Food in South Africa

Ok, so one thing I have really come to appreciate in the U.S. is the food. When we first arrived in South Africa we stayed at a dormitory in a college and ate lots of good South African food. The staple of almost every meal is pap, which is like a white cornmeal. It is boiled and served in great heaps onto plates with meat, vegetables, and sauce. The South Africans can eat extraordinary amounts of this food and I had to ask my host-family to give me less than they ate. At the college we had a full cooking staff working for us, and they also prepared rice, coleslaw, boiled beets, cabbage, chicken, and beef.

Food at my homestay was not so varied. My family would usually have pap and meat. The Peace Corps would supply my family with food once every two weeks, and among these supplies were two jars of peanut butter. Oh boy the Peace Corps Trainees (PCT's) really ate a lot of that stuff. I liked it for many reasons, but the main reason was because it was something I had in America and it reminded me of home. It was hard to make sure you got enough fruits and vegetables every day so many people looked forward to cooking for themselves. I cooked for my family several times, but every time left something more to be desired. A good example: I tried to make a pasta sauce for them and bought tomato sauce. Unfortunately, the tomato sauce was really ketchup and very sweet. Hey, the food was still edible.

Cleanliness was a really big concern of mine in the beginning and it took a lot of time for me to get used to it. There are many bugs flying around here and there were also mice in the house. Also, many people do not wash their hands after using the bathroom. Again, this was just one of those things.

There are many different kinds of drinks here in SA. People call soda "cold drink" here and often do not specify what kind of soda they are buying or want. There is a really nice kind of ginger ale here that is stronger than the one in America. In many respects, drinks are just like the ones in the U.S.

I now have a house and can cook for myself. You can get pretty much any kind of food here in SA that you would in the U.S. except for ethnic specialty things. You will not find jalapeno peppers in adobo sauce here. I really miss eating Chinese food and if I do come home during my service I'm going to go on a Chinese-food-eating rampage. Hope all of you are doing well and please enjoy your food in the U.S. for me!