This past Friday Mwangi and Frances (our program director
and student affairs coordinator, who also happen to be husband and wife) invited
us to their place for a Friday evening get-together and dinner. It would be a
time for all of us to hang out, and enjoy each other’s company. Since the
program is small, we see each other quite frequently but it’s always a
challenge getting everyone together, and the Public Health students don’t see
Mwangi that often (he teaches a class for the development folks) and with
Frances’ immersion in another culture class being completed we also have not
had a lot of time to catch up with Frances.
We were brought to their beautiful home right from our
internships, and started helping prepare some things for dinner (well- some of
us helped I relaxed). The menu was: make your own kabob with plenty of veggies
and meat, salad, couscous, hummus, and plenty of other sauces. We were hanging
out on the roof for a bit, then trekked down the stairs and prepared our
kabobs! I was talking with Mwangi and Victor, and Mwangi asked me if I liked
grilling to which I naturally responded: yes!
Much to my surprise, a few minutes later Frances asked me if
I would like to grill and I jumped at the chance. Victor and I took our places
at the grill (which got quite hot – quite fast) and started grilling! We
started with the vegetable kabobs then worked our way to the meat. Mwangi
jumped in quickly and started rearranging the kabobs, because we were noticing
the vegetables were burning by the time the meat was cooking. We kept grilling,
and Frances was our chief inspector ensuring that all of the meat was done and
safe to eat.
It was great fun to grill, and be able to visit with Victor
and Mwangi as we all got the kabobs going. The best part of all of it, was we
were eating as we went. The fish was falling off the skewers, and of course we
needed to taste the chicken to make sure it was done. I swear we snacked on so
much by the time I sat down for the actual meal I was already half full!
The actual meal was full of laughs as Victor kept egging on
the vegetarians, and even convinced one of them to eat meat! It usually started
with him asking if they’ve ever eaten meat, then explaining that Kenyan meat
was much better meat. Another great laugh was when Mwangi said quietly to me “I
just had a piece of tofu….I was hoping to avoid it the whole night” to which I
found great humor as he slid the rest to the edge of his plate to ensure he
wouldn’t accidentally eat anymore.
We (I) found out that Victor graduated with a Bachelors
degree in Business Administration on October 10, and he didn’t tell anyone!
Naturally, I felt a toast and round of applause was necessary, and everyone
seemed to agree.
We enjoyed a nice meal, but then came the real fun. We were
to grill an entire goat leg. THE ENTIRE LEG! It was amazing. Head Chef Frances
had soaked it in an amazing sauce, and we got it on the grill. The longer it
was on, the louder and louder the dogs barked (we all credited to the amazing
smell wafting off the goat leg). When it was done, only a few of us wanted to
try it. I was so excited. Throughout the evening Mwangi, who also loves
grilling, was teaching me a few tricks of the trade. He taught me how to cut
the leg, and then offered me the best part, an incredibly tender piece of meet
right along the bone. This meat was by far one of the best things I have ever
eaten!
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