Dinner - Erat

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(Vasara writing) Imagine - no microwave, no stove, no dishwasher, dormitory-sized fridge, and few packaged food items. After we come from school and soccer, Kovas goes to shops and buys food. He buys potatoes, carrots, lentils, garlic, onions, and bread. Bread comes in small loaves that are big enough to feed Kovas. It costs about 1 birr (10cents)per loaf. We get 10 each day. When Kovas comes back, we put all the food where they’re suppose to be, and then we start peeling, washing, chopping. We cook, boil, and all the other stuff to prepare dinner. When we finish eating, we start cleaning up. Now this is the hard part -the cleaning. Eeveryone has their own job like carrying hot water, washing, rinsing, making juice, and cleaning the table. Every person contributes every night. It takes 2-3 hours to prepare and clean up.

I think it is cool that we have a milk maid to bring us fresh milk from her cow. She comes with a big plastic jerry can. She pours out a liter for 7 Brr ($.70) and we then boil it. When the milk boils over onto the hot plate, it really stinks!

My favorite foods to eat here are boiled carrots, rice, or fir fir. Fir fir is injera (a local sour pancake) fried with sauce. You eat it by scooping it up with injera. All the kids eat it for lunch at school. Some people eat goat, but I refuse to do that.

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