Sweet Thursday

Hey there everyone. For this week, I had planned to just do a quick week in review with some highlights (and lowlights) of this week, but today's journal entry turned out pretty nicely, so I thought I would just put that here instead. Less work for me!

Also, I just wanted to mention that I've been reading other blogs of friends that are abroad, and their stuff is really good! It's also pretty introspective, where my writing tends more towards...    gonzo journalism. Or at the very least, my writing is essentially just a narrative of my experience. I partly chalk this up to the fact that the majority of the blogs I've been reading are written by females. As a guy, I'm more into details and less into feelings and parallels. Not saying those are bad, I'm just pointing out that you're probably not going to feel a lot of emotion from my writing (unless I write emotional, which happens sometimes). Bottom line is, I hope you don't find the details a bore and wish I was writing little sermonettes, because I'm saving those for when I get home! ;) At any rate, here's Thursday's journal:

Yesterday I was able to find some things that I needed in Clark's quarter (as well as some things I didn't NEED but bought anyway). Shopping for groceries is quickly becoming a highlight of my day: It gets me out and about, seeing the town (though I usually go to the same 3 areas of town to buy things. Until I have explored more, at least), and when I have fresh groceries, the possibilities for eating options are almost too exciting to handle. Found these neat things called ca-TOH (spelled phonetically), which are basically deep fried balls of dough, but somewhat like croissants in flakiness, just a little more dense. They're good (and I had them fresh, still warm, borderline lifechanging). I also found those Laughing Cow cream cheese wheels and bought one, and ate one of these catoh's with a wedge of the cream cheese and it was frighteningly good! So that was my haul for yesterday, along with more of these things that I would compare to donut holes, except a little less sweet and not glazed. Those are good too. Cooked beans for dinner, and that was that. They were of middling taste. 

During the evening I listened to an episode of CarTalk that I found on my iPad. Helped keep my mind off of some bad news I received yesterday. Click and Clack never fail to get a laugh out of me! 

Today in the clinic was slow, and doesn't bring to mind anything exciting enough to warrant mention, aside from seeing our first syphillis case since I've arrived, BUT after work I had some interesting times that I'll write about forthwith. And yes, that involves more shopping. This time I went down to Sandpit junction, which is walking distance down the road (75 meters, even less maybe). I had seen okra there before and had been thinking of cooking some fried okra, and maybe the option of gumbo sometime in the future. First I went to the store that has some kitchen supplies and got reamed over a cerrated knife, a butterknife, and a pot (9,000 fcfa, or about $18!). That was a bit painful, but I kind of needed another pot so I can make rice and beans at the same time. Or rice and gumbo at the same time! Then after stopping for a pineapple (gosh I love pineapples SO much, eating like 2 a week) I went to the little stand where an older gentleman has fresh vegetables, bread, and some other foodstuffs (there were two goats tied to a telephone pole outside his store, also for sale!). I bought the okra I had been eyeing as well as an egg, but first he took my 1000 francs to go make change with a nearby store. He's a really nice guy, seems to have fair prices, and he's quite the talker, so I spent probably half an hour talking with him and a few other storeowners/shoppers nearby about American politics, differences between here and Cameroon, etc. He's pretty aware of what's going on in the world, and is just a pleasant fellow to talk with, so I enjoyed that quite a lot, and he seems to as well. Another shopper asked me if I thought Donald Trump could run America! That was a surprise. 

Came home chomping at the bit to do some cooking! I had gathered basically everything I needed, took a quick look at Google to remind myself how to prepare fried okra, and I set to the task. My only problem was a necessary substitution. I haven't been able to find cornmeal, so instead I used what's called gari and is ground cassava. I think. It's yellow like cornmeal, except the particles are a little bigger, so I figured what the heck? I'm a risk-taker, I'll give it a try. Well I soaked the okra in the egg, and dredged it in the gari, mixed with some salt and garlic powder. It looked good so far! Then I started frying. The gari seemed to not be as mealy and gritty as cornmeal would stay after the dredging, but I forged ahead, not knowing what to expect out of the gari flavor-wise. Finally, I got to try the stuff, and all I can say is OH MY GOODNESS IT'S DELICIOUS!!!! So that was a pleasant experience for sure. After that I fried some leftover potatoes and ate them with another wedge of Laughing Cow cream cheese (that stuff is like the Twinkies of the dairy world. No refrigeration necessary, so it's my primary source of lactose for now. I haven't had actual cheese or milk since I got here!). Anyway, after I wash dishes, I have a date with Rishi from Khan academy, and we're gonna learn more about the circulatory system. A bientôt!