Discovering the African Market

Wander around long enough in the African market in Oshakati, and you will meet more people than you'd expect. The sellers -mainly women- are just as interested in getting to know about you and why you're here as trying to sell their items. Everyone is friendly, and you can feel the warm atmosphere- as well as the 40 degrees Celsius temperature.

Above and Right: The friendly people who chatted with us
during our local market experience.

 Everything is so different and interesting, from the cow heads collecting flies on the floor to the lethal bow and arrows that can kill a lion. But the food may be the best, and tastiest, part. The traditional dishes surround you with foreign scents as you watch them prepare the food over small coal pits dug out in the concrete. I was only allowed to eat an orange colored, deep fried fish with local spices and chips (French fries) though, because my parents didn't trust any other dishes! Too bad I couldn't try anything else, because everything looked really good.

Some of the many dishes and items in the Oshakati market.

 Above: The kitchens made from concrete and pots which were all over the market. Below: a cow head, heart and hooves, which are put in soup and stew whole. My mom said no to trying these before I could even ask! ;(

 Above: different items used in cooking; the middle left bowl holds Mopani Worms, which are worms that come from inside the Mopani trees and can be eaten dried or in soup. Below: a fruit known as the Okongo orange that smells kind of like orange soda.

 The bowls above are used to grind corn, but my mom and I are thinking of getting one for house decoration instead. Below: the orange deep-fried fish I was allowed to try.

A WIMPY Thanksgiving

Hopefully your history class has taught you by now that Thanksgiving is solely an American holiday, and doesn't happen all over the world. If not, then I highly recommend you go back to third grade ;)

Being an American, I didn't really want to just give up the delicious turkey holiday, but when you ask a local if they eat turkey here, and he says, "You mean the shiny blue bird? With big green feathers? Nope," some sacrifices have to be made. So, instead of turkey, my family woke up early and got in the car for a meal at WIMPY's.

science.org.uk

The African Turkey











WIMPY's is kind of like Denny's, except it has an African twist- a lot more meat. But the service is faster than the usual hour or so of waiting one must endure to get any restaurant food. Usually we don't eat out much. But electricity is expensive here, so an oven on most of the day is not a good idea.

The food was good, can't complain there. I do question the thoughts of whoever came up with the idea to name a restaurant WIMPY's though...





Our memorable Thanksgiving at WIMPY's. Photo courtesy: my mom.