Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Sans-Fluff

OK. I gotta be honest with you: I don’t like this blog. I don’t like writing it and I sure as hell wouldn’t like reading it if I was on the other end. Now, I’m sure this sounds negative and pouty, but there’s good reason behind my blog-aversion. My everyday life in Zambia has become just that – everyday life. And while it might sound interesting to you, it’s not all that fantastic to me. I love living here, don’t get me wrong, but how many times can I write about mud walls, wells and pit latrines? You try writing a blog about your kitchen sink and toilet and see how far you get. What about work? I certainly could write loads about that, right? Yeah, I could – but I’m not going to. Peace Corps work – and I’ve made peace with this – Peace Corps work is a difficult endeavor mired in cancellations and corruption. Again, don’t get me wrong, I have had successes; I do have a good ending or two, but its frustrating getting there. And while I still believe in development work, I’ve turned somewhat cynical – and nobody wants to read about that. So I’m leaving work out too.

Then what? Why have a blog if I’m not gonna write anything? It’s just gonna take up cyberspace and the time you invest in checking it. I previously intended to simply delete this fluff blog and forgo the frustration of trying to think up another inane post. Long story short, I was talked out of it. I’ll be keeping the blog, but instead of the usual dribble I’ll be writing about a new founded passion: cooking.

As I’m sure most of you know, I love dining out and did it quite often back in the states. Unfortunately this hobby has completely lost its appeal since all the restaurants in Zambia serve exactly the same thing – nshima with chicken or nshima with beef. I was soon confronted with the question, who will make my pizzas? My tacos? My charbroiled avocado double cheeseburgers with garlic fries? These became deeply troubling issues. And while I was physically sated eating the same vegetable stir-fry night after night, dreams of fettuccine Alfredo and my mom’s chicken casserole became more intense as time went on.

Enter John Crockett, a Welshmen with an enthusiasm for cooking. Volunteering for VSO, he and his Spanish girlfriend, Betty Alie, work in the nearby township of Lundazi. The international couple has continually shown us an incredible degree of hospitality, frequently opening house and stocked kitchen to me and my fellow Peace Corps comrades. Over the past eight months John has taken me under his culinary wing, instructing me on recipes such as curry, risotto, and quiche. But, as all things in Zambia, cooking isn’t a straight forward practice. Being 150 miles from the nearest supermarket, we are forced to be inventive, making simple ingredients entirely from scratch. The total and complete lack of ricotta cheese, egg noodles, and jam frequently leads us to find ourselves curdling milk, rolling dough, and preserving fruits. And while these practices are frequently time consuming and somewhat bothersome, the situation only gets worse in the village. With no refrigerator, no oven, and no stove, the methods of preserving and cooking food become even more extravagant and creative. Making bread, pies, and burritos on a charcoal brazier isn’t impossible, just requires time, patience, and the ability to stomach failure.

So that’s it. Over the next two years, I’ll be bringing you tried and tested recipes from the African bush. It’ll be fun. Well, more fun than the pit latrine stories.

Oh and if you want to read blogs about development check out John’s blog, http://www.devex.com/blogs/208 . He’s much better at it than I am.

3 comments:

Unknown said...

Well you ended up getting around to finally updating this thing. I came to the same realization you had regarding your blog, when i got home and looked at the pictures i had taken. I got like 400 from the first two weeks, then its pretty dry till vacation. I have like 6 total pictures of what zambia looks like in the rainy season. Similar situation, i kinda forgot to take pictures once Zambia stopped being a novelty and became my mailing address.

I suppose I can understand the frustration as well, lord knows its difficult to get people to do anything, but i will admit i got lucky, and the majority of my disenfranchisement arrived upon coming back to the 'civilized' world.

Anyhow man, still think about you kids over there on the daily, wish things had ended differently thats for sure. You want a fun mental image? My near death experiences, and the toxicity of my current medication, is causing me to lose my hair at an alarming rate. At this pace, I'll be completely bald by the time christmas rolls around. How fucked up is that. So yeah, I'm not sure what i look like completely bald, so it'll be an 'adventure'.

Chelsea Keating said...

radical chef brother!

since you're staying in zam bam bia another year (you're still doing this, right?) I may actually have the opportunity to come visit you after graduation (if all goes as planned).

I miss you like the charles dickens.
-Chels

John said...

Hey Bucket,

It's good to read an update on you regardless of your pitiful your latrine system (no pun intended). I think switching about food is a great idea and creative. keep up the good work. Take care

PS your friend's blog is way better than yours