Lunch at Kidike

Even though I finished Proust several months ago I still find myself desperately far behind in posting.  It's been a dreadful, long, exhausting year, and I don't think I ever finished a semester more tired or less enthused.  Good time to jump into Ramadan, and I'm actually sincere on that front.  The month is both exhausting and invigorating.

Nevertheless, let me at least make an effort at getting some posts up, although I may be revisiting them and adding more detail later. With every trip we try new things, most of which turn out to be good ideas. On our last trip to Zanzibar in January our great friend Kombo Bakar suggested that we include a cooking class.  Truthfully, Steve and I figured this would be very low key, with the students divided up among different families to maybe go to the market and then maybe cook one dish together.  Instead, we took over Kombo's house, and it seemed that most of the folks from the village of Kidike helped us cook.  It turned out to be one of the students' favorite activities, and we'll definitely be doing it again

As any cook knows, you have to stop and taste along the way.  Grace seems a little hesitant, but she loved it.

It wasn't all just eating sweets - there was work to be done!  Here's Claire harvesting cassava. On trips like this there are always students who are front and center to try everything, and Claire was definitely one of them.

Yes, not every task was as glamorous as digging up cassava. There was chicken plucking, which was completely dominated by Shelsea.

Shelsea holding up her freshly plucked chicken, which clearly never stood a chance.

And then there were the chicken pluckers, like Steve, who fought bravely . . .

Here's a picture of Wes chopping up fish for lunch.

Steven was also front and center for most challenges.

Nothing says a great meal in Zanzibar like octopus.

The colors of Pemba.

And, finally, the students were able to sit down in Kombo's living room and tackle the delicious lunch that they had prepared.