New Years/The hairiest chicken I've ever seen

For New Years Day of 2012, we went to the home of a new friend that works really close to our apartment..  She invited us over for lunch.  This is really exciting to us because it's the first time that we've been invited into someone's house.  Our language teacher went with us.  We get there and they are finishing up cooking lunch  so we had live entertainment by her two kids (among others... family members?) 


The Friday before, we stopped by her work to finalize plans for coming and of course at that time they were eating lunch.  So, the words that I've come to LOVE hearing: "Kaay lekk" (come eat) happened...  You never know what in the world is going to be in the bowl.  I told them that we had already eaten but that we would taste which is the polite thing to do.  So we walk over and I think it's the typical chebu-jenn (fish and rice) until I put a bite of it in my mouth.  It's really, really fishy, cool and runny (like watery rice).  The fish for the dish was small & very boney and as I was chewing, I realize that I have a bone in my mouth..  not knowing if it's rude to spit out bones, I swallowed it...  I just thought that someone was a worse cook than I am.  But the next day we learned that it was a new dish altogether- it's supposed to be runny.  I am pretty sure I could go my whole life without eating that one. 


So... back to New Years Day: when we get to our friends house, because of the previous experience, we're a little nervous about the meal.  I taught our language teacher the m's pryer:  I'll put it down if You keep it down.  She thought this was the funniest thing ever.  When the bowl comes with spoons, it's regular chebu-jenn but it's the white kind.  That means that there is no tomato paste in it to help take away fishy taste.  So we dig in and, by the grace of the Lord above, it wasn't really that fishy!  I actually was sort of enjoying it until one bite when it tasted like I had eaten my once pet goldfish.  Chew & swallow.  Don't think.  After it was all said and done,    our langugage teacher says "I'm proud of you two!"... haha!  She's the one African that knows us well enough to know what we are really thinking.


So the rest of the day was spent hanging out and drinking attaya which is my favorite.  The kids played around.  Her son, Cheikh, kept calling Patricia a boy which was the funniest thing ever.  He was such a ham! 


I see this chicken running around in their yard.  It has feathers on it's feet.  I've never seen such a thing in my life...  They tell me it's just a baby and that they bought it for $16 because when it's grown it can be sold for $50.  Because I'm so amazed, we walked to the end of the street where they sell this same breed of chickens so I could see them as adults. Coolest. chickens. ever.  Upon arriving in Africa to find that lions, cheetahs, and monkeys don't exist here (everything I've been taught is a lie!! haha) I have to be impressed with the livestock :)

Wrestling

Dancing

I still don't know what some of the things are in the middle of this dish.  I'm convinced part of it looks like brain.

Making attaya!

 

Seriously.. this is the coolest chicken ever.

 

 

 

Here's a big one!  This thing had to be like 20 or so pounds!

 

 

 

 

Can't wait to go back and visit again!