Village Meals

Village Meals: Once in a lifetime experience!!! WE spilt into 3 groups and were dropped off by Chris, introduced and spent the next few hours completely immersed. Besides the obvious language barrier (that the group is trying to learn), all of us were out of our comfort zones. We ate in a room that only fit 5 people in a mud hut. The custom is to eat EVERYTHING that is given to you until you can't stuff anything more in. Chris had prearranged the houses and even provided food for the 3 families- so we knew what we would be eating. Our meals were rice, beans, mandazi (bread), chai tea, our own water and then duck, chicken and goat. I've never been so full in my life...some of you are saying YEAH RIGHT! Well, they were so welcoming and honored to have us in their homes. They washed out hands before and after dinner and Chris says we were lucky to have plates- normally they all eat of the same serving platter. Side note: there was a grandmother guarding the door were we ate - beating off chickens and ducks that wanted to join us...wow! After finishing dinner...which was a big feat...we had an African dance party outside the house around a lantern. Then each family (entourage) thanked us for coming profusely. WE were a spectacle to say the least and crowds gathered everywhere. When we all got home- it was so much fun to talk about the experience and although that was not anywhere close to our normal dining experiences over here- the group was excited to have had that experience.
PS- Many pictures were taken of that one!!!