Our First Namibian Braai

Last Saturday, the PC trainees and their host families (along with PC staff and trainers) held our first cross cultural feast, this one of Namibian food. We cooked in groups based on the language we speak or are learning to speak (there are 8 of them), since different tribes customarily cook different foods. Preparation and cooking took place nearly all morning, from about 8am to 1 or 2pm.

At this "braai" (basically the Namibian version of our BBQ), nearly everything was done the traditional way.

Cooking outside over fires (NB: the Namibian flag in the background), as if it wasn't hot enough (Weather has been a very consistent 80-85°F with clear blue skies. We saw clouds on 1 day and not yet a drop of rain.):

We made fat cakes, which are made of dough boiled, or essentially deep fried, in cooking oil:

And also braai bread, which are made on the grill (healthier than fat cakes by a large margin):

It was the one thing Kevin could eat since he unfortunately was sick with a stomach virus for a couple days. (Which wasn't much unlike a stomach virus we have in the States. He is better now and received satisfactory attention and care!) The bread lover was not complaining:

Everyone helped, but I give credit to the trainees who wanted to experience slaughtering and preparing the chicken (probably the freshest meat many of us have had in our lives):

Finally food was served. Trainees went first (since we were considered the guests) and children last (as is custom in Namibia). We could try a little bit of everything, and tastes varied from plain to just unfamiliar. The most exotic of the delicacies were probably the caterpillar and maybe the cow stomach. I wish I could say I was in love with some of the food, but at this point, I'm not really. I'm happy though since we've had easy access to fruits and veggies (phew).

And of course, cute babies were in attendance. This guy is one of the language trainers sons, what a face:

"How to eat a taco"

It's been nice to not have a million things to do (at least at this point), and one thing we've had more time for is cooking!

Our host family is happy too since we got to make tacos for them last week. (Let us know if you can think of other suggestions for American foods that might not be available or common here.)

The tricky part was that the local grocery stores don't stock much in the way of Mexican food. But... we managed!

Meat, cheese, and lettuce were easy. Salsa we made out of enchilada sauce and tomato puree. We put it on our tacos and dipped chips in it that weren't anything like tortilla chips. So the chips and salsa weren't really the same, but they were tasty. We also made the rice more Mexican with tomato puree and some Mexican spices. Refried beans were insanely expensive. The alternative: mashed up kidney beans.

The tortilla shells were the greatest challenge (and really, they weren't very difficult), but also the most rewarding. It was our first time making them from scratch, and luckily (we were nervous at first) they came out awesome and so fresh. I don't know if I'll be able to buy them pre-made anymore.

Hit the spot:

Notice also our lovely kitchen and dining area in the background of the photos. Not much is stocked behind those cabinet doors and drawers (in the way of both, supplies and food), but it certainly is enough to meet our basic needs.

The following video is entitled, "How to eat a taco" (which is a sequel of "How to make a taco.") You can experience our host family with a bit more animation here. :) (Sorry the quality isn't great. I think the mode got switched at some point when our camera was in the hands of a young host cousin.)