Who said we would lose weight in Africa?

The food here is incredible. Once they discovered that we were anxious to try all the local foods, they have introduced us to many new delicacies.

Karin and I like local passion fruit, which is the size of a kiwi and has a hard shell. First you have to crack it open with your teeth, and then you can suck out the juice and seeds. Jack Fruit grows locally and is a cross between a pineapple and a banana. It is about the size of a cantaloupe and has many large pits. It is fibrous and not too juicy with a mild, sweet flavour.

Brock will be shocked to discover that Anne has gone bananas for bananas! There are tiny sweet ones and larger ones like we have at home (although they are much sweeter than in Canada). At supper we were given another kind that they called, “a sister of the banana”, which had been steamed and served with our main course.

We have tried fish stew, made with smoked tilapia and peanuts (which they call ground nuts) and many dinners include steamed pumpkin. We also have had rice, plaintain, cassava and several kinds of sweet potatoes. Tomatoes and green peppers are used often, and they have been very good at leaving the onions out of everything for me!

Tea is served several times a day. It is always black tea, but it is brewed very weak and then grated herbs are added. Our favourite seems to be ginger (which they pronounce ‘jinja’) and we always seem to drink more than one cup each. Even though they don’t have dessert with their meals, I have not gone into withdrawal: I just add a little sugar to my tea and it does very nicely.

We are telling them all about Canadian food. Today we described hamburgers, and what we eat for Christmas and Thanksgiving dinners. We have also described the kinds of vegetables and fruits we grow. When I told them how much one mango costs in Canada, they laughed and pointed to a tree a few metres away that was loaded down with them.

The first day or two, they served us on our own in our room at the centre, while the cook and the staff and a few children ate by the cooking hut. But they have now allowed us to eat with them and we are much happier. We have also convinced them that we can eat the way that they do, with hands instead of forks. They are teaching us the techniques we need to eat without making a mess (Steve is so good he only uses one hand). I am thinking that I should teach my children to eat like this when I get home. It would mean fewer dishes!

On Thursday as we finished supper, I took a turn helping to dry the dishes while the others (our team plus the staff, cook and a few children) talked around us. We heard a child nearby humming the Masooli-Kittetika song, and before we knew it we had everyone singing together. They laughed as they made up new words, “Toronto, Ontario” instead! Vennie asked if we would sing them our national anthem, which we did. They thought it was funny that we said we would need to stand up to sing it. Karin was too tired to stand up, but when Vennie’s sister Lydia and the children stood up, she didn’t have a choice! Then they sang us their anthem (which I can’t really remember but we liked it). They also sang a national song telling of the men and women marching together for a better country. Before we knew it, they led us into a fabulous rendition of When the Saints Go Marching In. I got carried away and started banging out rhythms on a pot, much to their amusement!

We went to the market today and bought a treat: beef. It was noticeably expensive. But only a small amount fed a lot of us when served with many vegetables and rice. We also bought pineapples and avocados for tomorrow, papaya, dried peas and beans, yams and green peppers and later went to a grocer to buy vegetable oil, bread and tea. No (sigh), I don’t think we’re going to lose weight on this trip!