for your information..

nchima is the staple food in Zambia. pronounced shee-ma. it is a maize meal that is boiled for about 20 minutes, and becomes a sticky mass that resemble mashed potatoes expect that it is more cohesive. you roll it into little balls, flatten them and pick up other food with it. you eat your meals with your hands here. with nchima you would usually have a type of green that is called Rape, it is similar to pumpkin leaves. they are heated and served with tomatoes and onion. eggs are also scrambled and served with tomatoes and onion, meat is usually served in a stew. there are many vegetable gardens, there are mango, papaya, lemon, lime, pomegranate trees everywhere!! the fruit is beautiful. meat is very cheap here, and chicken is served everywhere, usually very spicy. there are stands all over the city selling fruits, veggies, and wild stock. i have never seen avocados as big as they are here, perhaps the size of turnips! so delicious. i feel saddened for the conditions the animals are kept in, but it is simply the way it is here and is acceptable. the local beer is called Mosi, and costs about $2 a bottle! hence why most people come down with Brown-Bottle malaria every Saturday morning. (of course i am not speaking from personal experience...)

eating is different here because you eat with purpose, if you are lucky of course. there are many people who can't afford to feed themselves and that has already shifted the way i think about eating. at home i feel people eat all the time, with no purpose, perhaps boredom, or abundance and accessibility. i hope to keep that awareness of eating consciously, and gratefully.

well on that note, its lunch time! bon appetite!