I’ve had some pretty grim experiences with food since getting here. Having to eat the bean cake which turned out to be full of fish. Sharing my noodles with Ratty. Biting into roasted corn and a maggot falling out of it (I had already eaten 90% of the corn by that time so I told myself that was definitely the ONLY maggot that would have been in there. There was absolutely NO chance there were others and I’d just ingested them). They were nothing compared to Saturday night’s adventures. We went to a friend’s restaurant/bar, which is very well known locally for its signature dish. In fact it boasts that it serves the best version of this dish in town. And what is this delicious meal? Goat Head. Yes, that’s right, the Head of a Goat. The ENTIRE head of a goat. One of the people we were out with expressed an interest (or perhaps more a morbid curiosity) in what this dish was like. I learnt very early on not to show any interest in food here unless you are very very sure that you want to eat it. And not just eat it, but have your facial expression scrutinised by everyone you are with whilst you eat whatever delicacy you have been given, just to make sure you really are enjoying it and you’re not just pretending. And sure enough, no more than ten minutes after he uttered the words “I wonder what it tastes like” two big pots of steaming Goat Head had been placed on the table in front of us. Now, I knew being a vegetarian here would cause some challenges. The concept is just not understood. I can’t count how many times I’ve said I can’t eat something and the response has been, “I know you’re vegetarian, but it’s okay, this is just chicken.” I don’t usually ever have a problem with other people eating meat. I am also realistic and have to accept that quite often (here and at home) I am probably eating things that have been cooked next to, or come into contact with meat and fish. And I’d never be fussy enough to refuse to eat anything on that basis (I’d probably starve here if I started being that obsessive about it!) But the two pots of Goat Head really did push my vegetarianism to the extreme. It was like being in a horror movie. When my friend started chewing the meat off a lump of something and I realised when he put down the remains that it was the goats teeth, dirt, decay and all, I really did have to take a few deep breaths. The highlight was at the end of the evening when they were closing the restaurant and pushed a wheelbarrow of rejected Goat Head Bones past our table. I kept being told by one of our local friends that I was ‘missing out’. I’m not certain I agree with him. As appealing as chewing on a goats jawbone and eyeballs might seem, I might just push on through and stick to being a vegetarian.
Some other new ‘experiences’ this week.
1. Goosebumps. Yes, that’s right. I was cold. In Nigeria. I had to sleep with my jumper on.
2. Losing my temper. This doesn’t happen often. I’m frequently grumpy and I moan all the time, but actually losing my temper? Very rare. I had no water for most of last week. And when I say ‘no water’ I literally mean nothing. For the first part of the week it was fine because I just used the stored water I keep in my room (and tried to ignore the smell of stagnant pond). But by the time that ran out on Thursday I was feeling pretty fed up. The closest tap to collect water from is a 20 minute walk up my hill. I’m reasonably strong, but even I can’t carry my filled jerry can that far. On Friday morning I’d had enough and I asked my neighbour whether he could help me fetch water in his car, or if he knew when they’d be using the generator to pump us water (which is what usually happens when the water is off for a long-time). He just looked really confused and said he’d had water all week. I asked a couple more of my neighbours and they all said the same thing. Then my neighbour took me to the outside area behind my room and showed me the tap which controls my water supply. Which had been turned off. The security guard saw me and shouted to ask if there was a problem. He’d been bugging me all week for money for another fictitious electricity bill. The last time he did that and I refused to pay he turned the electricity supply off to my room. I have little doubt that he was responsible for turning the water off to my room. The tap is directly outside my bathroom window. It is impossible that it was turned off by mistake. Its only function is to control the water supply to my room. He then had the nerve to ask me for money again. He still owes me 2,000 Naira for the kitchen sink he never fixed. Something tells me that the two of us will never see eye to eye. At least I now know how to turn my water on myself.
3. The taxi I was in on the way to work being wheel clamped. In the middle of the road. There’s an area where taxi drivers aren’t allowed to stop and pick up passengers unless they dash (pay/bribe) the random men who stand on the side of the road. I’m not really sure what purpose these men serve. All they seem to do is to direct you to which cab to get into, which the taxi drivers are more than able to do themselves. Anyway, the driver of the taxi I was in didn’t want to dash anyone so seemed to think that if he just crawled along the road very slowly and made passengers jump into a moving car then he wouldn’t have to pay because technically he never stopped. Not so. The random men on the side of the road reached into the car, turned off the ignition, and pulled out the car keys. The taxi driver then started fighting with them (not very intelligent given there was one of him and about 10 of them). And then the traffic police (or just some more random men, I’m not really sure) came and clamped the car. Right in the middle of the road. In rush hour traffic. The door handle on the inside of the passenger door where I was sitting was broken and so I couldn’t actually get out. It took them a few minutes to realise I was still stuck inside, and to open the door so I could get another cab to work. This time I made sure I got in one that had paid the taxi attendants and so was actually allowed to stop to pick me up.
So all in all, another quiet few days in Calabar!
No comments:
Post a Comment