African Dinner

During the first few days of orientation, I met several students from all over the world. During one of these encounters, I met a guy from Ghana and we seemed to run into each other just about every other day or so just by chance. We were even able to go down to the Jazz Festival together during that first weekend as well. We had many discussions about cultural differences, food, religion, music, etc, and because of that, he invited me over to his apartment to experience a little bit of African cuisine and I would have to say that it was absolutely delicious. It was simple, but complex at the same time. American food tends to be served in large quantities with little spice, whereas this food was full of flavor. We started the meal off with some rice with a tomato based stew with chicken and finished the meal with another stew and potato bread/dumpling. Most of you already know that I am quite the lover of food and I really enjoy trying new types of cuisine and am open to just about anything. The only food that I have a little bit of a problem tolerating are olives, but I am getting over this dislike! All in all I was able to spend two and a half hours of some quality entertainment with my friend and his roommate. During this time we were able to discuss just about every subject from politics to religion, to music and had a great time doing so. I have really enjoyed this study abroad for it's French aspects but also because I have been able to meet people from so many different walks of life and have been able to live a few hours in their shoes and see their perspectives on the world. It's not just Americans out there you guys ;) so get out there, explore, and learn!