A Taste of Poverty III

Wednesday to Friday- variations on a theme.

I have discovered that hot restless sleep magnifies the sounds of the night...crickets, the breeze rustling the trees, over-ripe guavas thudding to the ground, the close footsteps and muted voices of the night watchmen- all punctuated by the neighbourhood dogs goading each other into a choir of howls.

I have enjoyed the simplicity of eating within my budget- rice with a little sugar for brekky (the cassava I bought were no good), ugali and greens for lunch and steamed pumpkin with kidney bean 'soup' for dinner. I look forward to ugali at lunch time- but don't seem to to be able to face twice a day :)

Kidney Bean Relish/Soup:

bring one cup of dried kidney beans to the boil with plenty of water in the morning. Take off the heat and cover. In the evening, simmer for an hour or so until soft (pre-boiling cuts 2 hrs of simmering time). In a separate pot heat 0.5- 1cm of oil, add a diced onion and a diced tomato or 2 and some salt to taste and allow to cook 'til tomatoes are breaking up. drain most of the bean liquid into a separate bowl and pour the oil mixture over the beans. leave on low heat for a little while to allow the oil/tomato/onion flavour to permeate the beans.

serve the bean relish with ugali or rice OR If you prefer the soup option, serve the relish into bowls and add the reserved bean liquid to taste. simple and delicious.

Wednesday both my language helpers arrived for the lesson having not eaten one or two of their previous meals. I guessed from their restless lack of concentration and served up anzacs and bananas with the usual glass of water. 'pangali' was said with a shrug or the 'malawian gesture' of clapping both hands together then holding them apart with a resigned shrug- 'there is nothing' AAAAAAAH!!!! How do I respond? they are both very well off by malawian standards- not only do they work for me, one is a teacher and the others husband has a well paid job. If they're running out of food on a regular basis- then what about the rest of the population?Budgeting doesn't work in this culture- the extended families needs come before the individuals - but at the same time- i know my generosity has been factored into the equation. take a deep breath and respond to one at a time....

the power has been on and off a lot this week which hasn't effected me much- except for internet access and the outside taps running out of water haha another bout of divine sense of humour :) I haven't been using my alotted 4 buckets of water a day- partly cos my wrists and lower back hurt from carrying it. By Thursday night everyone elses houses had no lights cos their transformer batteries had run out- but my place was a conspicuous glow of outdoor security lights :)

speaking of lights-I haven't minded spending each evening reading by candle light but I don't feel much like spending Friday night alone with no lights- so Im breaking that one from now on. thought I had better be honest :) well- have a good friday night- I would love to go out fo rdinner with friends and go see a band afterwards...oh the things we take for-granted