ladies in the kitchen

me, Ada, Isaora, Mackenzie

I continue to blog because it's the first month being back from Cameroon and honestly... I miss it. I get into a nostalgic mood and then I stay up and blog about it. Memories are sinking in and the realization that I'm back in the States seems unreal (I guess you can call it reverse culture shock). If you've ever stayed in a different country for an extended period, or studied abroad, you know what I mean. C'est normal. This might be the reason for my recent bout of insomnia, but it's no biggie because my brain will soon revert back to 'America.' So...

In mid-December I tagged along with my friend Mackenzie (a fellow Fulbrighter) to visit her extended host family in Douala. It is an extremely hot coastal city and has one of the biggest ports in Cameroon. We stayed at Ada's house and during those few days there she was the most excellent host, cooking for us, making sure we met all of her friends and taking us out and about. It was certainly a fun, adventurous and crazy few days.

Before I went, people kept saying that it is so hot in Douala that people slept outside. Well it was true. The air was so thick with heat that after taking a shower, I was drenched right back in sweat again. You can't escape it... Man it was hot there! I compare the current heat wave in Chicago to the weather in Douala. haha.

Anyways, four ladies: me, Mackenzie, our friend Isaora and Ada were having some fun in the kitchen. We were watching Ada cook and she was explaining what she was doing while stirring a heavy pot of pasty flour. Her instructions were all in French (and I was appalled when I realized the deterioration of my French)! Coming from the Anglophone region, I had forgotten a lot and strained to understand. After she cooked, we all sat outside in her backyard under the shade of a giant tree and enjoyed our meal in the coolness of the shade. I will just upload a series of pictures.

The end result: A delicious-okra-filled-slippery-finger-lickin' meal.