Mr. Sandman bring me a...juice.

Before coming to Namibia I read countless blogs written by other PCVs, trying to imagine what life here would be like. In fact, I’m pretty sure I spent about 70% of the classes in my last semester of college doing just that… And one of the things I read over and over again about Namibia was that there was a porridge eaten in the northern part of the country that often had pieces of gravel and sand mixed in. Also, that it was impolite to remove said sand.

But what no one mentioned was that sand would actually infiltrate pretty much all aspects of my life! Seriously… there is sand on my floor, in my bed, in my cookies, sometimes just randomly in my teeth, and in my hair (not fun with dreads!). It’s like a perpetual picnic at the beach! Haha…

Anyways…that porridge is actually pretty good! It’s called mahangu, and it’s made from millet, which is grown here in my region. It’s a staple food of the people in my village, as most of them are farmers. It’s eaten out of a common bowl, and usually accompanied by either meat or mutete (a spinach soup). It’s kind of hard to describe… it’s about the consistency new play doh. To eat it you scoop up a piece with the tips of your fingers (right hand only, I still slip up sometimes!) roll it in to a ball, and dip it in the sauce of the meat or mutete. I like it a lot!

I’ve also gotten to eat some delicious fish with my neighbors! Since I’m relatively close to the river, there are always people around selling fresh fish! I haven’t tackled the project of cooking one myself yet (I’ve never de-scaled and cleaned a fish…) but it’s on my list! :) The shop in my village also doubles as a butcher, they slaughter approximately one cow a week and sell the meat to the villagers. They also eat guinea here sometimes! I have yet to try that, but I’m looking forward to it!

Apart from the occasional burst of extreme cravings for Dominos pineapple pizza, Chick fila sandwiches, and Cookout milkshakes, I’m not missing American food all that much. I cook for myself, I have a gas stove and a fridge, so I’m able to create some pretty delicious meals, when I’m not feeling too lazy :) But, the one thing I have been craving pretty solidly for about 2 weeks now is juice. Real, 100% fruit juice. Simply orange. Those Naked juices with like 5 oranges and 2 mangos crammed in one tiny bottle of deliciousness. Fresh apple, orange, or pineapple juice from my juicer at home. Oh yum… :)

Anyways…hope you’re having a great day! Go drink some juice for me :)