Today was cultural day. Oh my… it was quite an experience. Of course we had to get up super early (on a Saturday) and start cooking! We broke off into our language groups so I spent most of the day with my fellow Rukwangali trainees. First thing we did was start 3 fires for our pots. We ended up making in the end a whole bunch of stuff: corn, beans, porridge, traditional spinach, goat (I think), and some chicken.
Our chicken was super fresh! Wanna know why? Because we killed them. Yep, slaughtered them in the corner of the center. I think we killed a grand total of six chickens. In case you are wondering how we did it, don’t worry! I will included a video of it on my blog soon and some pictures. I ended up helping with the last chicken. I held the chicken down while Karley sliced. Karley was super fast, didn’t hesitate and was for sure the best… I don’t know what to call her… butcher (I guess) of the day!
Tangent about Karley, she is a graduate of Susquehanna University! She graduated in 2006 and was a senior when I was a freshman! AND one of her best friends was in my sorority and happened to be in the butterfly family. Awesome! We had pictures taken of us while we were slaughtering the last chicken (which I have of course posted) and we want to send them in to the alumni office to show SU what interesting work their graduates are participating in! We’re not sure if the pictures will be well received though.
So, back to cultural day. I’m going to try and remember all that I had to eat and do my best to describe it to you. I did try a bite of everything, and some things were surprisingly good! Ok, here it goes:
Lamb and Sheep – not sure how all of it was prepared but one dish was like pulled pork BBQ and was super yummy. There was also a brie and that was really good to. Other meat was just grilled I think.
Goat Head – So here is the really awesome one. They smoke the goat head to singe the hairs and then scrape them off with a knife. They then cook the goat head on a fire (pictures below) and shave the meat off the face and … wait for it… eat the brain! YES I HAD GOAT BRAIN! And guess what! It wasn’t bad! It just tasted like a very mild, tender meat… almost like it had no flavor. The meat just tasted like regular goat meat.
Chicken – We all know what chicken tastes like, but it’s really good here because it is so fresh! We also boil it in broth so it has a really nice flavor.
Traditional Spinach – Basic boiled spinach but it is, for some reason, really grainy. It’s almost like sand was mixed in. The women who made it said that you just have to get used to the texture.
Porridge – I think I have described this before. It’s like grits and cream of wheat combined. Or like a really REALLY thick mashed potato that you can eat with your hands. It’s good and is a staple in the Namibian diet.
Brie Bead – The most delicious bread you will ever taste. It is literally grilled bread and is so yummy!
Fat Cakes – Exactly what the name sounds like. Cake batter fried in oil. Really good, but really… fatty.
Raisin Bread – Baked underground. Very yummy!
Sour Milk – Ok, I know it sounds gross, but it was actually ok. They let the milk spoil for a while and it turns into something like a thin yogurt. It just tasted like plain yogurt. But to stay on the safe side, I just had a very little sip!
Ginger Beer – Yes my friends, they make homemade ginger beer! And if you haven’t ever tried it, go to the store now and get some because it is yummy!
All The Side Dished You Could Ever Want – Beans, Potatoes, Corn, Veggies, etc. Basically Thanksgiving the Namibian way.
