Its What's For Dinner

Since I was 12 years old, I have called myself a vegetarian. Even before that I could rarely be found eating any meat, unless it was a cheeseburger after a softball game or some meatloaf. Actually, I'm not sure I ate much meatloaf, but that's all I can really think of right now. Anyways, I initially stopped eating meat because I didn't like the taste, and I LOVED animals. All of them. I would spit the meat into a napkin and throw it away after dinner. Then, I realized my mom wouldn't make me eat it if I proclaimed myself a Vegetarian.

As I got older, my reasons changed- no they expanded. I still didn't like the taste, but I also realized the strain on the economy and environment that meat production has, not to mention the obscene amount of hormones and chemicals you ingest with every bite.

So then I find out that I'm coming to Cameroon, where, at least in the beginning, I won't have much control over what I eat. This summer I decided to prep my body for some meat intake. After 12 years, I assumed that I would have some difficulties with digestion. That coupled with all the other crazy internal problems that come with being a westerner in Africa, I decided to introduce my stomach with some chicken (beef was still out of the question). I ate about an ounce of chicken every two weeks. Some of it was actually pretty good, thanks Moms.

Since I've been in Cameroon, I think I've had chicken exactly one time, and I just tried a bite of someone's dish. Mostly it was dried fish that we were getting at home, and mostly we weren't eating it, for obvious reasons-see earlier posts about food. Then the fish stopped coming, and I was a happy vegetarian again. Actually a vegan. Then we found omelets, or more specifically, Omelet-Row, where on any given day you can choose from one of 5 or 6 omelet shacks and get a delicious been or spaghetti -or both- omelet. Of course, that then goes onto a half loaf of bread and maybe some cheese (Laughing Cow) is spread on it.

THEN, while we were on our site visit, hanging out in Ngaoundere, we were enjoying some beers on a patio convienently located right next to a street-meat vendor. 50CFA for a stick, about 10cents back home. I took a bite of someone's and fell in love. I immediately had 3 of my own sticks. I won't go into detail, but I'll say that Brian, Allison and I talked about the N'Gdere street meat almost every day after that. I tried some up in Pitoa, but it wasn't the same. More like how I usually imagine meat to taste - bad.

This past weekend, while in Ngaoundere, I had 4 more long awaited sticks of Soya (street-meat). But wait....it was immediately after having dinner at a restaurant with a full 5 page menu. What did I eat you ask? A hamburger. It was juicy and wonderful. Local, organic, grass-fed goodness.

I'm still a vegetarian at heart, and if I went back to the States tomorrow, I wouldn't touch meat. But something about the beef in N'Gaoundere makes me crazy...