Food!

I've been waiting this entire trip to save up enough pictures of food to have one big post. For those who might not know, I love food. Unfortunately, I would not describe Ugandan cuisine as the epitome of culinary experience... Here's some of what I gathered over the month. 

This is a "traditional" Ugandan meal: Here you'll find Beans (not bad, actually) and Matooke (kinda like mash potatoes but with no taste at all and a more chewy texture.. not my favorite).

Of course there's snacks such as Rolex: A Chiapatti (Fried dough) with Egg that is ubiquitous at small snack stands  and most importantly, the medical school canteen: 

Of course the Good Samaritan Canteen has been my lunch joint of choice this past month: 

My lunch of choice: a bowl of fresh fruit (which I have not gotten diarrhea from as I initially feared) and local Yogurt (which I'm pretty sure is made from whole milk which negates any healthy aspect of the fruit, oh well).

Staying at the Makerere Guest House has it's perks. I think our whole group agrees the best perk is the breakfast in the mornings: Fresh Fruit (Pineapple here is ridiculously juicy and sweet), Samosas, and some version of Egg is a part of my morning routine:

In Jinja I found Jack fruit growing in the wild:

 (Sorry for all the non-rotated pictures. It's one of my pet peeves but the internet is shotty today so I don't think I can rotate).

This fish sandwich near the Source of the Nile was one of the best I've ever had!

Traveling to Uganda has further proven that Coca-Cola is dominating the world. Some of their local beverages include Stoney Ginger Ale (super gingery and delicious!) 

... and Krest, a "bitter lemon" soda. The Bitter and Sweet contrast is really refreshing on a hot day... aka everyday.

When we met with Dr. Merry at the Serena Hotel we came upon a pastry and ice cream shop. This is not the typical food store you find in Uganda so I had to take a picture. In a way it represents the dichotomy of rich and poor you find in the city.

 Miscellaneous:

Passion fruit!

 Random Rooster walking around. This is not an unusual sight, even in a busy street in Kampala.

 One of the resident warthogs at our campsite. 

 As a final group dinner in Kampala we wanted to get authentic African food... so we went to a Ethiopian restaurant. Close enough? I'm not a fan of the bread (too sour) but the rest was delicious. Especially the cabbage and spinach.

This last picture is of a menu at Amagara, a cafe we ate at in Kampala our first weekend. It's not a particularly exciting picture but represents an important lesson that was brought to my attention. After we were done eating, the waiter gathered our empty dishes and thanked us for eating. He said he was happy we finished all our food because many people in the city do not have food. I was relieved that we had finished all the food we ordered. It occurred to me that maybe the waiter serving us had had many a hungry night or day. The translator who accompanied us to manyangwa explained that many of the children could not afford lunch during school. The whole story reminded me of a time in junior/high school when if you didn't finish your food, someone would say, "hey, don't you know there are starving kids in Africa?" To which you would reply, "Yeah but it's not like I can give this to them" or some variation on that theme. Well, being in Uganda and seeing the orphans on the street, the wasted patients on the wards, the malnutrition unit in pediatrics.. is a constant, blatant reminder of how some people lack the basic essentials in life... and this time if you don't finish your food there are so many people, all around you, who would gladly take it.