26 mars 2011
Something else for my poor mother to worry about:
So, last night I went over to my friend Etienne's house. His mother is the secretary of the women's group that I'm in and his father is the supervisor of a health center in the next town over. I usually go to Aissatous' every night, but he invited me over and I hadn't seen them in a while, so I went. We were all hanging out in the living room and chatting and Etienne turned on the generator so we could watch TV. I started showing the supervisor the data tables that I made when I walked around the village doing the community assessment. All of a sudden, he looked up to the left of my head, and his eyes opened to the size of tennis balls. He motioned slowly for me to stand up, and I nearly jumped into his arms. He pulled me across the room to another chair to sit back down. I turned around, expecting to see a rat-sized cockroach or spidey. Um. ya. nope. Huge scorpion scaling the wall. I was like you have got to be joking me. Etienne grabbed a pole and, like a G6, smothered the scorpion. Then they put kerosene on it and moved it outside. I told them I had never seen one of those in real life, just on television. The supervisor said he'd been stung once on his foot, and that it won't kill you, it will just feel like it's on fire. Oh. grand. He said the stinger's poison is deactivated with kerosene though, that's why they used it. Hmm I wonder how that organic chemistry works. Kerosene+Scorpion sting=nothing. I don't plan on experimenting anytime soon.
Tonight, I went over to their house again. I just wasn't satisfied with the scorpion by my head, had to go back for more. Just joking. Nothing eventful in the creature department, but exciting to see my first-ever Lions soccer match on TV. We lost to Senegal, booooooo, 0-1, but it was cool to see. Atleast my fellow Niger evacuees who transferred to Senegal will be celebrating tonight.
How to make + eat Cameroonian Couscous (maize edition)
1. Cultivate corn (details on this step later on during the rainy season), dry, put in sacs.
Alternative to Step 1. Buy maize in large sacs, 10,000FCFA/sac (equivalent to $20).
2. Dry/air out maize kernnels in sun for a day or two. This is done by laying the kernnels on the sacs. If the wind blows some dust on, no prob. If a few chickens walk on the kernnels, no prob. If a goat comes and eats some of the kernnels, no prob bob.
3. Bring dried kernnels to machine. There are 4 machines here in town, 100FCFA to grind a bowl or 1,000FCFA for the whole sac.
4. Again, air out ground maize on the sacs. If this step is ignored, I was told the couscous is inedible because the taste is so awful. I prefer 1-day aired out couscous because it is softer, but most peeps here air it out for 2 days.
5. Sift the couscous. Sifters can be bought in the market for cheap. It's a piece of screen cut into a circle with a wood circumference. The screen supposedly doesn't let dust or chicken poo through. For a family of 9, I have seen them sift and use a large platter of ground maize.
6. Bring water to a boil over fire or gas stove.
7. (Ok now this step I have seen done in many different ways. Women from the North make couscous different than women down here. Both kinds are equally yummy though.) Cook the couscous. Once the water is boiling, add about half of the large platter of ground maize. Next, use the large wooden turning-stick to make a hole in the middle of the added maize. The hole will go from the top of the ground maize through to the bottom of the pot.
8. Cover pot and wait for water to boil again.
9. Add the rest of the ground maize from the platter. Now it is time for the most important step:
10. Use the turning stick to turn the couscous. This can be done in many different ways as well. In general, though, the pot is taken off the heat and the person turning will hold the pot in place using their feet. Turning is truly an art. It is embarassing when I try to do it, but I am determined to achieve this feat one day. Using a circular motion, the couscous is turned to an even consistency so that no ground maize clumps are left. I think turning also adds air to the couscous and makes it more fluffy and scrumptious.
11. After a uniform consistency is reached, a little plastic plate will be used to form the couscous into meal-sized portions and distributed to various plates for eating.
12. Sauce will be added to the eating plates. (Sauce is another lesson for another day).
13. Eat couscous. Using your right hand, take a small portion of the large mound of yummy couscous and form the maize into a mini bowl using your fingers. Then scoop up some of the sauce into the mini bowl, and devour the tasty morsel.
More Statistics and fun facts for you all:
Number of malaria-infected patients at the health center in March 2010: 144
Updated cockroach count: 5
Last book finished: Three Cups of Tea
Cost of my custom-made bookshelf: 16,000FCFA ($32)
Fraction of cliff bars my mom sent me that I've already eaten: 2/6, or 1/3
Something else for my poor mother to worry about:
So, last night I went over to my friend Etienne's house. His mother is the secretary of the women's group that I'm in and his father is the supervisor of a health center in the next town over. I usually go to Aissatous' every night, but he invited me over and I hadn't seen them in a while, so I went. We were all hanging out in the living room and chatting and Etienne turned on the generator so we could watch TV. I started showing the supervisor the data tables that I made when I walked around the village doing the community assessment. All of a sudden, he looked up to the left of my head, and his eyes opened to the size of tennis balls. He motioned slowly for me to stand up, and I nearly jumped into his arms. He pulled me across the room to another chair to sit back down. I turned around, expecting to see a rat-sized cockroach or spidey. Um. ya. nope. Huge scorpion scaling the wall. I was like you have got to be joking me. Etienne grabbed a pole and, like a G6, smothered the scorpion. Then they put kerosene on it and moved it outside. I told them I had never seen one of those in real life, just on television. The supervisor said he'd been stung once on his foot, and that it won't kill you, it will just feel like it's on fire. Oh. grand. He said the stinger's poison is deactivated with kerosene though, that's why they used it. Hmm I wonder how that organic chemistry works. Kerosene+Scorpion sting=nothing. I don't plan on experimenting anytime soon.
Tonight, I went over to their house again. I just wasn't satisfied with the scorpion by my head, had to go back for more. Just joking. Nothing eventful in the creature department, but exciting to see my first-ever Lions soccer match on TV. We lost to Senegal, booooooo, 0-1, but it was cool to see. Atleast my fellow Niger evacuees who transferred to Senegal will be celebrating tonight.
How to make + eat Cameroonian Couscous (maize edition)
1. Cultivate corn (details on this step later on during the rainy season), dry, put in sacs.
Alternative to Step 1. Buy maize in large sacs, 10,000FCFA/sac (equivalent to $20).
2. Dry/air out maize kernnels in sun for a day or two. This is done by laying the kernnels on the sacs. If the wind blows some dust on, no prob. If a few chickens walk on the kernnels, no prob. If a goat comes and eats some of the kernnels, no prob bob.
3. Bring dried kernnels to machine. There are 4 machines here in town, 100FCFA to grind a bowl or 1,000FCFA for the whole sac.
4. Again, air out ground maize on the sacs. If this step is ignored, I was told the couscous is inedible because the taste is so awful. I prefer 1-day aired out couscous because it is softer, but most peeps here air it out for 2 days.
5. Sift the couscous. Sifters can be bought in the market for cheap. It's a piece of screen cut into a circle with a wood circumference. The screen supposedly doesn't let dust or chicken poo through. For a family of 9, I have seen them sift and use a large platter of ground maize.
6. Bring water to a boil over fire or gas stove.
7. (Ok now this step I have seen done in many different ways. Women from the North make couscous different than women down here. Both kinds are equally yummy though.) Cook the couscous. Once the water is boiling, add about half of the large platter of ground maize. Next, use the large wooden turning-stick to make a hole in the middle of the added maize. The hole will go from the top of the ground maize through to the bottom of the pot.
8. Cover pot and wait for water to boil again.
9. Add the rest of the ground maize from the platter. Now it is time for the most important step:
10. Use the turning stick to turn the couscous. This can be done in many different ways as well. In general, though, the pot is taken off the heat and the person turning will hold the pot in place using their feet. Turning is truly an art. It is embarassing when I try to do it, but I am determined to achieve this feat one day. Using a circular motion, the couscous is turned to an even consistency so that no ground maize clumps are left. I think turning also adds air to the couscous and makes it more fluffy and scrumptious.
11. After a uniform consistency is reached, a little plastic plate will be used to form the couscous into meal-sized portions and distributed to various plates for eating.
12. Sauce will be added to the eating plates. (Sauce is another lesson for another day).
13. Eat couscous. Using your right hand, take a small portion of the large mound of yummy couscous and form the maize into a mini bowl using your fingers. Then scoop up some of the sauce into the mini bowl, and devour the tasty morsel.
More Statistics and fun facts for you all:
Number of malaria-infected patients at the health center in March 2010: 144
Updated cockroach count: 5
Last book finished: Three Cups of Tea
Cost of my custom-made bookshelf: 16,000FCFA ($32)
Fraction of cliff bars my mom sent me that I've already eaten: 2/6, or 1/3
Pullo debbo no hulla yaare na? Yaare wooda baa sedda! Ko Saabi ko leydi ma nyammata gowri (Millet)? Allah hokka sa'a!
ReplyDeleteOMG-Did you get a picture?
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