Sunday night dinner

I prepared dinner for Mady, Fatou and Mor Sunday night. Boy was I stressed because Fatou is such a good cook (I didn't want to disappoint her) and I know that their pallets are only used to a certain range of ingredients and styles of cooking. They NEVER, EVER go to restaurants and haven't once left the country. So, I was worried they might not be able to handle something too "not African". So, I made a Curry soup with kurri squash (the big orange ones) and roasted a whole chicken. In a big platter I put down spinach, put the soup on top and laid the chicken in the middle. Well, everyone was waiting in the little one room studio surely wondering “what is this toubab gonna bring us”. After some hesitant bites by all, Fahtou says “Nehrna lool” ....very delicious. Though, even if she didn't like it, she would say it was good. They had never tasted a curry sauce before so I think they were a little wierded out by the coconut taste. Folk don’t do sweet/savory dishes around these parts. But I made sure to make it with a nice level of heat (spice). And they were totally not down with all the green stuff. They had never eaten spinach before so the taste was too strong for them. Parsley and cilantro were a no go either. Basically, the only green they eat fresh is iceberg lettuce. The roasted chicken however was A HIT!!! They rarely eat that much meat in one sitting since it is so expensive. The bird came from a European grocery store (the only one). The white meat was super juicy and tender, prepared with lots of herbs and spices. They ate the whole thing... broke down and chomped away at the cavity, sucked on the bones to get all the flavor.

I picked up the wishbone and asked them if they have any beliefs about it here... They said no. I explained to them how we do it: two people each grab one end and make a wish, once you pull and it breaks, whoever has the largest piece gets their wish. Fatou's eyes got real big... "ooooohhhh". I wasn't expecting her to take it so literally but I guess I should have known better in such a superstitious country. So at the end of the meal she and I took the wish bone and Fatou ended up with the bigger piece. She throws her hands up in the air with joy. Then she gets serious, and says in wolof, "I wish to be pregnant before the year 2007, and if I have a girl her name will be Liliane". Mady translates, I say, “ooohhhhh that is such a big honor, dejedieuf! (thankyou)” . Fatou is 36 and they've been trying for a baby for 18 years. Mor is Mady's brother's son. Inner family adoptions are super common here. Anyway, the whole thing was very touching. Mady got so excited that he decided we had to celebrate with some drinks... Coke or Fanta, whichever you like! These sweet drinks are serious luxuries for the family since usually no frivolous spending is allowed. After several rounds of chin chinning Mady gets serious. Liliane, I have been here for 20 years, Fatou has been here with me for 18 years and this is the VERY first time that anyone from the AFVP has cooked for us. The French, they are nice people, they have been good to us, but HIP HIP HURRAY for the Americans! I'm calling the embassy to tell them! LOL. It was a fun night.

In other news, I'm taking off tomorrow for a one week trip throughout Senegal. I'll be way up in the north for a few days (St.Louis) and then to a small village on the western border (Matam). The first stop is for a comité de liaison, a get together of all the volunteers in Senegal, and then off to Matam to discuss the possibility of a volunteer working with an association out there. It will be good to see outside of the big capital… get away from the pollution. I am sure I’ll come back with loads of interesting experiences and a camera full of shots to share…