#nomorerice

July 23, 2017

I am so, so sick of rice! We eat it every day for lunch and, recently, we’ve had it a lot for dinner as well. I feel extremely guilty saying this because there are so many families in my community, who struggle with putting any, let alone diverse, food on their tables. My host mother regularly feeds people from the village; the mayor buys rice once a year to distribute among the villagers; and even I have bought food for children who asked me directly or who looked malnourished. Malnutrition is not an abstract concept here; you can easily recognize it: most children, for example, are much smaller than they should be for their age.

That said, most Senegalese will choose rice over (cheaper, healthier, and more filling) millet because it is considered “fancy” food. Rich people eat rice. The more it is served in a household, people assume the wealthier the household. Wealth, in fact, is often determined by the food on offer in a specific household. Meat is only eaten on specific holidays or by the wealthiest families. And even wealthy families (such as mine) eat meat only every once in a while. Fish is the most common protein in Senegalese cuisine (people eat river fish or dried fish if they live far away from the ocean). My family, for example, eats fish every day (with the aforementioned rice), as do many others. Then there are many, many families who cannot afford fish. They eat only rice (or millet), maybe with some palm oil or pepper flakes sprinkled over it, maybe with some hibiscus sauce.

And so I hold my tongue when we sit down at the communal lunch bowl. I just reduce my actual food intake. I eat until I feel lightly filled, and not a bite more. I can’t do it. Unless it is my favorite Senegalese meal: pounded millet with green (Moringa) sauce. I have actually lost quite a lot of weight: last time I checked I was down by 8 kilos (17 pounds). There is no need to worry, though. I compensate when I visit the regional capital, Kolda, where the selection of food is much more diverse. They have pizza there! And real cheese, not only “La vache qui rit” (cheese spread). And salad! And sometimes even chocolate candy bars!

I go food crazy when I am in Kolda. I eat as much as I possibly can in compensation and preparation for the “lean times” in village. Of course that means I have gone overboard at times, an unfortunate tendency of mine.* I didn’t feel all that great after eating 17 meat sticks in one go, for example. I have also developed some very specific food cravings. Right now I am nuts about omelet sandwiches and Coca-Cola; I need both at least once a day. At home I never eat fried eggs! Or drink soda (unless it’s with alcohol). This soda obsession seems to be quite common, though. A lot of volunteers exhibit it, as do people who are here only briefly. I have had five friends who have visited me in country so far, and they were all surprised by their sudden and unexpected craving for Coke, Fanta or Sprite.

Fortunately I can satisfy my cravings for omelets and Coke in village. For everything else, I just have to wait until I am back in Kolda or back in the US. Now I am off as I am being called to lunch. I wonder what they will be serving today…;-)