Popcorn, glorious microwaved popcorn

I once knew a guy who went to a military college. He used to tell me stories about the hazing activities that went on in those hallowed halls.
Once, he said, with dramatic flourish, "They made us eat fried chicken for dinner. 
Every night. 
For THREE weeks!" 

What I eat every day for lunch and dinner.

I remember thinking that that sounded horrible, that that level of monotony would drive a person crazy. Now, I would welcome that level of monotony.
Every three weeks the menu changes? Glory Hallelujah! Choirs of angels would sing songs of jubilation in my soul.

This blog is about the food in Sudan. Based on the variety of food I have encountered, it should be a short blog. Based on how many hours a day I think about food, it might go on for some time...

Southern Sudan is a very lush place. Just about everything should grow here. However, due to insecurity because of the war, tribal conflict and the LRA, farmers are reluctant to plant large crops. If they and their families have to run away in the middle of the season, they will lose their investment. Smaller crops mean less to lose and less risk.
Also, people tend to grow crops that are reliable, marketable and can be easily preserved. This means that the variety of food is low.

A little boy selling onions in the local market in Yambio

Markets have almost no veggies, they're limited to:

• onions
• tomatoes
• greens
• okra 
• and eggplant 

There are 3 kinds of meat:

• very expensive chicken (about $20 US per live chicken... that means you still have to go home, kill it, pluck it and clean it)
• beef (which is very hard to find since cows don't do well here. They are susceptible to an illness that they get through the bite of the Tsetse fly)
• and goat. I ate goat for the first time in Mongolia. I loved it! Its nice meat, tasty and usually not too tough. When I first arrived and I realized that goat was the main source of protein, I was pretty excited. After eating goat every single day, for lunch and dinner for the last 3 months (Christmas in Germany and R&R excluded) I can honestly say, I could happily never eat goat again.

  

  This is a goat head, grilled on the paper bags that hold cement mix. Something about the waxy stuff on the inside makes this an ideal surface for grilling goat... and probably getting cancer. The head is the best part (apparently). I think it tastes the same as the rest of the goat, except for the tongue. That tastes like a goat's tongue. Its chewy and afterwards I have the strangest desire to go, "baaaaa!"

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  Lastly, there are carbohydrates. We can get rice, cassava, ugali,  bread, and recently fried plantains.

Our food is prepared by a local cook and is cooked on traditional stoves, over a charcoal fire.

Our cook, the ladies who clean, and another staff member.

Now, I realize that my last 3 posts have been rather negative, the weather, the wildlife and the food. Look for some more upbeat posts to come!

Lunch is on its way!

P.S. I was inspired to write this after I indulged in one of 3 small packages of microwaveable popcorn that I bought in Juba for an exorbitant amount of money. After all this sameness, that off-brand popcorn was delightful!