Week 1 - The Goat Ate My Homework and Other Foods

Location: Kampala

One of the best surprises so far has been the food. I had expected Kampala to be dominated by traditional Ugandan starchy food. However, I found the options to be very wide, ranging from Indian to Asian to American to local. Our first meal consisted of native Ugandan food prepared in full with a medley of potatoes and starches. There were at least five different types including a yam, a pumpkin, an irish potato, an odd pink spotted potato and the famous matoke, a yellow cooked plantain that resembled the taste of a potato. In addition to the starches, I ordered fish bathed in peanut sauce --very delicious. Ugandans are very big on avocados, and most standard dine-in restaurants offer some sort of avocado appetizers or supplements to the meal. At our second group dinner, I got a chance to sample this savory avocado appetizer and I was greatly impressed. The sheer size of the avocado, when pitted, creates a hollow cave into which a salad consisting of tomatoes, onions, and a vinaigrette was fitted.

I am definitely surprised by the quantity and variety of fruits I've been eating here. I previously imagined that I would have to subsist on packaged products and tread very carefully with home-grown foods including fruits and vegetables due to issues of sanitation. However, I quickly realized that I eat more fruit here than I do back in the United States. Since the arrival I've eaten the following fruits: pineapples, green oranges (slightly more sour than the traditional orange variety), passion fruit, bananas (big and small), watermelon, papayas and probably others that I cannot think of at the moment. All in all, the fruits of Uganda are certainly understated back home.

On our way to Murchison Falls, we sampled goat kabobs from street vendors. Contrary to my expectations of Ugandan street-quality food, they turned out salty and delicious --comparable if not better to kabobs back home. In addition to the kabobs, we also tried the casava, a soft, white, starchy potato-type that resembled a bland baked potato. At Murchison Falls, my palette was exposed to more delicacies including two three course dinners consisting of soup, a main meal, and dessert, and an English breakfast complete with eggs, bacon, sausage, mushrooms, tomatoes, and backed beans. Each day I'm more and impressed by the foods in Uganda. Needless to say I'm not complaining about my diet.

Another popular location for food, clothes and exploration is Wandegeya, a local marketplace right next to Makerere University. One night we sampled a roasted chicken cooked in a combination of vegetables including cabbage, onions, and tomatoes. Another famous treat is the Rolex --a vegetable omelet wrapped inside chapatti (fried bread similar to naan). Lastly, a final perk is that soda beverages come in glass bottles definitely trumping the good ol' American cans.