They Call Me Ms. Pepe

So its time to talk/write about everyone's favorite topic: Food.

The first thing you should know about Cameroonian food is that it consists primarily of starches. And main dishes can be summed up as starches wrapped in/on top of/mixed with starches. As someone with a serious 'meat tooth', I'm having major protein withdrawl. My solution to this problem: soya. Not 'soya' as in tofu, but 'soya' as in Zara's ideal food item. Soya is meat seasoned with spicy pepe (the Pidgin word for pepper'), grilled over coals on the roadside and served on a stick. And it costs $0.25 each. What could be better?? Although a chronic addiction is developing, I'm trying to limit myself to 5 a day, to be eaten in the long afternoon period between lunch and dinner.

In terms of regular meals, we (the interns) eat three, carb-loaded times a day at the Orock's house. Breakfast, at 7:30am is usually some combination of eggs and lots of white bread. On occasion we have that famous Cameroonian specialty (seriously), the spagetti omlet. Lunch, the major meal of the day at 2pm is either lots french fries, rice or pasta served with a red sauce that tastes like Minestrone, some fruit and a minimal amount of grilled fish or chicken. Given that there are now seven of us, we must strategically situate ourselves at the table to give us the best access to the non-carb items. In fairness I should say that there is always enough food at the table and that they do go out of the way to give us Western food and more protein than the average Cameroonian gets. Dinner at the Orock's (and other Cameroonian households) is a light, starchy meal. We usually eat pancakes/crepes, muffins, or on special days, white bread with avocado, cucumber and tomatoes with mayonaise- strangely tasty.

As someone who's already had her fill of french fries and pancakes, I've been asking for some of the leftovers from the Orock family's meals, i.e. traditional West African food. These dishes include 'pap' (mushed up cornmeal), various types of 'fufu' (a boiled and mashed glob of yam, cassava, or manioc served in a banana leaf and which tastes similar to what one would expect from melted rubber), fried plantains (delicious), and grilled meats covered in pepe. My love of pepe, and high tolerance for spiciness (which is at freak levels, according to everyone here) has led to the nickname Ms. Pepe. My regular server of soya, Bobe, claims that I eat spicier food than any Cameroonian, although he watches me carefully everytime I eat his spicy soya to make sure that my head doesn't explode or my tongue fall off. Pepe is so good that I am seriously contemplating leaving all my possessions here and bringing home a giant backpack full of it, not for resale, just personal consumption.

Second to my love of spicy food is my love of street food. Some local specialities include 'poof poof', which is basically extremely greasy, fried dough and another example of the emphasis on carbs here. (Poof-poofs may also be the single cheapest item here, costing only 5F, which is a couple of pennies.) There is also grilled corn on the cob, although it is very much in need of butter, chili pepper and salt, which is how it is served in India to perfection. We also go for roasted bar fish (a local type of fish) on the weekends. Served with a pepe sauce and fried plantains, a whole fish about the size of a forearm costs only 700F, or $1.75. Amazing.

In terms of drinks, there is no better deal than Cameroonian beer. For .65L (about the quantity of two cans in the U.S.) it costs $1.25. There are numerous brands, with the most popular local ones being Mitzig and Export 33, both dark lagers. Guiness is also ubiquitous, and is the corporate sponsor for just about every event, including the Race for Hope up Mt. Cameroon. The beers are way to heavy and dark for me (I've obviously got the American preference for light, girly beers) so I stick with Fanta and Pomplemousse (grapefruit soda), which are $1 for .65L, still a good deal. All the drinks are served in old-school glass bottles so you can only have beer or soda in restaurants or roadside bars- I havent seen any drink in cans or plastic bottles.

Oh, I forgot to mention fruit. Mangos, green oranges (mosumbi in India), and pineapple are all in season and cheaper than dirt. Four mangos costs $0.25 total and a whole cut pineapple the same. I end up eating a lot of these, along with roasted nuts, between meals, because six hours is just too long for me to go without eating. Ironically, its now time for me to go get my regular 6pm soya fix. Today I think I'll have six, five for me and one in your honor. :)