The Anti Atkins Diet.

Greetings from the other side!I am officially moved in to my PCT house in Nyanza, Rwanda. Pre service training is located near more amenities than I thought I would have, so adjusting to Rwandan life has been just fine. This country truly is the land of 1000 hills, and there are breathtaking views of rolling hills for miles and miles. The scenary definitely makes my walk to class worthwhile. We've just entered the rainy season here in Rwanda, which means it is sunny and gorgeous all morning, with a 3 minute passing shower in the afternoon. Oh, and it peaks at 70 degrees. Not too humid, not too dry, this climate is a dream.


Every morning I wake up tp a rooster crowing outside my window, take a relaxing bucket bath in our outdoor bath house, and get ready for a 10 minute stroll to the training compound. There we get breakfast and lunch (is this Peace Corps!?) and have our classes throughout the day. Sometimes in the evening we have dinner together at the comound, and on the other days we walk to our resource families (we do not live with host families, but we each have a resource family that we spend several days with each week for dinner, quality time, etc.) for dinner. One truth remains constant though, no matter where you eat, you can be certain that you will digest your own weight in straight carbohydrates. Potatoes, bread, rice, and even pasta are all typical to have each day, usually together. I might even eat them 3 times a day. All this starch seemed to sit in my stomach like a rock for the first few days, but I can tell mz body is accomodating to the new diet. It also helps that I eat around the same time each day. On the plus side a vegetarian diet is easily sustainable here, there are plenty of legumes and eggs for protein. I particularly love one popular side dish called isombe, which is a mashed up cassava leaf paste that reminds me of arugala and spinach. It nicely compliments the copious amounts of umuceri (rice) that I am always eating. Rwandans also have a special 'hot sauce' called usembe, which is basically a hot pepper oil. One or two drops are enough to make my whole plate worthy of Garfielding. I'm always trying to add spice to my life. We just learned how to prepare our own food using our small portable coal stoves. It is a process, usually 3 to 4 hours long. Uhhh, Easy Mac, anyone? I totally appreciate the food that is provided to me either from the compound or my resource family. I also understand why a lot of Rwandans, regardless of income, pay someone to either clean their house or do their laundry or both, dinner takes a lot of energy. No wonder they chow on carbs.