Sunday Lunch

As you can see from the photos, a group of us went to our Program Conversation Partner's house on Sunday for a lunch with her family. She wants to be a teacher when she finishes school, so she practices on us a lot. :-) She had us write down a list of items that we would need to make the meal, the amount that we would need, and how much it would cost. Then we went into the market to buy all the items for the meal that would feed 15 people. We bought vegetables, rice, onions, garlic, spices, and oil, as well as chicken. These chickens were not like the kind that you buy in the store at home though. Nope, at the market you buy the chickens when they are still running around in the pen. When you pick out the one that you like, you pay for it and come back about 20 minutes later to find a bag waiting for you to take home and prepare. We did not want to stay and watch the chicken get killed, although I know that these things must happen.

When we got back to the house, we began to prepare the meal. Everything is done in dishes or large pans on the floor. I was in charge of cleaning the meat because we had some vegetarians in my group who did not want to even touch the meat. I was fine with that. I helped the lady break open the ribs and pull out the organs and pieces that would not be eaten. I then helped clean the skin and stuff the meat with more wonderful spices for cooking. Everyone was helping except for the kids, who played near us and were so adorable.

The meal was wonderful, probably one of the best that I have ever eaten in my whole life. We scooped the rice into four large plates, then placed the grilled chicken in the middle. The Yassa sauce, made from onions, garlic, vinegar, and spices is spread around the meat. We added stewed tomatoes and a few hard boiled eggs to the presentation as well, which made for an excellent meal. I love eating with me hands, and Im getting pretty good at it too. For dessert we ate fresh sliced mangoes and drank Ataya, a sweet minty dessert tea.

After we helped clean up from the meal, we went into the market to buy fabric, which is something that I have been wanting to do now for a few days. I found two wonderful prints that i liked in a shop that had racks of fabric from the floor all the way to the ceiling. It was one of those moments where I walked into the shop and spotted th patterns right away because they caught my eye. Adema's friend is a tailor, so we went to visit him too. He took my measurements and helped me design a dress from each of the fabrics, which will be ready to wear next weekend. We are all invited to his house to have lunch and hang out. I absolutely love it here!