Food Issues

No, not those... My stomach has been remarkably cooperative since I came down here. But yes, I have had food issues - mostly in terms of getting used to the way you are supposed to search and/or order food.

In Uganda, I was in the hotel restaurant waiting for the "breakfast included" to be served, so when this lady showed up next to me and asked "breakfast?" I said "Yes" and smiled. She went on declaiming: "fruits, juice, eggs, bread, coffee." It all sounded excellent, so I nodded. She wouldn't budge though, and kept staring at me. I then realized that we had to take EVERY item and discuss it: what kind of fruits, juice, eggs, bread and coffee. I ended up with a huge plate of all fruits available (their ‘selection’ was actually ‘all-in-one’), passion fruit juice (the only one available, so I didn’t quite see the point of ‘discussing’ it), eggs (we agreed on “Spanish omelet”, which was anything but), toast (after I had asked for fresh bread), and Nescafe (after I had ordered “regular coffee”). But yes, it was all very good, of course :-)

The other thing that I became an expert in is ordering sodas. Here, you say “A coke, please”, and then you have to detail what kind of “coke” you meant (was it Fanta, Sprite, or actual Coca-Cola)?

But the thing that threw me off completely was this conversation I had yesterday in a ‘supermarket’ in Musanze (where only the white people usually shop):
-Je cherche du chocolat.
-Pour manger?
-Oui…
-Automatiquement ?

?!?!?!??!

Now, I am not sure how chocolate is consumed and/or served in all parts of the world, but from my pretty extensive traveling experiences, chocolate usually IS meant for eating. As for the “automatic” part – I continue to be baffled. Maybe this woman thought I was looking for chocolate powder (Nesquick-type) – so ‘instant’ instead of “automatic’?! In any event, now, whenever I take a bite, I think of mechanics instead of sweetness…