What’s the food like?

Food? What food?

OK, I’m just kidding. They feed me constantly! I feel like I’m being fattened for the slaughter! (Before you judge my gluttony please, keep in mind that refusing food or drink is considered extremely disrespectful to your host.)

Here is my feeding schedule:

8:15 AM My host sister serves me tea (with lots of sugar) and bread with honey and butter before I leave for "school" (language and technical training).

10:00 AM We have a snack of tea (with lots of sugar), coffee (with lots of sugar) and plain yogurt with honey.

12:30 PM We have tea (with lots of sugar), a tajine or omelet, freshly baked bread, and tangerines. A tajine is cooked in a really cool looking pot made from clay. The whole dish is made in layers: first the red onions, which will burn, but in a good way. Then the chicken and lots of spices that I can’t even begin to identify. On top of that are carrots, potatoes and whatever other vegetables are available that day. (Yay! for seasonality!) Keep in mind that this meal ends at 2:30 PM.

4:00 PM Tea (with lots of sugar), coffee (with lots of sugar), and crepes or bread stuffed with olives and tuna fish.

6:00 PM My host sister often visits with her sister-in-law, whose house is on the way from "school". Occasionally, I end up in the kitchen, drinking tea (with lots of sugar) and explaining that I can’t eat the bread because I might explode!

9:00 PM Dinner! This varies widely. There’s always tea (with lots of sugar). Sometimes it’s lentils, bread and spinach. Other times it’s lamb’s heart (ul n wulli) and chicken (is tgit ashishaw?). Last night we had bread stuffed with boiled eggs, black olives, french fries and pureed tomatoes. Sometimes there’s coca-cola or freshly made orange juice.

I’m convinced that I’m made to eat more than other family members. My host sister says that I can’t return to America as a skinny girl because then people will think she didn't feed me. I hope that the record is clear from this description.

What about couscous, you ask? Contrary to popular belief (and many cookbooks) couscous is not a common dish. Before arriving I though it would be like rice in Chinese cuisine - always there! Actually, it takes a long time to prepare, and is usually eaten for Friday lunches. Many families don’t eat it at all during Ramadan, so my first and only couscous meal wasn’t until I’d spent nearly six weeks in the country.

Thanks to everyone who posted questions and words of encouragement. It makes it so much easier to be hear knowing that I have support back home!