Surprise!

I am writing this post at 8:10AM on August 29, which is nearly a month and a half from when you will read this, provided this scheduling to post in the future works. I'm going to assume that I will not have had internet access for awhile by October 14, the day this post will actually be posted.

To prevent this post from creating all sorts of bizarre loops and scribbles in the timeline, I'll stick to writing generally about food. I will not say, for example, that this morning for breakfast I ate some more of the digestive crackers I bought yesterday, because on October 13 I will probably not buy digestive crackers and on October 14 I will probably not eat them for breakfast.

Mango season had ended by the end of August, but banana season was just starting. As was avocado season. The avocados here have enormous pits in comparison to the ones I've eaten in the States, but the actual avocado is about the same size, so there is a lower deliciousness-to-nondeliciousness ratio.

The fruit stands are also selling apples, but these are imported from elsewhere and I haven't bought one yet.

Note: I can't remember what I've already written about, but I just realized that if I am repeating something I recently wrote, it will have been at least 6 weeks ago since you last read it, and therefore (hopefully) not boring and repetitive.

Here's a list of the foods sometimes sold on trays balanced on the heads of women/children walking along the street:

• cold water. it's packaged in plastic bags and you chew into a corner and drink from it.
• icees. juice that has been frozen into a plastic sandwich bag (not a legitimate plastic bag like the cold water is packaged in). although I've heard they're delicious, I am much too frightened of drinking unfiltered, unbleached water to try one.
• peanuts. these are super cheap and delicous!
• cashews. these are super expensive (in comparison to the peanuts) but even more delicious!
• dates. these are only sold in large quantities around Ramadan because many people eat them to break the fast.
• that's all I can think of at the moment.

Here's a list of the food I was super-excited to see in the supermarket (but too poor to actually purchase):

• canned lychees
• Happy Hippos chocolate candy by the company that makes KinderEggs

Some meals I've eaten (or seen other people eat):

Sandwiches: I've only ever eaten the bean sandwich, but I've seen other people eat the omelette sandwiches and my host brothers from training village once ate a chocolate sandwich (basically a Nutella-like spread). None of the sandwiches are made with sliced bread, and I just realized I have not eaten (at least as of August 29) sliced bread since I left the States. Which really makes me question that whole "best thing since sliced bread" thing because really, sliced bread isn't THAT fantastic. Anyway, I've also heard of the existence of bean and omelette sandwiches, but I do not think any bean, omelette and chocolate sandwiches exist.

Cous: It's not cous-cous, I'm not sure what it is. I've been given a bowl of ground-up cous before, with a separate bowl that had a sauce with fish and vegetables to pour over it. I'm not sure what this meal was called, but it was alright. I like rice better, though.

Rice: If it's not a sandwich or served with cous, it's served with rice. Sometimes the rice is cooked together wtih the other ingredients, and sometimes it's served separately and the sauce is poured over it.

Benichen: This is a rice dish where everything is cooked all together. According to my language teacher, "ben" means "one" in Wolof, because it's cooked in one dish. Benichen can be either red or white, depending on what type of oil you're using, etc. I'm not sure what the other ingredients exactly are...but I LOVE it.

Domoda: This is the groundnut sauce that I've probably described before. Sometimes there's a meat (like chicken or beef) included, and sometimes not. Also, I'm not sure I spelled "domoda" correctly.

Chew: The rice is separate, and then a mixture of cabbage, potatos, carrots, onion, some other vegetables, and meat (when I ate it for lunch during training, the meat was either chicken or canned beef, but I'm not sure what meat the Gambians traditionally use, or if they even usually include meat) is spooned over it.

There's some food whose name I've forgotten, but it involves cooking the rice with some seasonings and bits of fish and stuff. But unlike the other dishes, there's not a lot of oil added or any sort of sauce.

Now I'll go write a post that you'll actually be able to read today, August 29.