later). Tuck the knot that should be out at your right side in the fabric that is there. Now, take both hands along the extra fabric and sling it up behind your back and over your head. And yes, there will still be extra fabric. Tuck a little of the fabric by your neck on the left side. Then throw the rest of the fabric across your front and over your left shoulder. Now as you can probably tell, this takes quite a bit of time to accomplish every time you leave the house. And if you have the wrong length, or make too big of a dog ear, or even if you don’t have your legs far enough apart, the process doesn’t work out. And you will either not be able to walk, or it’s going to fall down. Believe me, it falls down alot!! And that gives the locals a big laugh. Then you need the help of several people to re-clothe yourself in the middle of a crowd! As you can probably conclude, I rip my lafye off as soon as I make it back to the house. One lady here says she forgets she has it on most of the time. I think it’s going to be a long time before I get to that point. Here’s hoping it comes soon!
MEAT ROW: We went to the market today. There are tons of carts and spaces where people are selling everything from basic fruits and vegetables, to shoes, to blow-up animals. (Seriously!) Probably, the most interesting part of the market is what I like to call “meat row.” It’s a covered area with a very narrow aisle and tables on both sides. First, picture a lot of people pushing their way through from all directions. There’s a different meat on each table — fillets of everything, fish, liver, something in a very odd shape, etc. Now, when you’re looking at a particular piece of meat, the seller literally slams the table really hard to get all the flies off! Then, they hold the meat high in the air so the buyer can see it from all angles. Now, while you’re looking at the meat, other people are transporting meat up and down the aisle. There were numerous times when I looked up to see someone carrying the thigh of a huge animal over my head! I’m sure you can only imagine the smell. The only thing that really got me was when I was looking at the fish table, and something started to drip on my foot. Not a very good feeling!
Once your meat is purchased, the seller puts it in a small, black, plastic bag. You carry it in the bag with all your other food. Needless to say, the FDA or PETA would have “strokes” at the sight of “meat row.” But, let’s face it – you’ve got to eat!

In 48 hours I will hopefully be flying over the atlantic, sleeping comfortably, and have plenty of leg room. Well what can I say….I like to dream big. The nerves have started to settle in right at the back of my throat and in the pit of my stomach. I have kinda been waiting for them to make an entrance. The past few months have generally been filled with excitement, and when people would ask if I’m nervous about my new journey, I could honestly say no. I knew the nerves would show themselves at some point. I don’t think hardly anyone can move to another continent without some reservations. In the past couple days I’ve actually had the thought, “what am I doing??”

My first overseas trip was 2 weeks long. I was able to pack two 70 pound bags absolutely free.  I didn’t realize at the time how glorious of a privilege that was.  Those days weren’t that long ago, and I suddenly feel extremely old for talking about the “good ol days,” when packing for an overseas trip was easier…..but those days are gone and I am left with reality. The reality is that I get two 50 pound bags for free, but get ready for the huge charges to come for bringing overweight or extra bags, not to mention an overweight extra bag. All these little details is enough to stress any girl out. 

So here it goes…I’m joining the revolution. This blog is going to serve as a way to share my life in Africa over the next 2 years with friends and family. This is just the start of what promises to be an incredible journey. I am really excited about all the adventures that I will be able to share with you. Just a warning though…I am horrible at continually updating something like this on a regular basis. Even in the comforts of my own home, I probably would not update this like I should…so I ask for your patience when you check this for the 42nd time and there is still no update. First of all, thanks for checking in on me 42 times–that’s amazing. I am truely going to try to fill you in on life in Africa as much as possible. I appreciate so much (more than you will ever know) your love and support up until this point and continuing as a embark across the world. So like I said before, here it goes….