Everything in The Gambia is incredibly cheap if you count in U.S. dollars. However, an average income for a modest family (10-15 people) is only about 1,500 dalasi per month or $38 USD. More than a third of the population lives on less than $1.25 USD per day
Every day for the past 30 days, we have only eaten rice and fish. Actually, fish only comes on the lucky days; sometimes, it’s only rice and leaves. As the days of rice and leaves and fish drug on, I tried to think of each meal as one closer to the day we would eat meat. The night before felt like Christmas Eve as I anxiously awaited “The Sacrifice.”
Benechin is fried rice with vegetables and either fish, chicken or meat. It is often also served with a tasty leafy-green okra sorrel. For the Tobaski Edition, we of course had plenty of meat at the center of the food bowl.
Ñebey is a beautiful thing. Mostly because it is one of the few Gambian dishes that doesn’t include white rice.
I love all the Gambian breakfast porridges that my sisters typically cook for Sunday morning breakfast. Here’s a look at what the Jolas call “chorai” (pronounced with a long I). A more universal Gambian term for the dish is “Chorah gerte.”
Here’s my tally of random happenings that sum up my Peace Corps Pre-Service Training.
